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RE: Ants


I've had the same alarming surprise several times.  Other than being an   
annoyance (which can be a big deal depending on where your heap is in   
relation to your house), I've found that this is not a problem.  Our ants   
seem to hang out for a while, probably contributing to decomposition, and   
then leave about the time the compost is ready to use.   I impatiently   
used ant-laden compost to mound up around my potatoes this spring, and   
they are doing famously.  If you'd rather get rid of them, try getting   
the pile hot by adding some "greens", water, and mixing well.   Good   
luck.

Some ant-trivia:     E.O. Wilson, possibly THE world authority on ants,   
estimated that ants make up one third of the earth's biomass.

 -----Original Message-----
From: brian.blackett@bae.co.uk
Sent: Monday, June 15, 1998 6:14 AM
To: sqft@lists.umsl.edu
Subject: Ants

 << File: Lotus~1 >>
Dear all,

I started to turn over the compost in my bin this weekend and
found an ant nest. There are hundreds of ants and eggs.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of them ?
Can I use the compost ?
Will the ants hurt my soil/plants ?

Brian Blackett (Blackpool, UK)
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