Cult: Why poison ants? (was Spots and Holes on TB)


>I usually spray with diazinon to control the ants.  We have carpenter
>ants here that drive me crazy since they are so big.   They come out at
>night too.  I have seen little ants around the plants and I keep saying
>I will spray once I get everything fertilized.

Lora, I know you are an energetic gardener, but why do you want to kill all
these ants? I can see getting them out of your pantry, but is there any
reason to kill ants in the garden? Unless they're dragging aphids onto your
plants, which some kinds do (and which can be discouraged with soap), or
unless they are fire ants which are flat dangerous, these tiny helpers
perform important, needed services that help you grow beautiful plants. For
one thing, they carry off dead insects, which they digest and return to
your soil as needed nutrients. Their tunneling speeds the removal of dead
wood. Their tunneling can aerate packed soil. They give larger insects
something to eat which in turn gives our birds something to eat.
Ants are so important to the food chain that keeps you and me alive, if all
the ants on the planet suddenly died, our species would starve. Seriously.
Whereas if we died off, ants would perk along rather nicely.

If you have carpenter ants outside, they are living in a dead or dying
tree. They tunnel in damp, soft wood, and their tunnels weaken the wood
structure, making it break apart more easily. If you have a big old stump
you want rid of, the carpenter ants are helping you get that done. If the
ants bother you that much, remove the tree. But why poison your garden? :-)

We should ask ourselves what gardening means. Does it mean war upon nature?

Diazinon is not a harmless chemical. It threatens your health if you're
exposed. It ought to be used sparingly, as Rick suggested.

I hesitate to tell another gardener anything - because I don't know
everything and because maybe in the garden in question the ants are doing
something dreadful I couldn't imagine - but in general terms, killing ants
just because they are ants (and killing snakes just because they are
snakes) seems like a mistake. Help me understand you. What are these
terrible ants doing?

All good wishes! :-) :-) :-)

celia
storey@aristotle.net  USDA Zone 7b
Little Rock, Arkansas
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