Flower Bed Frustrations

            Living in Houston means having a pristine lawn and top of the line landscaping; most homeowners spend at least a portion of the weekend working in the yard doing some various activity. Even my wife and I somehow manage to find ourselves cutting grass or de-weeding flower beds and we live in an apartment! Don’t worry, I would not dare donate my free time to the maintenance man in the complex I live in, rather my wife and I see her grandparents every Sunday and usually do what we can to pitch in around the yard for a free meal. For Carol, my wife’s grandmother, removing the weeds from her mulch beds is a therapeutic exercise she dives into hand’s first every Saturday and Sunday. This past Sunday after trimming, I decided to get on my knees and get my hands dirty. Upon removing the first weed I noticed several little ants meandering about among the mulch. I took a hand shovel and turned over some mulch and began to see hundreds of ants. When I shockingly told Carol about my discovery simply said, “Oh yeah, they’re all over in my beds.” As I walked around the yard and examined the rest of the mulch bed, I witnessed thousands of ants just going about their lives. Fortunately for my grandmother-in-law they were nothing more than Ghost Ants which by nature are perfectly harmless to humans and plants. That does not mean they are not a menace. So, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss how to control ants in flower beds.

            Almost any insecticide concentrate is going to eliminate ants in flower beds and if you don’t spend any time getting your hands dirty in your landscaping, then this may be the option for you. But, if you are like 90% of the Houston population that owns a home, you undoubtedly spend time cultivating your landscaping on a weekly basis. And if that is the case, exposing your skin mulch and dirt that has been sprayed with chemical may not be the best plan of attack. Fortunately, there are a number of great ant control baits to use that are every bit as effective.

To start off, let’s talk about the most menacing of the ant world, the Fire Ant. There are many great granules and liquid concentrates to use in the grass, but for Fire Ants in flower beds, the best option in my opinion is a product containing Acephate. Just sprinkle one teaspoon of this stinky stuff on a mound and the ants will dead within the hour. But if you are dealing with ants that are not Fire Ants, baits designed specifically for ants would be the best way to go.  While baits take slightly longer to work than liquid concentrates, they tend to be a much safer application in areas that people will come into a high amount of contact. One thing to keep in mind is that baits are designed to be a food source for target pests; so not all baits will do the same thing. Be sure to determine which species of ant you are dealing with, and then select a product that is designed to eliminate that species. After selecting the product, it is always a good idea to read over the product label to understand how to best use it.