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Killing ants. Feel guilty

2 replies

Whisky2014 · 05/08/2019 14:54

I don't usually kill insects or spiders etc but in this case I'm not sure what to do.
We have an outdoor swimming pool which is surrounded by patio. Every year there seems to be thousands of ants in this area and they live under the patio so when they come up to the surface they bring up loads of sand piles which then make the patio all uneven and also start letting weeds through.
I like ants, I like that they are little workers and stuff but there's just so many.
I just put down some poison and now i feel incredibly guilty :(

Is there a way to actually deter ants from settling in a certain area or is it just going to be a losing battle?

As I say I don't normally do things like this. I have a spider catcher to take spiders outside, I have a butterfly/bee house and we planted loads of meadow flowers at the front of our house so the bees can go crazy on them. But just these ants are making a mess!

OP posts:
Fucksandflowers · 05/08/2019 15:15

They apparently dislike peppermint and tansy so you could perhaps edge the patio with mint and/or tansy plants?
Be careful to prune very regularly as mint especially likes to spread.

In future, I would use diatomaceous earth (food grade) all over the patio rather than ant poison as it's not as toxic, much more eco friendly.

Whisky2014 · 05/08/2019 15:48

Oh cool, will deffo try those suggestion then. Thank you @Fucksandflowers

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