Today's topic hits close to home. Sandy's pine bark nuggets were filled with huge black ants and termites. The close-to-home part is that I was tackling carpenter ants that nested in the screened porch, so Sandy's dilemma was my dilemma, too.
In this episode, we share a comical saga about determining the difference between carpenter ants and termites and safe ways to remedy the dilemma.
I hope you enjoy the story.
Related Stories
Carpenter Ants and Termites in Mulch– Blog Post
Admiration for Ants & Safe Remedies -Blog Post
Ep 121. Admiration for Ants & Safe Remedies
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Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
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Comical Sagas & Solutions for Carpenter Ants
Sat, May 11, 2024 5:49PM • 7:29
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
termites, ants, mulch, porch, garden, dilemma, critters, holes, oil, learn, find, sawdust, nature, water, carpenter ants, part, sandy, dilemmas, spray, home
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:23
Hello there, it's Mary Stone on the screen porch. And it's a cool morning, the sun is shining, and I camped on the porch for the first time with Jolee, which was a surprise - she snuck out here. And it was a quiet evening until this morning when she rose early to see the critters in the yard. But it was just fun because I used to have Ellie join me on porch camps. So it is fun to have a tradition of my dog by my side now, Miss Jolee. Anyway, I want to thank those who reached back after last week's chat Fixing Funky Fungi in Mulch, because several photos came from that. Some really interesting photos of the fungi and mushrooms that people have. And another dilemma came to me from our story and it's about having carpenter ants and termites in mulch, and it starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:18
Hello fellow readers and listeners. Today's topic hits close to home. Sandy from Sparta, New Jersey wrote, Brian bought pine bark nuggets to mulch the garden. And there are tons of huge black ants and some termites in it. What do I do? The close-to-home part is that I'm tackling carpenter ants that nested in the screen porch as we speak. So Sandy's dilemma is my dilemma, too. This was written a few years ago, so I do not have this dilemma right now. It has been solved, and I'm very grateful. Anyway, I replied to Sandy. Oh my. If you have already spread the mulch, sprinkling it with diatomaceous earth should work well to kill both critters. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is the fossilized remains of microscopic oceanic plants that destroy the waxy exoskeletons of bugs such as ants, termites, bed bugs, and fleas. Yet DE is safe for people and pets, so much so that it is used in grain-based foods to keep bugs from eating them.
Mary Stone 02:17
According to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, oils such as clove bud and garlic oils are effective against termites. In addition, the US Forest Service finds tea tree oil highly effective. You can apply the oil at full strength to the wood or add four drops per gallon of water and spray it with increasing amounts of oil if needed. Then there's readily available cedarwood oil. The only thing is cedar oil or burn foliage, so be sure only to spray it on the mulch. By the way, I recently learned that cedar oil uses spray to kill ticks on contact. It's what professional tick prevention services use to treat lawns. My go-to neem oil is another remedy. Sandy could first use it on her mulch, mixing half a teaspoon of liquid soap and four cups of water. Then, one teaspoon of neem oil. That mixture breaks down in eight hours, so use it right away.
Mary Stone 03:10
The pile of sawdust in the corner behind a potted plant is what caught our attention and clued us into our dilemma. Termites make small holes in wood and toss their frass out, which is their extra mints that look much like sawdust. The same is true of carpenter ants, so on with the investigator hat to learn which invader we had.
Mary Stone 03:31
Carpenter Ant frass contains ant parts they toss into mounds near the holes. There are no insect parts and termite frass that are uniformly rounded and often scattered rather than mounted around their entry points. Isn't that fascinating? You can DIY by mixing one part of natural dish soap with two parts of water and applying it using a sprayer. So I devised the idea of boiling pots of water, a remedy dear old mom used to do to kill ants, and I mixed the prescribed dish detergent.
Mary Stone 04:01
But when I vacuumed up the frass to find the entry holes, they were on the side of the wood molding too high to get the boiled water into Dang. A half cup of white vinegar mixed with half a cup of lemon juice can also work, but it changes soil acidity, negatively affecting plants. But spraying in the holes is likely a good idea for my dilemma on the porch, or is there a way to somehow siphon it into the holes with a small hose to kill the trespassers? Hey, I'm growing desperate. They suggest repeating the process a few times and then seeing if it's effective. By the way, if frass reappears, it didn't work so call an exterminator. I'm glad to say that it worked for me.
Mary Stone 04:44
The story has a funny, or maybe not so funny, preamble before finding our intruders. First, I noticed a single black and a sizable one climbing the wall in front of my writing spot. Then, each morning at about the same time, one came trailing By the same place. It made me think of Groundhog Day; every day, the same event unfolded at the same time. I knew it wasn't the same ant, though. Unlike most insects that I released back into the wild, my concern over the invasion took over my empathy. The single ants were worker carpenter ants looking for other places to nest. Then, they leave pheromone signals to call in their buddies. Ugh! It's interesting how we have selective compassion for uninvited guests. Yet now I have a new admiration for ants, as we spoke about in Episode 121, Admiration for Ants and Safe Remedies. But please stay clear of the screen porch. Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com.
Mary Stone 05:46
It is true, isn't it? The critters we see in our homes are pests to us, yet we can admire them out in nature. I visited a client yesterday and noticed a Yellow Jacket going into a hole in their foundation. And I imagine there is a whole colony of them in her foundation. So we don't want that to happen. But we also want to be kind to our critters and do our best to address things safely because we are all part of nature. We are all one in this world. And if we treat each other with respect and kindness, the world will be a better place. Anyway, I want to thank you for sitting with me today. I hope you have a lovely day. And as you look around at nature around you, just marvel at its magnificence and all of the interesting ways that nature unfolds in the spring. So much new life is coming to be. I have a little bird's nest right outside the porch and a viburnum. I adore it. Thanks so much for coming by. I always appreciate the time we spend together, and I hope you've enjoyed it as well. And if so, if you could share the podcast with a friend or two, I would greatly appreciate it so that more of us can learn and grow in this garden of life. It means so much. See you next time.
Mary Stone 06:59
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.
