-Published: Monday, October 28, 2019-
The ants are back!
By Victoria Torley
There we were, out for breakfast with friends and neighbors when the topic of leaf-cutter ants came up . . . again . . . so I thought it would be worthwhile to cover it for the folks who are new to Costa Rica or to this column. Plus I have made some new discoveries about dealing with the little monsters since I wrote about them last time.
Let’s face it, these little monsters are the bane of any gardener’s in Costa Rica and can devastate a large hibiscus or a small tree overnight. What’s worse, their nests can be 10n meters deep and almost as wide (that’s 33x33 feet for those of us who still think in feet) and they can forage up to 152 meters (500 feet) in every direction. That makes a circle with a diameter of 305 meters (1,000 feet). If you use geometry (and you thought you were done with that in high school) you come up with a lot of territory. To add to all that, leaf-cutters are ants with more than one queen and they are all pumping out new leaf gatherers.
My first solution was to use a insecticidal spray powder that would be pumped into the nest. Time consuming and you couldn’t help breathing in some of the powder – not good. Next, we went to Mirex and Omitox, both pellets that were put in containers on active trails. Why containers? If the pellets get wet, the ants won’t take them. The pellets contaminate the fungus the ants live on and enough pellets will kill all the fungus in the ant gardens. We do still use the pellets but only on the deck or in the greenhouse where we get no water.
Now we have discovered Trompa. Trompa is also a pellet and a fungicide. It has an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage? You can just pour the entire container down into the main opening of the nest. The disadvantage? You have to find the ant mound.
This is not as easy as it sounds. Remember that geometry? Well, imagine looking for the ant mound in an area of 292,098 meters square or 785,000 square feet! We are talking a lot of ground! In fact, for us norte americanos, it is equal to 18 acres. That means that the ants that are raiding your yard and garden are living way over there in the farmer’s fields.
Sound hopeless? You might want to start by making friends with your neighbors. See if you can tramp through their fields. Organize your community to banish the little monsters. And use every means necessary to get rid of the marauders – except one. Do not, I repeat NOT pour gasoline into the nest and set it on fire. Very dangerous!
Plant for the Week
Victoria Torley photo
Here’s a great little vine for a window box or garden that I found at the local feria. Once again, no one could name it for me but I bet someone out there knows the name. I can tell you it had lovely shiny leaves and is easy to propagate.
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For more
information on this article of request for
information about gardening, Ms. Victoria
Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached at victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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