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Slugs & Ant nests ARGH!

ShivyRex

Mama Doe
Well I was out taking a close look at my garden today (have only been living here about 3 weeks) and it seems I have rather a lot of ants nests amongst the paving slabs in my garden and it seems to house quite a lot of slugs - YUK!!!

There is a square of 9 paving slabs in the middle of my garden which I was going to place some of the run over so to help stop bunnies burrowing out and to keep their nails trim a bit. Problem is there is an obvious ants nest under these slabs. There are also some under my patio by my back door which bunny will go over when I let him roam the garden.

Soooo can I use ant and slug repellent in the garden? I don't know what harm lots of ants can do to a bunny i.e. if they sit on the opening to the nest, and slugs are just gross and I don't like them myself let alone what they can do to bunnies.

Any advice would be greatly recieved.

Shiv
 
do not use slug pellets! these are highly toxic and if your rabbits eat them it will make them extremely ill. or worse. either use a (small) beer trap for the slugs or physicaly pick them up and move them. (make sure the rabbits cant drink from this either :roll: )
peppermint (either in oil or plant form) work well as an ant deterrant. or if you dont mind innocent insects dying use boiling water.
 
I killed 5 ant nest this summer. This is how:

the nest is usually a layer of mud, you wet the mud, and simply use your spade and shuffle to gather as much mud as possible and dump them to the city street, or as far away from your house as possible.

Use a screw driver to stir up the remaing ants, use a rock and roll them over (it's really fun to do :lol: )

Another method is to use hot boiling water to pour that spot, however, your grass will temporary die but eventually re-grow (worse case next spring)

Do not use raider or insect killer, as your rabbit can eat the grass w/ raider spray on it.
 
I feel sorry for ants, just because they're not cute and bite, why do they have less right to life? I can't kill them, they don't bother the rabbits.

As for the slugs, getting a duck or chicken is the most environmentally friendly way as they both love to eta them lol.
 
My brother in law dug up the ants nests and moved them when we laid the slabs for the hutch/run combos to sit on. 8) Great big tough chap that he is :wink:
 
Boiling water it is for the ants then. I can't dig up and move the ants nest as we couldn't possibly move the slabs as they're totally embedded into the grass and we're also in a rented property so I don't want to go digging up parts of the garden really.

The only reason I feel I need to get rid of the ants is because they're visicous little things; when b/f disturbed them yesterday they went mad and I wouldn't want them to bite the life out of my bunnies just cos they happen to sit on their entrance. I am all up for nature preservation but I am afraid my bunnies come first.

As for the slugs - what is a beer trap? Will look into this. It's really weird as I don't like slugs but I am not bothered by snails haha. Funny what a difference a shell makes. Unfortunately as much as I would love a duck (there were some at the rescue cnetre and were soooooo cute!) I couldn't have one at this house. Are slugs a danger to my bunnies? Would they try and eat it? What if they did? What if I found one in the hutch? If it's a case of moving them elsewhere then thats fine.

What about weeds. There are a lot of weeds coming through the paving slabs. I couldn't tell you what weeds they are but I think some are dandelion (they have the flowers with the white whispy bits that fly through the air when you blow them(???)). Will bunnies just eat these or should I get some kind of weed killer. I am guessing its not a good idea but I thought I would check all the same.

Thanks guys :)
 
My buns have never been bothered by them, I'm generally more worried about the GP's as they have bare feet, but they're not bothered either.

A beer trap is a glass or similar, sunk into the ground full of beer, slugs love beer, fall into it and drown.

I was kidding about a duck or chicken. I'm trying to use the slug excuse to get a couple lol.
 
Putting copper tape around the base of the pen should stop slugs entering.
It's a completely environmentally friendly way of slug & snail control in the garden that does not kill. It works a treat on my plants! :)
 
I have been putting lager in an old sandwich box which is about 4" high for the last couple of nights.

You wouldn't believe the amount of slugs and snails that were in there in the morning. It was almost up to the top. :shock: :shock:

I would highly recommend this way of ridding your garden of the pesky things if you are ok about doing it and remember to remove the beer before letting the buns out. :lol: :lol:


Justine xx
 
Justine said:
I have been putting lager in an old sandwich box which is about 4" high for the last couple of nights.

You wouldn't believe the amount of slugs and snails that were in there in the morning. It was almost up to the top. :shock: :shock:

I would highly recommend this way of ridding your garden of the pesky things if you are ok about doing it and remember to remove the beer before letting the buns out. :lol: :lol:


Justine xx

And you get to drink the rest of the beer!!! :lol: :lol:

OMG!! Maybe this is why I have slugs and snails in my garden in the first place!!! My bunnies (and my drunken boyfriend) are always knocking my beer over!! :roll: :roll: :roll:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
toffee said:
Justine said:
I have been putting lager in an old sandwich box which is about 4" high for the last couple of nights.

You wouldn't believe the amount of slugs and snails that were in there in the morning. It was almost up to the top. :shock: :shock:

I would highly recommend this way of ridding your garden of the pesky things if you are ok about doing it and remember to remove the beer before letting the buns out. :lol: :lol:


Justine xx

And you get to drink the rest of the beer!!! :lol: :lol:

OMG!! Maybe this is why I have slugs and snails in my garden in the first place!!! My bunnies (and my drunken boyfriend) are always knocking my beer over!! :roll: :roll: :roll:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


:lol: :lol: :lol: that probably doesn't help matters.


Justine xx
 
raven_guest said:
I feel sorry for ants, just because they're not cute and bite, why do they have less right to life? I can't kill them, they don't bother the rabbits.
.

If there is an ant's nest, and during the daily hopping session of my bunny, she can step on it. The ants will definitely react by running all over the place, including running up from the legs of my bunny. And I can't allow it. Likewise, if she is resting, ants can crawl from her antenna to the inner ear.
 
Happy Hopping said:
Use a screw driver to stir up the remaing ants, use a rock and roll them over (it's really fun to do :lol: )

that is cruel! And its horrible that you obviously take delight in killing them.

There are ways to keep ants away from areas of your garden where your rabbits are without killing them, such as peppermint oil.


this was on yahoo answers:


We Should not Poison Ourselves, Kids and Pets
It's a good idea to let ants know that yours is not their house, without killing them. For ants are very helpful to keep this earth clean. Using poison, we only poison ourselves, too, even when we do not realize it. Yet, a toxic effect can be seen immediately on life energy photographs after the use of poisons.

Different Preferences
In my experience, it depends on the type of ants what they like least.

What can be Used?
I have used cinnamon, peppermint, cayenne or citrus oils. Ants have a very sensitive sense of smell, and these items are too strong for them so that they avoid these. For some reason, some ants do not like cucumber rinds, grated and sprinkled around.

Someone Checking
With natural means we may not hinder all ants to come in, but most. They may be always a few ants just checking out our facility. If there is nothing they need, they do not call their armies to carry off the booty.

Ants as Our Educators
Helping us clean, the ants assist us to be very clean if we do not want their help. At least, they themselves do not poison us.

Discourage Them Inside, but Give the Ants What They Need
What worked best for me is to distribute some of the above mentioned items around and in the house, and give the ants what they need outside the house.

Knowing the Weather
Before the rain they need oils and may find them when stove or floor are not cleaned. The ants know when the rain storm is coming before the weather man may know it. I have watched this for many years. They suddenly come in, in greater numbers, looking for oil, even on the pillow sheets, if they do not find it outside the house! The oil is needed to make their chambers waterproof! Especially in dry years they do not find enough sap of trees to meet their needs, and they enter the grease spotted house to meet their needs.

Give Them What They Need - Outside
When the ants come in, in greater numbers, I know that a rain storm will come, although the sun is shining and no real cloud is in the sky. Then I place sheets of paper towel, soaked in olive oil, outside by the house, but a few yards away. This way the ants can smell the oil on their way to the house but are not attracted to the house directly. I hold the oiled pieces of paper towel down with some rocks. This way the ants can easily get the oil and walk off happily, leaving the house alone. One or two may still come in, but that's no problem. They are just checking.

Ants like Seeds and Starch
Sprinkling sunflower seeds around also helps to keep the ants busy. A bag of bird seeds may be $4 and lasts a long time. It takes the ants some effort to carry off one seed, although the birds may gladly help to eat the seeds.

The Queen Knows
Often, I wondered how the ants know what's in the house, where the sources are and when. Science found out that they have a psychic queen, who intuitively knows where the needed resources can be found. Amazing. Even when the ant queen was away from the ant home, she could still send her telepathic messages to the ants.

Ants - the Garbage Crew
Imagine we had no ants on earth, ants who chew up the empty beetle shells. We would be swamped with these beetle shells, for they do not decay easily. The ants, like other animals in their own ways, take care of many other things for us, so that the earth stays clean.

Let Them Live
For that reason alone I think we need to be kind to the ants and tell them in a gentle way that we don't want them in the house, but let them live outside!

A Stone Setting for the Ants
I never had a major problem with ants as long as I gave them outside what they needed. A small stone setting may be sufficient to place some fruit scraps, bread crumbs, seeds, sugar items etc. out for them. They will be so busy, carrying these items off. I place some fist size rocks in a circle, with spaces between them, and cover the circle with a flat rock as lid. I repeatedly place food scraps there so that the ants keep busy.

May we all make peace with nature's helpers, they all have their task to keep the earth energy in balance, and fulfill it conscientiously!
Cordially, India.Magica

Source(s):
Studies and experiences
Articles on Hilites at www.biochakra.com
 
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