Ants

[Easter Bunny]

Originally Posted by turnip

I tried them but no good for me

Oh shame ,

[burnt toast]

Limestone flour, they eat it & die, also harmless to torts. ( talc works same way too, but obviously not with torts near by)

[Paige Lewis]

Originally Posted by burnt toast

Limestone flour, they eat it & die, also harmless to torts. ( talc works same way too, but obviously not with torts near by)

Thanks, i have already ordered some limestone flour earlier to give it a go. Do i place it directly in and around the nest or throughout the soil or both? I could actually dig the soil up and put fresh in as well as the soil is on top of slabs, do you recommend i do this as well?

[burnt toast]

Dont know Paige, I used it in the greenhouse on slabs & just sprinkled it thickly. I suppose it wouldnt hurt to dig some out, put fresh soil them sprinkle it on.

[Paige Lewis]

Originally Posted by burnt toast

Dont know Paige, I used it in the greenhouse on slabs & just sprinkled it thickly. I suppose it wouldnt hurt to dig some out, put fresh soil them sprinkle it on.

Thank you! So i have just liberally applied limestone flour throughout the cold frame and even outside of it as well as there were a few wondering around, hopefully this will do the trick, i will probably leave it a week to see if there is any improvement and i will let you know, fingers crossed. If this weren't to work is it safe to use Diatomaceous earth food grade around the outer perimeter, it sounds promising but i am just concerned about Jimmy breathing it in?

[Paige Lewis]

Just thought i would update on the ant situation, i liberally applied limestone flour all over the ground in the coldframe and i am really impressed, i am not sure if it has killed them as i will see the odd one on the parts of the ground where the limestone flour has disappeared but they are pretty much gone, i would definitely recommend the limestone flour solution. I am going to order in a big batch of it ready for if they strike again. Thanks all for the advice on the matter!

[destiny88]

do ants harm torts?
I noticed a few in willows enclosure today
They look like brown ants to me

[sandy]

Originally Posted by destiny88

do ants harm torts?
I noticed a few in willows enclosure today
They look like brown ants to me

No ants don't harm tortoises, more of a pest to us than them:0)

[destiny88]

Oh thanks
puts my mind to rest
karen

[Hanako]

I keep my tortoises in a big enclosure in conservatory, and in summer I put them outside in the morning and then in the evening take them in. This year I persuaded my husband to swap one glass panel in the conservatory for wooden panel, and then to cut a small hole in the panel and in the enclosure wall, meaning that the tortoises will be able to get outside/inside as they wish. However, a few weeks after we made the hole, ants appeared in their home in conservatory. Today I poured boiling water over them (while my tortoises having bath) and now I sprinkled everywhere the lime flour. I hope I will get rid of them; it was not just one or two, there were suddenly hundreds of them! If the limestone flour doesn't do the trick, I will have to re-think my next steps. Someone in this thread was suggesting several spices, among them peppermint oil and cinnamon. Are those two harmful to the tortoises? (I don't feel that the other suggestions - vinegar, black pepper and cayenne pepper is particularly tortoise friendly. Not sure about whole cloves and bay leaves but the peppermint oil and cinnamon seems to me the most friendly things to try).

Anyone tried anything else?