TheGardenLady received an excellent comment from someone named the GartenGrl. On this post about Terro Liquid Ant Baits she pointed out the following:
Just remember your peonies need ants to bloom…so don’t put it near your peony bushes or you won’t get any flowers this year!
Ants do have value in the greater scheme of things. And as you point
out, peonies have a need of ants for the plant to flower. As this quote suggests, ants are extremely important for our environment.
In many ways ants are our friends and allies, and we need them. In China, ants have been used for thousands of years to help control pests in orchards, making them the first insects known to be used for biological control. Ants actually help control pests that we haven’t always been very successful controlling on our own. Both indoors and out, they eat the eggs and larvae of fleas, flies, spiders, bed bugs, and probably silverfish and clothes moths. They also go after cockroaches and other bugs. In addition, ants patrol the perimeters of our houses and keep termites, their mortal enemies, from establishing colonies in our homes. If we let them do their job, that is. Ants are also scavengers that clean out lots of debris. The earth would be a
dirtier place if we didn’t have ants.
TheGardenLady should have suggested using ant traps only where a person doesn’t want them in the house. She appreciates GartenGrl’s comment.
Keep reading the blog and keep comments like this coming.
I knew there were some benefits for having ants on their property but here in Florida we have a very large ant population. On my property, I must have at least 20 different species of ants. I have a very large property and while working in flower beds, they are very anxious to meet me.
I have tried Ortho ant flakes and other items claiming to kill them over time. Needless to say, none of these products have helped. A friend who is an herbalist and natual farmer suggests taking a shovel full of dirt with each tribe and put it in another tribe’s mound. They literally fight to the death to save the queen. This is my next step and I’ll let you know how this works out for me.
Thanks for a wonderful and informative blog.