Check out our latest video, "Testing the TOP ORGANIC PESTICIDES at HOME DEPOT and LOWES!" ua-cam.com/video/Q961kvS1w28/v-deo.html Thanks for all of the questions! We didn't end up releasing an update video but this method worked wonders. We ended up recovering our entire potato crop from using these traps. We have another growing season ahead and will definitely do this again. If you check out our Instagram page we did do some updates on this method.
Do you have an answer for fire ants in my garden? I know I can’t use the fire ant mound killer. My youngest daughter’s name is Mykala! She’ll be 26 in January. Our oldest will be 36 in September.
@@hummingbird275The granular we have is in a red/orangish color bag. I think it’s Spectracide Mound Killer. I haven’t found an Amdro other than a liquid. I don’t think that one treats fire ants. If you know of a specific one, I’d be more than glad to try it. The one we have for fire ant mounds leaves a residue & you can smell it & taste it in veg/fruits used in the garden or direct in rain run off.
when I was young I tried to start an ant farm by putting a ton of sugar and dirt into a jar and setting it near a tree by our house. it was so successful, the ants moved their colony and their queen into the farm. I was so happy I closed the jar with a lid and poked some tiny holes in it. turns out the holes were too small and all the ants suffocated. I was sad, but my mom was super happy, because I solved our ant problem
I did ant farms years back. Something went wrong, and the whole colony moved out like a magic trick. They all took their shit and left one night. They live under the sink now. I don't have the heart to spray them... yet. They seem to be moving out of the house the last few years. They do no harm.
That reminds me of my grandson when he was 5 and I babysat in the summer. He would follow us around and want to help take care of the garden. He’s now 12 and had planted his own garden the last 2 years. His mom said his garden did very good and he loved looking after it. I’m so proud of him. When building his garden he would say “ that’s what grandpa said to do”😀
Martha, I love your comment. I just taught my grandson (4 yrs. old,) how to hunt for red lily beetles and also what their eggs look like (orange.) His parents are teaching him to help with vegetable gardening as well.
Does anyone have any ideas on what I can use in UK, where Borax is an illegal substance. I have borax substitute but think the poisonous ingredient is missing to make it legal here. Any suggestions welcome, thank you x
This is a great method. I used it myself but I discovered that there are two types of ants: those who love sugar and those who love fat/oil. So, in case sugar does not work for you (as it didn't with me) you can try replacing it with some butter or oil.
Can you use something else with sugar or fat/ butter besides borax Ratio is 1-4 ( the four is 4 parts sugar. Mixed with water and stirred into a paste. Have you seen ants crawling in and out?
@@johnnygag1 Borax doesnt instantly kill the ants,so its natural that some might crawl out but they would die after a day or two and can even spread it within their colony.As for a borax substitute,I dont really know a less toxic substance but if youre looking for something stronger,fipronil does the trick as well although it is more toxic and you should handle it with care
I'm an old fart and I should say that we have been using borax and sugar to control ants since the late 50s. My mother made a mixture of borax and sugar, = quantities, + water to a syrup consistency, which ants go for. They imbibe themselves fat then return to nest to feed larvae. Then they croak and get eaten by their mates, renewing the cycle. Both borax and sugar are cheap and ants cannot build up a resistance to it. But remember that ants, like wasps, have preferences for carbohydrates or proteins depending on the stage of their reproductive cycle. Your own observation will be the best guide as my locality (far north of NZ) will be different in both ant species and climatic considerations. Cheers 🙂
Colin- Hi ! Didn't KNOW this about ants - the life-cycle thing ! But was even MORE interested in how the effect gets back to the MOUND - in OUR case the _NEST_ and does the _work_ of _removing the _*_threat_* . THANKS !! And- ALL the BEST from Texas ! - -Chuck .
I love this . Her daughter is engaged , she understands’poison ‘ and knows it will kill the ants. She is very assertive in the process which means she can likely repeat it and take over later if mom isn’t around or she inherits the garden . Very smart to get the kids involved when they are at an age of understanding. Wish my parents had involved me as a kid. My brother learned the hard way putting a box of borax under the faucet and turning it on full blast .. lost part of his vision .. but the doctors said most of the retina damage was due to birth and hospitalization in an oxygen tent . Horrific . He was 9 and would never have touched the borax had he known it was poison . But they didn’t believe in teaching
@@hummingbird275 I bet you are a great parent….. children should be seen and not heard? Are your children little robots, stuck away, out of sight and sound ?
@@cyann410 They are certainly taught not to interrupt when an adult is speaking. You think a child interrupting an adult is wonderful. Your kids ( hopefully you don’t have any) interrupt,& talk over their elders, showing ignorance and disrespect. I express my opinion based on your ignorance.
@@cyann410 our children are interactive, but they are also respectful & don't rudely interrupt! They also love learning about nutrition & good health & how to properly grow your own food! And the full engagement adds to us all!
I wish I would have grown up with family members that taught me at a young age the things that you're teaching your daughter. When your daughter is 18 she'll know twice as much as everyone else and will not have missed out on any childhood joys. Daughter actually wants to learn she's very interested in this and it would be a sin to hinder her from learning it. Meanwhile the haters are buying motorized bicycles for their children. They honestly think they're doing their kids a favor.
Just because some families do things differently, doesn't mean it is wrong. Nothing wrong with a motorized bicycle, it isn't a matter of "favor" or anything else. "twice" as much as who? Einstein?
@@justinecamp7922 Actually there is an issue with a motorized bicycle or any other device that eliminates the capability of children burning calories. Kids are on the computers, cell phones and all kinds of electronic toys and are getting little to no exercise a day. I'm watching the population get fatter and fatter. Oprah may like it but it's not healthy for you. It is not good in childhood to be trained on electronic devices that keep you from exertion. It's not like these kids are vegetarians, in fact they're far from it. The Vietnam war, when they did autopsies, a very high percentage had clog arteries and most of these men were in their twenties and exercised. Bad food and no exercise leads to strokes, heart attacks and death at a very early age even if you're not in a war; before 50 as an example. I promise you it's not a jealousy thing. I suppose you think I'm imagining this. I work in an old building, built in the sixties that was a standard build for that time period. People were a lot thinner and could actually walk into a bathroom stall without having to turn sideways to get in. Now people have to turn sideways to get in the stall if they're over size 12 in an old building. I know this from practice and I've watched other ladies do it as well.
@@DJ-oy3zz My sister has kids aged 15 to 1 year they are all fine they have all kinds of electronic devices but they also play outside, with the constant warming of the Earth they have to have alternatives. It has been 100 degrees every day for the last week where they live, it is not safe for them to play outside.
@@justinecamp7922As much as i agree with your first comment on families doing things differently, it is safe for kids to play outside, and don't think its right to keep them indoors based on propaganda by hyped up activists like greta thunberg, who doesn't have a clue. You also deprive them of natural vitamin d. The earth has only heated up 1°F in the last 100 years! Do the research, instead of having a confirmation bias based on conspiracy theorists and cult climate groups. Also, kids can wear longsleeves, sunscreen or shades outside. DJ-oy3zz, you are what people call a moralistic wannabe. You moral grandstand, while having very strong opinions of what is right & wrong, and probably get offended easily when other people don't share your values or personal beliefs, yet you think its ok to teach kids to kill animals with borax! That's narcissistic.
I love that you have the whole family involved in gardening. These are not only lifelong skills that they are learning, but memories the whole family will always treasure. Thank you for sharing your ant/aphid experience and your earth-friendly pest control techniques.
How interesting and so fantastic that she takes her daughter and teaches her ! Mom is so patient and loving and her daughter is the recipient of the greatest teacher she will have in life. And the baby is enjoying being close to mom and hearing her voice and sisters voice. As a mom of 5 and grandmother of 15 I am very impressed. Daddy also teaching and instructing and solid with his wife and family 🥰🍀
I used the same formula with a 2:6 ratio of borax to sugar and I used a salad dressing bottle (the flat ones) with cotton balls in the bottle and then put the syrup all over the cotton balls to saturate them. I laid the bottles down along the path of my carpenter ants (2 nests) that were eating my landscape ties around my driveway! Within 2-3 days, my ants were gone and have not come back! It has been over 5 years. The cotton balls hold the syrup and give the ants something to walk on while feeding on the syrup! Your way and my way seem to work equally about the same! I only use glass because I can reuse the bottles if necessary, and animals are less likely to be attracted to glass and they don't roll! Good luck and God Bless!
Cutsey Bunny....... Yes, you put the cotton balls in the jar, pour in the "ant syrup" to saturated the cotton balls and lay it down where the ants are and they will find it, eat the syrup and bring it back to the nest and share it with the rest of the colony and within a few days, no more ants! Hope this explains things! God Bless!
Michael Anderson.....We still have glass bottles here in NY, but you can use the plastic ones. The important thing is the flatness so it does not roll away! For that matter you can use whatever you want to hold the cotton balls and syrup, this is just what I use and it worked for me. God Bless!
I had success with a 1:8 and 1:7 ratio with boric acid but it doesn’t dissolve very easy. I just tried a 1:7 with dry sugar and boric acid. Use confectioners sugar and they mix really well. The ants loved it…for a couple days. Now there’s almost no ants in my house anymore
@@lovecats6856 I don’t doubt that seeing as I’ve used it in the laundry to clean my hunting clothes in cold water and it resolved as well. I’ve taken to making dry batches of this lately. It worked just as well. Used a mortar and pestle to make a fine pounder of the sugar and the ants came to it in droves. Inside of a week they were gone.
Different types of ants require different concentrations. We have tiny red fire ants that die using a 25% borax mixture, and a more hardy large black fire ant variety that needs a 50% mix. Either way, the mixture works like magic.
@@verreal yellow red, but then we live near the Amazon in SA, in a semi tropical area, so we would have our own distinct species. Ants no matter where they live pretty much dislike boron.
Thank you for making this video. I'm having this problem myself. I'm running out of my essential oils and needed another way until I can get more from town. But I use, normally, 10 drops rosemary EO, 10 drops peppermint EO, 10 drops Clove EO, 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dawn dish soap, and about 1pt of rain water or tap water if you are not allowed to collect...in a spray bottle. Shake before spraying and it works immediately. Unfortunately, like other soapy products, you have to reapply after it rains. But it does work well. I'm going to try the peppermint soap and even the borax sugar slurry. Thank you all!
I love how involved and engaged ur daughter is in your family garden. So hard to compete with all the digital distractions. This is true learning and real life skills.
I love the fact that no other animal can get into it like a family dog or farm cats as borax is indiscriminate of what it kills. So keep it contained so as not to poison other things. Good Job!
In small doses this should not kill dogs or cats. It will however cause gastrointestinal issues. If they ate the contents of a jar it would likely cause them to have diarrhea. If they are the whole box… Kidney damage and/or failure. It’s about a weight vs quantity thing. I’d wager they wouldn’t eat the stuff more than once either way lol
It's not poisonous to humans, dogs or cats! Except in extremely large amounts. It's a mineral, boron. I drink a little dissolved in water every day for healing osteoarthritis and possibly nerve damage. Many benefits.
Works like a charm! I’ve been using this method for years and it is unbelievably effective. This is the best video I’ve ever seen to teach people how to take care of this problem!
Borax and peanut butter is a good mixture for the ants' protein cycle. I like the idea of small mason jars with holes in the lid to protect domestic pets. I will use that in the house, too!
The ants treat the aphids like cattle and herd them around and protect them, then they get the honeydew as the harvest. If aphids were alone ladybugs would generally wipe them out.
I LOVE these wish parents that are teaching their children gardening skills. I am working side by side our 22 yr old married grandson on his 5 acres farm. He recently told me it was my garden he helped me in when he was 6 that inspired him to “Work the Land, toil in the soil and raise small animals.” ❤❤
Your daughter is cute...and she seems to be smart, and it's admirable that you are taking opportunities to teach her gardening skills, however, when you are teaching her, and when she is included in one of your "teaching videos" for those who want to learn, it's important to teach her to not keep interrupting and talking over you...or her parents, in general. (I taught successfully for over two decades and brought up my own children as well. One of the first things their taught in the classroom is to not interrupt others who are talking, unless it's an emergency. (I also taught jr. and senior high and university level .) This was an excellent video, and I am adding your channel to my library here, in my gardening folder. I have just recently started gardening in earnest, and I feel that your video is going to add some valuable information, to help me be successful in my endeavors! My only frustration with this otherwise excellent video, was the fact that I had to keep moving it back to "re-listen", to what you just said because your daughter kept talking over you. I just noticed that this video was posted 3 years ago....so perhaps since she's three years older, now, she no longer interrupts constantly! What a wonderful place for your children to learn.
I make this exact slurry, but in an old bucket, and go around the garden plopping it down the ant holes with an old spoon. They have to clear the mixture to go in and out, which they do, taking it down into the colony. I only need to redo about every 3 years. The birds don't touch it because the ants are in a frenzy. Problem solved, even with a huge colony in nextdoor's property...we didnot have to enter...we put it on their trail, in our garden, and they took it back down to the nest in the field... Ta-dah! 😁🚫🐜🐜🐜
@@ricosuave5120 There are several options to prevent this...do it as the sun goes down, and children are inside. The ants will work all night to clear the tunnel entrance. By morning, there will hardly be a trace. I try to find entrances that are not in the same yard as my dogs, but the ants do go mad, so my dogs stay well back if l really have to use it where they are. Supervision works. You can tether the dog until the sugar-mix has gone and distract them with meaty bones...away from the site.! I would not tether the children! 😂 They can be kept away until it clears. I have never had a problem in 15 years. But you could google boron ingestion . Most of the gloop goes sliding down the hole anyway. And, like l said, it's covered in ants in panic mode! Do a google (the ingestion would only be 1-2 level teaspons at the most, per treatment site) ,have a think, then give it a try. Hope this has been useful.🙂🍯🚫🐜
@@ricosuave5120 I used some Torror ant bait/killer. My golden retriever ate it. I called the vet, and they looked up the ingredients- borax and sugar… the vet said it won’t kill the dog, just make him sick. They just put a few drops of peroxide in his eye, and in a few minutes he vomited. They sent us home ! Won’t kill animals or kids, just give them stomach aches.
@@lilyLily1824 hope it goes well. I missed a couple of nests, due to being busy with Other Stuff, and our ants have hibernated, now, being winter, but l shall be ready to greet them with boron treats, when they awaken in the spring! I hate killing them, but when they make life miserable, it's them or me. 🚫🐜👍All the best!
I've used this for years and it works really well. I put it on a cotton ball inside the house because I don't have pets or little kids. I will try the jar trick. Thank you.
I am glad you mentioned this I was thinking about the wasp in the spring they eat sugar and and the fall they eat meat. You are right though the honey bee's will get into this
Several years ago when I was combing through our potato plants and picking off beetle larvae, I noticed black ants attacking and eating the larvae. So much so, that as I went through the row, plants that had ants around had no larvae, and the plants with no / very few ants had eggs and larvae. I don't remember exactly how large the black ants were. I'm realizing there are multiple types of ants, the longer I enjoy organic gardening.
I didn’t know the ants helped the aphids travel and then fed on their “sap” waste. Makes total sense this relationship and also explains how aphids got into my apartment and onto one of my orchid flowers as I had also had an issue with any prior. Now the ants are gone I’m treating this one orchid to remove the aphids and try to prevent them coming back.
Yes, several ant species do farm for and herd aphids and while the aphids do not generally carry viruses, the damage they cause opens the plants up to a diverse range of plant illnesses. Several studies have been published on the matter. McGill University and Ohio State are the first two that spring to mind that have published lengthy studies concerning the mutualism relationship.
So that little girl is learning physical science, biology, chemistry and self-sustainability…along with a marketing skill. That’s some awesome education and life leaning skills. Good on you mom!
Thanks! They are a major problem here as well. I just put borax on my shopping list, maybe this year the garden will do better... Your great parents teaching your kids outdoor life instead of living on cell phones :-) I can still picture the berries and dill my parents grew many years ago, forgot what else grew :-)
Ants are generally helping in the garden, eating insects that are harmful to plants, cleaning up the garden and improving soil. Having an aphids problem, even if the ants are involved, I would consider that a problem with lack of ladybirds. Usually in my garden problems with aphids is only a temporary problem in mid spring before the ladybird populations really start to take over. So if this doesn’t happen I would think there’s something wrong with the eco system. Another thing I noticed is that the few plants who in the period without ladybirds have problem with black ants doesn’t really seem to be harmed.
thanks for posting great info, just to add to the conversation. i have tried borax with sugar also, seems to work great, and seen several videos talking about it. last time i mixed half and half, make a liquid not a paste, and sometimes i make a dry mix, to place next to the wet liquid ( for the ants to take home ). so looking at what you are doing it all seems to work. i am american in tropical philippines and wow do we have ants. had a sweet corn crop failure one time dug up the seed and dang the seeds were all hollow, seemed ants had gone after it. i need to order more borax.so many things like that are hard to get here. you might look into how some use borax for health improvement. it is a trace element that people need in very small amounts
You just saved my garden !!! I'm learning trial by fire style with pests and disease in my garden. I am battling aphids like crazy and I recently noticed that one of my raised beds is LOADED with ants. I've lost all of my chard and so many tomato plants that I grew from seed successfully for the first time. I could cry that this popped up in my suggested videos because I had no idea of the connection with ants and aphids. Thank you!
I hope it works quickly! We are releasing a video tomorrow evening about aphids and getting rid of them with diatamaceous earth/DE. You can use both methods simultaneously!
So cool! Getting rid of those little buggers! We have both also, on ornamental plants (Plumeria). Nice to see kids in the garden. Growing up, my dad & grandpa had a garden that we are allowed to help. Pulling weeds was my least favorite 🤣 But harvest was so much fun! We would eat “Tommy toes” off of the plants and grandpa would have us pick a lope which he would cut open with his pocket knife & serve to up on the back porch☺ I remember many times, sitting under a tree, listening to a ball game on the radio and snapping beans. Those were the days! 🥰
Loved your video. Just hard to hear when the kids were talking at the same time as you were, so missed some of what you were saying. But great that you are including them in your endeavours!!
This is great info. Thank you. I can use this in a couple of large pots with favourite plants in. And best thing is the chicks can't get to it. Your daughter is wonderful, she will be a beautiful person when she grows up. I'm a new subscriber! Stay safe.
Thank you for this video, I will definitely be doing this. Also, I love that your FANS are sticking up for you and your wife teaching your children a skill that will last forever. My mother did the same thing with my sisters and I, and till this day I am still doing gardening. Thanks again!
Good job mama and daddy teaching your daughter. You have to be an awesome mama to do a video, hold your baby and teach us and your daughter at the same time. May God bless you and your family.
Thanks for this advise. Borax and sugar was put in infants mouths in the 1920s to treat thrush. My grandmother shared this and I subsequently read it in an infant care book from that era.
@@lovecats6856 please calm down. The poison is in the dose. Water can be toxic in excess. Table salt is incredibly toxic in fairly low amounts. Boron is an essential plant nutrient and even a vital human nutrient! To much kills plants and humans. When you feel scared, direct that toward learning the facts.
borax and sugar/honey is hit and miss. sometimes it kills half a nest and they stop taking it. in any case, ants are very prolific, so mostly a waste of time to control them with poison. ants do like a dry soil, so that tells you something. hit the aphids with horticultural soap a couple of times and they're done. no more aphids for ants to farm. horticultural soap spray is safe for ladybugs btw.
Thanks for this. I get rose aphids every year and they near destroyed my roses last year, I tried everything natural. I don’t use pesticide sprays because of the bees. An interesting video to watch is how the ants will actually clip wings off aphids and herd them like cattle on to plants. They also gently tap their backs to “milk” the honeydew out of them. Much like we treat our cattle. I’ll find a link and post here on a reply to this.
Nice. I've used borax and sugar, didn't think to use a jar. I put it on the crack they come out and covered it with a milk crate to keep the dog out of it. I will now use a jar at the crack and the garden. thanks
Great video and a wonderful family! I use altoid mint tins. I drill several holes around the edge just below the lip of the lid. Much easier for ants to crawl in and out instead of falling down into a jar. I made a couple with sugar and peanut butter! Great ideas! God bless Goshen!
I'm guessing that casual general garden watering if the "trap" lids are right above the level of the upper surface of the top-dressing mulch-layer MIGHT mitigate the drying out problem, so I'm gonna give this a try, careful to make sure a LITTLE of the watering makes it thru the access-holes in the lids of the traps. SO- _THANKS_ for the heads- _up_ ! I'll WATCH for this and decide how to proceed if I encounter the traps-drying-out problem you mention 👍. ALL the Best ! - -Chuck .
@@chuckintexas not sure if u tried this already but another heads up about this…Im in Mphs, TN…the moment that water hit the borax (I was trying to do it exactly like this video instructed which was to add water to borax & mix before adding sugar), it turned solid as a rock. I finally got it somewhat dissolved in water by heating over & over in the microwave (probably not super safe), but WHAT A PAIN! Someone in this thread said they used the borax/sugar mix without any water or other liquid. I’ll be trying that next. I did have lots of dead ants but after about 2 days, the ants weren’t interested. I swear I think there are even more ants AFTER the sugar + borax + water mixture!🤦♀️I’m curious if the borax was immediately solid bc of the humidity in my area being very high. TX is probably very humid as well…
@@lauriee5200 - Yeah, its takes a bit to learn how to filter the INFORMATION Sources from the OPINIONATORS on Y-T , but I DO know that the Borax/Sugar combo works INDOORS against crawling insects, but THAT's because indoors is LIKELY to have a far lower Humidity than a fully-watered garden ... 👍. We're reluctant to use "Commercial Pesticides" DIRECTLY on our gardens , REASONABLE , but I'm guessing that even IF the "Nest" is inside the garden itself, a perimeter application SHOULD be effective. If YOU have used a DRY-Mix of the Borax-Sugar combo and even if it killed "interested" ants the NEST is still there, that's a pretty conclusive indicator that this is generally a FAIL as a recommendation. SOME Y-T'ers SEEM more interested in getting paid for clicks-n-Views/Likes/Subs than making sure the info they "recommend" has any ACTUAL VALUE . Oh well. Back to the SEARCH for a USABLE solution ... . Good LUCK to YOU in your search ! C.
Great Vid, thanks heaps. Tried something similar years ago. Mix equal amounts of Borax and white sugar, with water, until sugar is dissolved. add Cotton balls, to soak up mix. Place cotton balls on ant trails. Unfortunately, as soon as I placed them the ants disappeared I did, keep checking every few hours over the next few days, but no signs that they ever look the bait. Worth giving this a go with our Roses though, thanks :).
cheaper alternative is water bottles work as well if you dont want to waste mason jars. wish i would have spent more time in the garden with my parents when i was a kid, you guys are doing it right!
I found a recipe long ago that worked for my boss... It was just powdered sugar and borax, mixed dry (no water). They took the crystals and powder and then never came back. My issue hasn't been ants or aphids, but cabbage worms on all of my greens. All entirely destroyed before growing (broccoli, kale, etc). This year i'm going to make sure they're covered from the moths that lay the eggs.
Spray btk it's a bacteria that explodes the stomachs of the worms. It's considered an organic farming method. If you cover your plants make sure the netting you use isn't touching the plants or it will be useless.
I keep my plants covered the whole time because of this. It is very successful. Make sure you don't leave a hole because that butterfly moth will find it. :)
It's worth while leaving ants in the garden , as they help control pests and as they dig down , help with fertiseing the soil , adding to it's drainage , as well as helping with pollination . Aphids - plant Garlic among crops which they attack , the Garrilc imparts it's waste products to the soil , which the plants take up . Aphids don't like Garlic - and will avoid it . Alternatively instead of a commercial insectacie , use a coomb of Garlic , sliced and diced , into a sterile jar with boiling water , allow to cool , then decant for garden , or leave to use as a topical antibacterial / viral , for flesh wounds - it stings when it first goes on raw Flesh . Sparayed onto vegetable & flower plants - roses etc- Aphids will depart the premises quickly . It's safe to harvest food crops a day after , and the aroma of Garlic , doesn't hang around the garden . Reapply after heavy rain . Snails & slugs , do not like sawdust , or sand to go over , so it's worthwhile putting clean sand around your garden . Calendulas , also help with keeping those two out , and the flowers can be eaten , and or , made into a skin repair cream - no adverse reactions known . The calendula , also help keep "wire worms" out of the garden - they attack the roots of your plants , and in some crops burrow right in , like potatoes and carrots and the like . All the best in your gardening ventures . I hope your subscribers , help out with tips that are useful .
David, thank you for the information on aphids. I was wondering if you have any suggestions on caterpillars. Battling them on all my squash plants. Thanks in advance!
The ingredient that should be used is "powdered boric acid," (pharmacy substance) which is completely different from borax (laundry aid). Borax does a great job getting clothes clean, but it won't do anything in this usage. The boric acid will kill ants, cockroaches and other household pests. I've used homemade boric acid and sugar traps in my home for decades because it works. Boric acid is also good to sprinkle in sneakers, cowboy boots and other footwear to kill foot odor. For cockroaches, sprinkle boric acid behind counters and appliances, and anywhere they like to hide. It will clear a home quite rapidly.
Currently sitting with a aphid problem in my garden, I noticed there is no after video? how effective was the traps and can a plant recover from the aphid virus?
It helped quite a bit. Our traps were filled with thousands of ants. If you check out our Instagram page, we posted pictures of the traps and updates after the fact. Our potatoes were badly damaged by the aphids but we were able to revive them by supplementing with nitrogen. We used liquid kelp.
Please let us know, this is great information. I had no idea that the ants were taking the aphids up! I have a fragrant rose bush that suffers every year because of it.
@@Mikkirose1 What ended up working well for me was powdered cinnamon at the base of the plant, the ants hate it. its essentially ground up tree bark if you think about it so completely natural. In turn this allows ladybugs to feast on the aphids without the ants defending them. Let me know what's your experience with it.
Excellent tip!! I envy y'all!! Haha! I wish that I had a family to start a homestead!! I grew up hunting and fishing, we had a hunting camp and everything, went every weekend.
I like to use a dishsoap/water dilution to directly spray on the aphids. The dishsoap breaks down the waxy film that protects the aphids from the sun. They will dry out and fall off in a couple of days. Spray once a day till they are gone.
Nice option which you may be able to reuse!. I try dish washing liquid diluted sprayed on the stems, the undersides and tops of the leaves, cleans them up. If there is a huge invasion, then place a plastic bag around the plant like a hairdresser's cape and let the aphids fall into the plastic, so you get a quick tidy up!
Thank you for the information on making ant traps. Just in time because with the hot weather coming the ants like to come into the house. Thank you for letting your children participate. They seem very well behaved and smart.
Try putting a little bit of bread or an old piece of a waffle in the sugar mixture the ants will take part of that bread material back to the nest guaranteeing they're going to feed it to the young and then the queen
Saluting from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Island. Thank you for the information, will try it. I love your kangabag. Von appetit baby!!!🥰 Big sister seems to be a big help.👏👏👏 Beautiful blessed family.
Borax and sugar is great. Add some hard boiled egg yolk for more power. I even use this as roach and ant bait into he house. It turns into a dry powder so the ants don't die in it. They bring it back to the nest and the mounds disappear.
When I had an ant colony right near my garden, after I made the Borax and sugar mixture and put it around the entrance, I covered it with a flower pot and a rock on top so my dogs wouldn’t get to it….. it worked…..
is there any fear or danger of the mixture coming into contact with the plants and then being in the fruit/veggies that are consumed??? Is there any risk of this?
@@theabristlebroom4378 i more meant like a young baby plant absorbing it into its roots and leaves, and then it being inside the fruit once the fruit grows/blossoms/blooms.....I know that kind of thing can happen with pesticides so was wondering if it can happen with borax.
Borax is literally a component of plant fertilizer. It provides available Boron, an essential nutrient. It is a minor nutrient and can be over applied locally to a plant, but no, there is no harm from this. Borax is used in the home as a soap. I encourage anyone concerned to direct their worry to learning some basic plant science. It's fun and super interesting!
Cool- thanks for the tip. Substitute sugar like saccharine, sweet & low sprinkled about your beds will also kill the ants, they eat it and then implode. Spent coffee grounds also work well for slugs, while nourishing the soil.
The lady who taught us in the Master Gardeners class said that the coffee grounds thing is nonsense. The spent grounds might raise the acidity a very tiny amount for acid loving plants but it is quickly washed away. Internet myths abound. Like the dumb one about putting orange peels in your garden to keep cats from pooping in it. You would literally have to cover every square inch of your yard and gardens for that to have any effect. Might be better for cats if the owners just kept them inside.
Thanks for this video. I won a few battles, but lost the war last year with the ant/aphid armies. As I was attacked on multiple fronts from caterpillars to stinkbugs and everything in between.
I walked out behind our barn where I have mulched a large area. I looked down and saw millions of tiny green bugs crawling around. It's a huge infestation of aphids. There are so many it looks like the ground is moving. It's a large area about 50 X 50 feet just covered in these things under a large conifer. I've never seen anything like it.
@@katiedotson704 - NEVER _EVER_ *_EVER_* use "Diamotaceous "Earth" for ANYTHING - ever - _ANYWHERE ! "Diamotaceous Earth" is NOT _NOT_ *_NOT_* "Earth" . It's Skeletons of near-microscopic Diatoms FRAGMENTED to the size of DUST - some of those grains of "dust" even small compared to the size of the Insects its intended to Kill/Control . Do NOT "breathe" that dust. Think Silicosis ... . It is presented as a "Natural Insect Control" product to well meaning, but often knowledge-lacking "Gardeners" as a "Natural/Organic Method of Insect Control" . Well, it "Controls" those Insects by getting under their exoskeleton segments and literally GRINDING or SANDING them to death. Besides being an ultimately PAINFUL way for the Insect to _DIE_ , *it presents a PARTICULAR Hazard to Honey Bees,* as it gets between THEIR segments, kills THEM the same way, too- but because of the particularly UNIQUE way Honey Bees have of "Communicating" (through the "Dance") and the fact that they are *"Colony"* animals, they are particularly PRONE to spreading the Diatom SKELETON Dust "Earth" to the REST of the Colony - *_KILLING_* it ! Please- IF you MUST be "Natural" - _PLEASE_ find a more humane way of KILLING YOUR HONEY BEE COLONIES ! _OR_ - if as I do - you PREFER *_NOT_* Killing off Endangered Honey Bees, there are MANY other ways of "Naturally" controlling any "Insect Problems" you may have that don't have such a MAJOR negative impact on our ENDANGERED Honey Bees ! *("NO DEFINITIVE EVIDENCE" ?!? **_Absolutely FALSE !_** )* The Girls have ENOUGH problems dealing with their OWN natural predators and OTHER problems they encounter in nature like problems with Wasps (PREDATORS) Mites, Fungal challenges and the like, that _US_ adding GRINDING ENTIRE COLONIES to death really doesn't NEED to be added to the list of things they must deal with ? Thanks ! (Oh, btw- this may SOUND "hyperbolic", but taken from the point of view - if there could BE such a thing - of the *Honey Bee* , do you REALLY still think it *_is_* ? Just asking ... . )
This definition comes from an old folk story of the Roman empire that isn't the same as the mathematical definition. Decimation literally means "movement of the decimal point". For example, 0.3, 3 and 30 are decimations of 3000. This latter definition is also truer to the notion of "close to eradicating" a population of something.
Do you know another method to get rid of aphid? They already blooming. Tried mixing baking soda + water + vegetable oil + dish liquid soap. But its burning the leaves.. wanna try the vinegar mix but heard its also can cause burn (I spray it at night)
"Decimated" came from the Roman Legions - a seldom used "disciplinary" practice used by a commander who was highly displeased with his soldiers' 'enthusiasm for command' (they weren't fighting hard enough). The soldiers were directed into a formation and every 10th soldier was identified. The other soldiers were then ordered to stone those 10% to death. THAT is, specifically, what "Decimated" means.
Check out our latest video, "Testing the TOP ORGANIC PESTICIDES at HOME DEPOT and LOWES!" ua-cam.com/video/Q961kvS1w28/v-deo.html
Thanks for all of the questions! We didn't end up releasing an update video but this method worked wonders. We ended up recovering our entire potato crop from using these traps. We have another growing season ahead and will definitely do this again. If you check out our Instagram page we did do some updates on this method.
Do you have an answer for fire ants in my garden? I know I can’t use the fire ant mound killer.
My youngest daughter’s name is Mykala! She’ll be 26 in January. Our oldest will be 36 in September.
@@hummingbird275The granular we have is in a red/orangish color bag. I think it’s Spectracide Mound Killer. I haven’t found an Amdro other than a liquid. I don’t think that one treats fire ants. If you know of a specific one, I’d be more than glad to try it. The one we have for fire ant mounds leaves a residue & you can smell it & taste it in veg/fruits used in the garden or direct in rain run off.
@@hummingbird275 Amdro is great for the yard areas, but is toxic and shouldn’t be used in the vegetable garden.
Chickens/Ducks in your veg garden will take care of a lot pests.
Make Certain kids & pets don’t get into borax as it is deadly to them also!
when I was young I tried to start an ant farm by putting a ton of sugar and dirt into a jar and setting it near a tree by our house. it was so successful, the ants moved their colony and their queen into the farm. I was so happy I closed the jar with a lid and poked some tiny holes in it. turns out the holes were too small and all the ants suffocated. I was sad, but my mom was super happy, because I solved our ant problem
Guess going back in time and killing hitler as a boy wont be enough
I did ant farms years back. Something went wrong, and the whole colony moved out like a magic trick. They all took their shit and left one night. They live under the sink now. I don't have the heart to spray them... yet.
They seem to be moving out of the house the last few years. They do no harm.
Hahahaha. You made my morning.
Now that's funny, but I'm sorry for your loss.
@@mmercier0921 I have ants that seem to come and go in my kitchen as well, and you’re right, they do no harm so I just let them be; same in the garden
That reminds me of my grandson when he was 5 and I babysat in the summer. He would follow us around and want to help take care of the garden. He’s now 12 and had planted his own garden the last 2 years. His mom said his garden did very good and he loved looking after it. I’m so proud of him. When building his garden he would say “ that’s what grandpa said to do”😀
Cute,good stuff🇺🇸❤️
❤️❤️❤️
💞 Bravo! For loving your grandson and teaching him something he will use all of his life. You made him some good memories!
Martha, I love your comment. I just taught my grandson (4 yrs. old,) how to hunt for red lily beetles and also what their eggs look like (orange.) His parents are teaching him to help with vegetable gardening as well.
Does anyone have any ideas on what I can use in UK, where Borax is an illegal substance. I have borax substitute but think the poisonous ingredient is missing to make it legal here. Any suggestions welcome, thank you x
Love how she is teaching her kids and she is positive with them telling them good job this is what a family's all about. Keep working the land.
And the patience too 😮
1:5 Ratio Sugar & Borax
1 tsp of Borax
Add water mix well.
5 tsp of Sugar
Mix with water to make a paste.
Mix in a ball mason jar, drill holes in lid.
Thank you so much
Thank you!
Borax and honey also works well. No water needed.
Thank you for sharing.
Tqvm ❤️
This is a great method. I used it myself but I discovered that there are two types of ants: those who love sugar and those who love fat/oil. So, in case sugar does not work for you (as it didn't with me) you can try replacing it with some butter or oil.
Good to know, but I believe the ants that farm aphids that produce honey dew are attracted to sugar.
@@beccagee5905 Agreed. Thank you for tip. Enjoy your day. 🐛🦋🐛🦋
@@conniealford1020 You're very welcome, and hope your day is wonderful.
Can you use something else with sugar or fat/ butter besides borax Ratio is 1-4 ( the four is 4 parts sugar. Mixed with water and stirred into a paste. Have you seen ants crawling in and out?
@@johnnygag1 Borax doesnt instantly kill the ants,so its natural that some might crawl out but they would die after a day or two and can even spread it within their colony.As for a borax substitute,I dont really know a less toxic substance but if youre looking for something stronger,fipronil does the trick as well although it is more toxic and you should handle it with care
I'm an old fart and I should say that we have been using borax and sugar to control ants since the late 50s. My mother made a mixture of borax and sugar, = quantities, + water to a syrup consistency, which ants go for. They imbibe themselves fat then return to nest to feed larvae. Then they croak and get eaten by their mates, renewing the cycle. Both borax and sugar are cheap and ants cannot build up a resistance to it. But remember that ants, like wasps, have preferences for carbohydrates or proteins depending on the stage of their reproductive cycle. Your own observation will be the best guide as my locality (far north of NZ) will be different in both ant species and climatic considerations. Cheers 🙂
I will do this
Colin- Hi ! Didn't KNOW this about ants - the life-cycle thing !
But was even MORE interested in how the effect gets back to the MOUND - in OUR case the _NEST_ and does the _work_ of _removing the _*_threat_* .
THANKS !!
And-
ALL the BEST from Texas ! -
-Chuck .
I suppose this may work with bacon grease and borax for grease ants.
Colin, thanks for adding in your thoughts. I will try this with both sugar + Borax and bacon grease + Borax.
Borax also works to kill cockroaches!
I love this . Her daughter is engaged , she understands’poison ‘ and knows it will kill the ants. She is very assertive in the process which means she can likely repeat it and take over later if mom isn’t around or she inherits the garden . Very smart to get the kids involved when they are at an age of understanding. Wish my parents had involved me as a kid. My brother learned the hard way putting a box of borax under the faucet and turning it on full blast .. lost part of his vision .. but the doctors said most of the retina damage was due to birth and hospitalization in an oxygen tent . Horrific . He was 9 and would never have touched the borax had he known it was poison . But they didn’t believe in teaching
Yes VERY ASSERTIVE AND ANNOYING
@@hummingbird275 I bet you are a great parent….. children should be seen and not heard? Are your children little robots, stuck away, out of sight and sound ?
@@cyann410 They are certainly taught not to interrupt when an adult is speaking. You think a child interrupting an adult is wonderful. Your kids ( hopefully you don’t have any) interrupt,& talk over their elders, showing ignorance and disrespect. I express my opinion based on your ignorance.
@@hummingbird275 You are annoying.
@@cyann410 our children are interactive, but they are also respectful & don't rudely interrupt! They also love learning about nutrition & good health & how to properly grow your own food! And the full engagement adds to us all!
I wish I would have grown up with family members that taught me at a young age the things that you're teaching your daughter. When your daughter is 18 she'll know twice as much as everyone else and will not have missed out on any childhood joys. Daughter actually wants to learn she's very interested in this and it would be a sin to hinder her from learning it. Meanwhile the haters are buying motorized bicycles for their children. They honestly think they're doing their kids a favor.
Just because some families do things differently, doesn't mean it is wrong. Nothing wrong with a motorized bicycle, it isn't a matter of "favor" or anything else. "twice" as much as who? Einstein?
@@justinecamp7922 Actually there is an issue with a motorized bicycle or any other device that eliminates the capability of children burning calories. Kids are on the computers, cell phones and all kinds of electronic toys and are getting little to no exercise a day. I'm watching the population get fatter and fatter. Oprah may like it but it's not healthy for you. It is not good in childhood to be trained on electronic devices that keep you from exertion. It's not like these kids are vegetarians, in fact they're far from it. The Vietnam war, when they did autopsies, a very high percentage had clog arteries and most of these men were in their twenties and exercised. Bad food and no exercise leads to strokes, heart attacks and death at a very early age even if you're not in a war; before 50 as an example. I promise you it's not a jealousy thing. I suppose you think I'm imagining this. I work in an old building, built in the sixties that was a standard build for that time period. People were a lot thinner and could actually walk into a bathroom stall without having to turn sideways to get in. Now people have to turn sideways to get in the stall if they're over size 12 in an old building. I know this from practice and I've watched other ladies do it as well.
@@DJ-oy3zz My sister has kids aged 15 to 1 year they are all fine they have all kinds of electronic devices but they also play outside, with the constant warming of the Earth they have to have alternatives. It has been 100 degrees every day for the last week where they live, it is not safe for them to play outside.
@@justinecamp7922As much as i agree with your first comment on families doing things differently, it is safe for kids to play outside, and don't think its right to keep them indoors based on propaganda by hyped up activists like greta thunberg, who doesn't have a clue. You also deprive them of natural vitamin d. The earth has only heated up 1°F in the last 100 years! Do the research, instead of having a confirmation bias based on conspiracy theorists and cult climate groups. Also, kids can wear longsleeves, sunscreen or shades outside.
DJ-oy3zz, you are what people call a moralistic wannabe. You moral grandstand, while having very strong opinions of what is right & wrong, and probably get offended easily when other people don't share your values or personal beliefs, yet you think its ok to teach kids to kill animals with borax! That's narcissistic.
I love that you have the whole family involved in gardening. These are not only lifelong skills that they are learning, but memories the whole family will always treasure. Thank you for sharing your ant/aphid experience and your earth-friendly pest control techniques.
How interesting and so fantastic that she takes her daughter and teaches her ! Mom is so patient and loving and her daughter is the recipient of the greatest teacher she will have in life. And the baby is enjoying being close to mom and hearing her voice and sisters voice. As a mom of 5 and grandmother of 15 I am very impressed. Daddy also teaching and instructing and solid with his wife and family 🥰🍀
Sounds like your family could have benefited from some BIRTH CONTROL. It is readily available these days.
I used the same formula with a 2:6 ratio of borax to sugar and I used a salad dressing bottle (the flat ones) with cotton balls in the bottle and then put the syrup all over the cotton balls to saturate them. I laid the bottles down along the path of my carpenter ants (2 nests) that were eating my landscape ties around my driveway! Within 2-3 days, my ants were gone and have not come back! It has been over 5 years. The cotton balls hold the syrup and give the ants something to walk on while feeding on the syrup! Your way and my way seem to work equally about the same! I only use glass because I can reuse the bottles if necessary, and animals are less likely to be attracted to glass and they don't roll! Good luck and God Bless!
I dont understand. Do u lay down the dressing bottle and put the cotton balls in it. Im confused 🤔
Cutsey Bunny....... Yes, you put the cotton balls in the jar, pour in the "ant syrup" to saturated the cotton balls and lay it down where the ants are and they will find it, eat the syrup and bring it back to the nest and share it with the rest of the colony and within a few days, no more ants! Hope this explains things! God Bless!
Michael Anderson.....We still have glass bottles here in NY, but you can use the plastic ones. The important thing is the flatness so it does not roll away! For that matter you can use whatever you want to hold the cotton balls and syrup, this is just what I use and it worked for me. God Bless!
I had success with a 1:8 and 1:7 ratio with boric acid but it doesn’t dissolve very easy. I just tried a 1:7 with dry sugar and boric acid. Use confectioners sugar and they mix really well. The ants loved it…for a couple days. Now there’s almost no ants in my house anymore
Borax dissolves better with hot water
@@lovecats6856 I don’t doubt that seeing as I’ve used it in the laundry to clean my hunting clothes in cold water and it resolved as well.
I’ve taken to making dry batches of this lately. It worked just as well. Used a mortar and pestle to make a fine pounder of the sugar and the ants came to it in droves. Inside of a week they were gone.
Different types of ants require different concentrations. We have tiny red fire ants that die using a 25% borax mixture, and a more hardy large black fire ant variety that needs a 50% mix. Either way, the mixture works like magic.
thanks very much I made a note of that.
@@verreal yellow red, but then we live near the Amazon in SA, in a semi tropical area, so we would have our own distinct species. Ants no matter where they live pretty much dislike boron.
No the ant fig it out after cupl days and stop feedind its waste time foliar neem oil👍
Thanks gives me hope
@@stevehall7372 foliar jwa
Thank you for making this video. I'm having this problem myself. I'm running out of my essential oils and needed another way until I can get more from town. But I use, normally, 10 drops rosemary EO, 10 drops peppermint EO, 10 drops Clove EO, 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dawn dish soap, and about 1pt of rain water or tap water if you are not allowed to collect...in a spray bottle. Shake before spraying and it works immediately. Unfortunately, like other soapy products, you have to reapply after it rains. But it does work well. I'm going to try the peppermint soap and even the borax sugar slurry. Thank you all!
Any soap works and there are a lot safer things than dawn.
I love how involved and engaged ur daughter is in your family garden. So hard to compete with all the digital distractions. This is true learning and real life skills.
I love the fact that no other animal can get into it like a family dog or farm cats as borax is indiscriminate of what it kills. So keep it contained so as not to poison other things. Good Job!
Borax by a slightly different name is in your eye drops and contact lens solution. Did you know that. We literally put it in our eyes. Look that up.
In small doses this should not kill dogs or cats. It will however cause gastrointestinal issues. If they ate the contents of a jar it would likely cause them to have diarrhea. If they are the whole box… Kidney damage and/or failure. It’s about a weight vs quantity thing. I’d wager they wouldn’t eat the stuff more than once either way lol
I might try this inside for ants instead of terro, I get sick of that sticky stuff leaking out
Borax wouldn't kill a dog or cat... or human.
It's not poisonous to humans, dogs or cats! Except in extremely large amounts. It's a mineral, boron. I drink a little dissolved in water every day for healing osteoarthritis and possibly nerve damage. Many benefits.
Works like a charm! I’ve been using this method for years and it is unbelievably effective. This is the best video I’ve ever seen to teach people how to take care of this problem!
Is it one part of borax or sugar?
@@susanf.2248 borax
How do they find their way back out of the jar if a lid is on with only holes?
Your daughter reminds me of ours when she was young. I would give her the facts, tools and stand back. Good for you folks!
Oh , I just love the time she is spending and teaching her children..just beautiful ...
That little girl is a doll ! We need more like her, she's a doer !
Borax and peanut butter is a good mixture for the ants' protein cycle. I like the idea of small mason jars with holes in the lid to protect domestic pets. I will use that in the house, too!
Thanks, Susan. Kids learn from their parents as they have for years.
God bless them for teaching their children 🙏
Thank you! I had no idea about how ants and aphids worked together. We’re doing this tomorrow!
The ants treat the aphids like cattle and herd them around and protect them, then they get the honeydew as the harvest. If aphids were alone ladybugs would generally wipe them out.
I LOVE these wish parents that are teaching their children gardening skills. I am working side by side our 22 yr old married grandson on his 5 acres farm. He recently told me it was my garden he helped me in when he was 6 that inspired him to “Work the Land, toil in the soil and raise small animals.” ❤❤
Love the patients with your daughter! Encouraging curiosity and participation shows ❤️
It's not easy, but it is vitally important - or they end up in the street murdering people.
Patience as well!
Your daughter is cute...and she seems to be smart, and it's admirable that you are taking opportunities to teach her gardening skills, however, when you are teaching her, and when she is included in one of your "teaching videos" for those who want to learn, it's important to teach her to not keep interrupting and talking over you...or her parents, in general. (I taught successfully for over two decades and brought up my own children as well. One of the first things their taught in the classroom is to not interrupt others who are talking, unless it's an emergency. (I also taught jr. and senior high and university level .) This was an excellent video, and I am adding your channel to my library here, in my gardening folder. I have just recently started gardening in earnest, and I feel that your video is going to add some valuable information, to help me be successful in my endeavors! My only frustration with this otherwise excellent video, was the fact that I had to keep moving it back to "re-listen", to what you just said because your daughter kept talking over you. I just noticed that this video was posted 3 years ago....so perhaps since she's three years older, now, she no longer interrupts constantly! What a wonderful place for your children to learn.
I make this exact slurry, but in an old bucket, and go around the garden plopping it down the ant holes with an old spoon. They have to clear the mixture to go in and out, which they do, taking it down into the colony. I only need to redo about every 3 years. The birds don't touch it because the ants are in a frenzy. Problem solved, even with a huge colony in nextdoor's property...we didnot have to enter...we put it on their trail, in our garden, and they took it back down to the nest in the field... Ta-dah! 😁🚫🐜🐜🐜
What if a dog or cat...or kid...eats it?
@@ricosuave5120 There are several options to prevent this...do it as the sun goes down, and children are inside. The ants will work all night to clear the tunnel entrance. By morning, there will hardly be a trace. I try to find entrances that are not in the same yard as my dogs, but the ants do go mad, so my dogs stay well back if l really have to use it where they are. Supervision works. You can tether the dog until the sugar-mix has gone and distract them with meaty bones...away from the site.! I would not tether the children! 😂 They can be kept away until it clears. I have never had a problem in 15 years. But you could google boron ingestion . Most of the gloop goes sliding down the hole anyway. And, like l said, it's covered in ants in panic mode! Do a google (the ingestion would only be 1-2 level teaspons at the most, per treatment site) ,have a think, then give it a try. Hope this has been useful.🙂🍯🚫🐜
@@ricosuave5120 I used some Torror ant bait/killer. My golden retriever ate it. I called the vet, and they looked up the ingredients- borax and sugar… the vet said it won’t kill the dog, just make him sick. They just put a few drops of peroxide in his eye, and in a few minutes he vomited. They sent us home ! Won’t kill animals or kids, just give them stomach aches.
There ya go! I’m making mine in a bucket too. They don’t need fancy. Lol!
@@lilyLily1824 hope it goes well. I missed a couple of nests, due to being busy with Other Stuff, and our ants have hibernated, now, being winter, but l shall be ready to greet them with boron treats, when they awaken in the spring! I hate killing them, but when they make life miserable, it's them or me. 🚫🐜👍All the best!
I've used this for years and it works really well. I put it on a cotton ball inside the house because I don't have pets or little kids. I will try the jar trick. Thank you.
Be sure the holes are small! The bees may get in if the holes are too big. This mix will kill pollinators too.
I am glad you mentioned this I was thinking about the wasp in the spring they eat sugar and and the fall they eat meat. You are right though the honey bee's will get into this
Thanks for that tip!! I may have made my holes to big...
thanks I'll make sure its small so no bees and wasps getting into it
the little one is so helpful and informed. What a cool kid!
Several years ago when I was combing through our potato plants and picking off beetle larvae, I noticed black ants attacking and eating the larvae. So much so, that as I went through the row, plants that had ants around had no larvae, and the plants with no / very few ants had eggs and larvae. I don't remember exactly how large the black ants were. I'm realizing there are multiple types of ants, the longer I enjoy organic gardening.
You got the best young helper right there anyone can ask for!
I didn’t know the ants helped the aphids travel and then fed on their “sap” waste. Makes total sense this relationship and also explains how aphids got into my apartment and onto one of my orchid flowers as I had also had an issue with any prior. Now the ants are gone I’m treating this one orchid to remove the aphids and try to prevent them coming back.
Because they don't. This video has misinformation. Ants do not carry aphids from plants to plants and aphids do not have viruses.
@@CH-wd1me nope
Yes, several ant species do farm for and herd aphids and while the aphids do not generally carry viruses, the damage they cause opens the plants up to a diverse range of plant illnesses. Several studies have been published on the matter. McGill University and Ohio State are the first two that spring to mind that have published lengthy studies concerning the mutualism relationship.
@@CH-wd1me you are wrong dude, ants farm aphids lol I can confirm
@@CH-wd1me Ants farm aphids for the honey dew. I learned this in school nearly fifty years ago.
So that little girl is learning physical science, biology, chemistry and self-sustainability…along with a marketing skill. That’s some awesome education and life leaning skills. Good on you mom!
Thanks! They are a major problem here as well. I just put borax on my shopping list, maybe this year the garden will do better... Your great parents teaching your kids outdoor life instead of living on cell phones :-) I can still picture the berries and dill my parents grew many years ago, forgot what else grew :-)
Ants are generally helping in the garden, eating insects that are harmful to plants, cleaning up the garden and improving soil. Having an aphids problem, even if the ants are involved, I would consider that a problem with lack of ladybirds. Usually in my garden problems with aphids is only a temporary problem in mid spring before the ladybird populations really start to take over. So if this doesn’t happen I would think there’s something wrong with the eco system. Another thing I noticed is that the few plants who in the period without ladybirds have problem with black ants doesn’t really seem to be harmed.
thanks for posting great info, just to add to the conversation. i have tried borax with sugar also, seems to work great, and seen several videos talking about it.
last time i mixed half and half, make a liquid not a paste, and sometimes i make a dry mix, to place next to the wet liquid ( for the ants to take home ).
so looking at what you are doing it all seems to work.
i am american in tropical philippines and wow do we have ants. had a sweet corn crop failure one time dug up the seed and dang the seeds were all hollow, seemed ants had gone after it. i need to order more borax.so many things like that are hard to get here.
you might look into how some use borax for health improvement. it is a trace element that people need in very small amounts
You just saved my garden !!! I'm learning trial by fire style with pests and disease in my garden. I am battling aphids like crazy and I recently noticed that one of my raised beds is LOADED with ants. I've lost all of my chard and so many tomato plants that I grew from seed successfully for the first time. I could cry that this popped up in my suggested videos because I had no idea of the connection with ants and aphids. Thank you!
I hope it works quickly! We are releasing a video tomorrow evening about aphids and getting rid of them with diatamaceous earth/DE. You can use both methods simultaneously!
So cool! Getting rid of those little buggers! We have both also, on ornamental plants (Plumeria). Nice to see kids in the garden. Growing up, my dad & grandpa had a garden that we are allowed to help. Pulling weeds was my least favorite 🤣 But harvest was so much fun! We would eat “Tommy toes” off of the plants and grandpa would have us pick a lope which he would cut open with his pocket knife & serve to up on the back porch☺ I remember many times, sitting under a tree, listening to a ball game on the radio and snapping beans. Those were the days! 🥰
Loved your video. Just hard to hear when the kids were talking at the same time as you were, so missed some of what you were saying. But great that you are including them in your endeavours!!
Love your raised beds! Will definitely be using the ant and aphid traps. Thanks and be Blessed.
This is great info. Thank you. I can use this in a couple of large pots with favourite plants in. And best thing is the chicks can't get to it. Your daughter is wonderful, she will be a beautiful person when she grows up. I'm a new subscriber! Stay safe.
Thank you for this video, I will definitely be doing this. Also, I love that your FANS are sticking up for you and your wife teaching your children a skill that will last forever. My mother did the same thing with my sisters and I, and till this day I am still doing gardening. Thanks again!
Good job mama and daddy teaching your daughter. You have to be an awesome mama to do a video, hold your baby and teach us and your daughter at the same time. May God bless you and your family.
Your raising her right .Great Mother. Bravo
Thanks for this advise. Borax and sugar was put in infants mouths in the 1920s to treat thrush. My grandmother shared this and I subsequently read it in an infant care book from that era.
Yikes borax is toxic!
@@lovecats6856 please calm down. The poison is in the dose. Water can be toxic in excess. Table salt is incredibly toxic in fairly low amounts. Boron is an essential plant nutrient and even a vital human nutrient! To much kills plants and humans.
When you feel scared, direct that toward learning the facts.
I have the same problem! I'm going to try this and the castile soap spray too, I make my own so I'll use that. Thanks so much!
I also had a problem growing my lettuce a year ago but now this vid can help me now 😄
Omg I don’t even want to read the comments. What a sweetheart and perfect helper! Great moms rock!
borax and sugar/honey is hit and miss. sometimes it kills half a nest and they stop taking it. in any case, ants are very prolific, so mostly a waste of time to control them with poison. ants do like a dry soil, so that tells you something. hit the aphids with horticultural soap a couple of times and they're done. no more aphids for ants to farm. horticultural soap spray is safe for ladybugs btw.
Example of a Mother!! Bravo!
Thanks for this. I get rose aphids every year and they near destroyed my roses last year, I tried everything natural. I don’t use pesticide sprays because of the bees. An interesting video to watch is how the ants will actually clip wings off aphids and herd them like cattle on to plants. They also gently tap their backs to “milk” the honeydew out of them. Much like we treat our cattle. I’ll find a link and post here on a reply to this.
ua-cam.com/video/DnpJibC5iA0/v-deo.html
Nice. I've used borax and sugar, didn't think to use a jar. I put it on the crack they come out and covered it with a milk crate to keep the dog out of it. I will now use a jar at the crack and the garden. thanks
Great video and a wonderful family!
I use altoid mint tins. I drill several holes around the edge just below the lip of the lid. Much easier for ants to crawl in and out instead of falling down into a jar. I made a couple with sugar and peanut butter! Great ideas!
God bless Goshen!
Your daughter is precious, Mom's little helper! 🤗
Incredible education you just gave us! Thank you
Such a good mom, i know how hard it can be, your doing amazing. Mines 21 it goes so fast, savor your time while the are young.
Very informative and great teaching children how to take care of the garden and that some ingredients are poison kids are smart and learn fast 😀
Thanks so much for sharing that is a great idea how do you get rid of those little red bugs I have those in my garden
The problem with this mixture is that it dries and hardens in a couple of days, it never worked with me.
I'm guessing that casual general garden watering if the "trap" lids are right above the level of the upper surface of the top-dressing mulch-layer MIGHT mitigate the drying out problem, so I'm gonna give this a try, careful to make sure a LITTLE of the watering makes it thru the access-holes in the lids of the traps.
SO-
_THANKS_ for the heads- _up_ !
I'll WATCH for this and decide how to proceed if I encounter the traps-drying-out problem you mention 👍.
ALL the Best ! -
-Chuck .
@@chuckintexas not sure if u tried this already but another heads up about this…Im in Mphs, TN…the moment that water hit the borax (I was trying to do it exactly like this video instructed which was to add water to borax & mix before adding sugar), it turned solid as a rock. I finally got it somewhat dissolved in water by heating over & over in the microwave (probably not super safe), but WHAT A PAIN! Someone in this thread said they used the borax/sugar mix without any water or other liquid. I’ll be trying that next. I did have lots of dead ants but after about 2 days, the ants weren’t interested. I swear I think there are even more ants AFTER the sugar + borax + water mixture!🤦♀️I’m curious if the borax was immediately solid bc of the humidity in my area being very high. TX is probably very humid as well…
@@lauriee5200 - Yeah, its takes a bit to learn how to filter the INFORMATION Sources from the OPINIONATORS on Y-T , but I DO know that the Borax/Sugar combo works INDOORS against crawling insects, but THAT's because indoors is LIKELY to have a far lower Humidity than a fully-watered garden ... 👍.
We're reluctant to use "Commercial Pesticides" DIRECTLY on our gardens , REASONABLE , but I'm guessing that even IF the "Nest" is inside the garden itself, a perimeter application SHOULD be effective.
If YOU have used a DRY-Mix of the Borax-Sugar combo and even if it killed "interested" ants the NEST is still there, that's a pretty conclusive indicator that this is generally a FAIL as a recommendation.
SOME Y-T'ers SEEM more interested in getting paid for clicks-n-Views/Likes/Subs than making sure the info they "recommend" has any ACTUAL VALUE .
Oh well. Back to the SEARCH for a USABLE solution ... .
Good LUCK to YOU in your search !
C.
Great Vid, thanks heaps. Tried something similar years ago. Mix equal amounts of Borax and white sugar, with water, until sugar is dissolved. add Cotton balls, to soak up mix. Place cotton balls on ant trails. Unfortunately, as soon as I placed them the ants disappeared I did, keep checking every few hours over the next few days, but no signs that they ever look the bait. Worth giving this a go with our Roses though, thanks :).
Great video thank you so much! You have such a beautiful family😃 I love how your daughter was being so helpful with mom 🤗🤗🤗God bless 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Great information. I think it’s great to see the children involved. Better than playing video games. You have a lovely family.
Thank You for sharing this video. I also have an ant and aphid problem. I will give it a try.
cheaper alternative is water bottles work as well if you dont want to waste mason jars. wish i would have spent more time in the garden with my parents when i was a kid, you guys are doing it right!
I found a recipe long ago that worked for my boss... It was just powdered sugar and borax, mixed dry (no water). They took the crystals and powder and then never came back.
My issue hasn't been ants or aphids, but cabbage worms on all of my greens. All entirely destroyed before growing (broccoli, kale, etc). This year i'm going to make sure they're covered from the moths that lay the eggs.
companion planting may help, and monitor soil health and pH seems crucial.
Spray btk it's a bacteria that explodes the stomachs of the worms. It's considered an organic farming method. If you cover your plants make sure the netting you use isn't touching the plants or it will be useless.
I keep my plants covered the whole time because of this. It is very successful. Make sure you don't leave a hole because that butterfly moth will find it. :)
What are u covering them with?
@@barbaradumler6503 what are u covering them with?
Love how you say "water." I grew up in MD, and i miss hearing it said like that.
It's worth while leaving ants in the garden , as they help control pests and as they dig down , help with fertiseing the soil , adding to it's drainage , as well as helping with pollination .
Aphids - plant Garlic among crops which they attack , the Garrilc imparts it's waste products to the soil , which the plants take up . Aphids don't like Garlic - and will avoid it . Alternatively instead of a commercial insectacie , use a coomb of Garlic , sliced and diced , into a sterile jar with boiling water , allow to cool , then decant for garden , or leave to use as a topical antibacterial / viral , for flesh wounds - it stings when it first goes on raw Flesh .
Sparayed onto vegetable & flower plants - roses etc- Aphids will depart the premises quickly . It's safe to harvest food crops a day after , and the aroma of Garlic , doesn't hang around the garden . Reapply after heavy rain .
Snails & slugs , do not like sawdust , or sand to go over , so it's worthwhile putting clean sand around your garden .
Calendulas , also help with keeping those two out , and the flowers can be eaten , and or , made into a skin repair cream - no adverse reactions known . The calendula , also help keep "wire worms" out of the garden - they attack the roots of your plants , and in some crops burrow right in , like potatoes and carrots and the like .
All the best in your gardening ventures .
I hope your subscribers , help out with tips that are useful .
Ants will farm aphids.
David, thank you for the information on aphids. I was wondering if you have any suggestions on caterpillars. Battling them on all my squash plants. Thanks in advance!
Fire ants for u
Nope. They don’t serve any purpose in my garden at all other than encouraging other pests.
The ingredient that should be used is "powdered boric acid," (pharmacy substance) which is completely different from borax (laundry aid). Borax does a great job getting clothes clean, but it won't do anything in this usage. The boric acid will kill ants, cockroaches and other household pests. I've used homemade boric acid and sugar traps in my home for decades because it works. Boric acid is also good to sprinkle in sneakers, cowboy boots and other footwear to kill foot odor. For cockroaches, sprinkle boric acid behind counters and appliances, and anywhere they like to hide. It will clear a home quite rapidly.
Currently sitting with a aphid problem in my garden, I noticed there is no after video?
how effective was the traps and can a plant recover from the aphid virus?
It helped quite a bit. Our traps were filled with thousands of ants. If you check out our Instagram page, we posted pictures of the traps and updates after the fact. Our potatoes were badly damaged by the aphids but we were able to revive them by supplementing with nitrogen. We used liquid kelp.
Children ate all sugary paste.
Please let us know, this is great information. I had no idea that the ants were taking the aphids up! I have a fragrant rose bush that suffers every year because of it.
@@Mikkirose1 What ended up working well for me was powdered cinnamon at the base of the plant, the ants hate it. its essentially ground up tree bark if you think about it so completely natural. In turn this allows ladybugs to feast on the aphids without the ants defending them. Let me know what's your experience with it.
@@Haxotic - Powdered Cinnamon around the base of potentially affected plants.
EXCELLENT ! _THANKS_ !!
They go after the sickest part of your plant. Love the bait lettace.. great idea.
Excellent tip!! I envy y'all!! Haha! I wish that I had a family to start a homestead!! I grew up hunting and fishing, we had a hunting camp and everything, went every weekend.
I like to use a dishsoap/water dilution to directly spray on the aphids. The dishsoap breaks down the waxy film that protects the aphids from the sun. They will dry out and fall off in a couple of days. Spray once a day till they are gone.
Thank you so much for sharing 😃 Im going to try this in my garden right now the ants are attacking my herb garden 😩
Did it work well?
Nice option which you may be able to reuse!. I try dish washing liquid diluted sprayed on the stems, the undersides and tops of the leaves, cleans them up. If there is a huge invasion, then place a plastic bag around the plant like a hairdresser's cape and let the aphids fall into the plastic, so you get a quick tidy up!
Thank you for the information on making ant traps. Just in time because with the hot weather coming the ants like to come into the house.
Thank you for letting your children participate. They seem very well behaved and smart.
I notice more any inside when it's rainy or shortly after
Thanks for this info! I often wondered how to rid both these insects...I'm going to try this this week.
Try putting a little bit of bread or an old piece of a waffle in the sugar mixture the ants will take part of that bread material back to the nest guaranteeing they're going to feed it to the young and then the queen
THANK YOU 4 sharing this educational and most usefull vídeo, Best regards from Perú
1 part borax to 5 parts sugar, then add water 💦 to make a paste.
Saluting from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Island. Thank you for the information, will try it.
I love your kangabag. Von appetit baby!!!🥰 Big sister seems to be a big help.👏👏👏 Beautiful blessed family.
Borax and sugar is great. Add some hard boiled egg yolk for more power. I even use this as roach and ant bait into he house. It turns into a dry powder so the ants don't die in it. They bring it back to the nest and the mounds disappear.
#riphumanity
Did u break up the hard boiled egg yolk? Did u use any water/liquid?
Cute kids!! Love seeing them learning about nature and being self sufficient
When I had an ant colony right near my garden, after I made the Borax and sugar mixture and put it around the entrance, I covered it with a flower pot and a rock on top so my dogs wouldn’t get to it….. it worked…..
I sure needed this! aphids on my azaleas ruin the leaves every year, I’ll try the soap spray for sure
is there any fear or danger of the mixture coming into contact with the plants and then being in the fruit/veggies that are consumed??? Is there any risk of this?
You wash garden food before eating it, I hope? If so, then there is no possibility of eating the borax.
@@theabristlebroom4378 i more meant like a young baby plant absorbing it into its roots and leaves, and then it being inside the fruit once the fruit grows/blossoms/blooms.....I know that kind of thing can happen with pesticides so was wondering if it can happen with borax.
Borax is literally a component of plant fertilizer. It provides available Boron, an essential nutrient. It is a minor nutrient and can be over applied locally to a plant, but no, there is no harm from this. Borax is used in the home as a soap.
I encourage anyone concerned to direct their worry to learning some basic plant science. It's fun and super interesting!
Saw this online recently only one to four ratio difference worked amazingly thanks for spreading the word...
I use small cans with lids punch holes on the side so it limits water inside and mix borax with Karo syrup
Great information, also spray neem oil mixture on ant mounds it kills the mound. And the aphids.
Cool- thanks for the tip. Substitute sugar like saccharine, sweet & low sprinkled about your beds will also kill the ants, they eat it and then implode. Spent coffee grounds also work well for slugs, while nourishing the soil.
If sweet and low does that to ants, I wonder what its doing to us!?
The lady who taught us in the Master Gardeners class said that the coffee grounds thing is nonsense. The spent grounds might raise the acidity a very tiny amount for acid loving plants but it is quickly washed away. Internet myths abound. Like the dumb one about putting orange peels in your garden to keep cats from pooping in it. You would literally have to cover every square inch of your yard and gardens for that to have any effect. Might be better for cats if the owners just kept them inside.
@@y0nd3r don't really do the grounds for the nutrients mostly to repel the slugs
@Lantlo lol our slugs must not be drinkers, the beer never worked
@@tdubbs934 true- never use the stuff- thankfully- but yes really makes you wonder right
Thanks for this video. I won a few battles, but lost the war last year with the ant/aphid armies. As I was attacked on multiple fronts from caterpillars to stinkbugs and everything in between.
Great tips guys, I’ve got this same problem and going to try this out. Kids were great helpers out there
Great video....keep those kids in the garden! Memories for life.👍👍
I walked out behind our barn where I have mulched a large area. I looked down and saw millions of tiny green bugs crawling around. It's a huge infestation of aphids. There are so many it looks like the ground is moving. It's a large area about 50 X 50 feet just covered in these things under a large conifer. I've never seen anything like it.
@@katiedotson704 Thanks. I'll try to remember this when Ohio warms up. I had forgotten that happened last summer. That was creepy.
@@katiedotson704 - NEVER _EVER_ *_EVER_* use "Diamotaceous "Earth" for ANYTHING - ever - _ANYWHERE !
"Diamotaceous Earth" is NOT _NOT_ *_NOT_* "Earth" .
It's Skeletons of near-microscopic Diatoms FRAGMENTED to the size of DUST - some of those grains of "dust" even small compared to the size of the Insects its intended to Kill/Control . Do NOT "breathe" that dust. Think Silicosis ... .
It is presented as a "Natural Insect Control" product to well meaning, but often knowledge-lacking "Gardeners" as a "Natural/Organic Method of Insect Control" .
Well, it "Controls" those Insects by getting under their exoskeleton segments and literally GRINDING or SANDING them to death.
Besides being an ultimately PAINFUL way for the Insect to _DIE_ ,
*it presents a PARTICULAR Hazard to Honey Bees,* as it gets between THEIR segments, kills THEM the same way, too- but because of the particularly UNIQUE way Honey Bees have of "Communicating" (through the "Dance") and the fact that they are *"Colony"* animals, they are particularly PRONE to spreading the Diatom SKELETON Dust "Earth" to the REST of the Colony - *_KILLING_* it !
Please- IF you MUST be "Natural" - _PLEASE_ find a more humane way of KILLING YOUR HONEY BEE COLONIES ! _OR_ - if as I do - you PREFER *_NOT_* Killing off Endangered Honey Bees, there are MANY other ways of "Naturally" controlling any "Insect Problems" you may have that don't have such a MAJOR negative impact on our ENDANGERED Honey Bees !
*("NO DEFINITIVE EVIDENCE" ?!? **_Absolutely FALSE !_** )*
The Girls have ENOUGH problems dealing with their OWN natural predators and OTHER problems they encounter in nature like problems with Wasps (PREDATORS) Mites, Fungal challenges and the like, that _US_ adding GRINDING ENTIRE COLONIES to death really doesn't NEED to be added to the list of things they must deal with ?
Thanks !
(Oh, btw-
this may SOUND "hyperbolic", but taken from the point of view - if there could BE such a thing - of the *Honey Bee* , do you REALLY still think it *_is_* ? Just asking ... . )
Great idea thank you! It’s my first year gardening and I’m having a hard time keeping the aphids off of my pepper plants.
"Decimated" means reduced by 10%. "Devastated" is better when it comes to aphids. Thanks for the great recipe!
This definition comes from an old folk story of the Roman empire that isn't the same as the mathematical definition. Decimation literally means "movement of the decimal point". For example, 0.3, 3 and 30 are decimations of 3000. This latter definition is also truer to the notion of "close to eradicating" a population of something.
Do you know another method to get rid of aphid? They already blooming. Tried mixing baking soda + water + vegetable oil + dish liquid soap. But its burning the leaves.. wanna try the vinegar mix but heard its also can cause burn (I spray it at night)
"Decimated" came from the Roman Legions - a seldom used "disciplinary" practice used by a commander who was highly displeased with his soldiers' 'enthusiasm for command' (they weren't fighting hard enough).
The soldiers were directed into a formation and every 10th soldier was identified. The other soldiers were then ordered to stone those 10% to death.
THAT is, specifically, what "Decimated" means.
U hv a wonderful family and life,,,,,guard it jealously w all ur heart bro. I lost mine bothr, dnt let the world mess u up. Ill be praying 4 u
*Did you discuss the results in another video*
.. curious if you were able to prevent the spread 🤔
I'm glad I happened upon your channel. Look forward to seeing more videos 😃