Will soap and water spray help keep small ants from eating new leaves on a snowball bush? Anything else to try?
Hardiness Zone: 3a
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I use diatomaceous earth for control of crawling pests. It is organic, does not harm humans or pets. It kills by scratching the outer shell of pests so they dehydrate and die. Buy garden grade, not that for swimming pools. I made a shaker for it by punching holes in the cap of a plastic can with an ice pick.
I use this in my house to control fleas and ticks as well as in the garden.
Check out TheGardenGuy.com for more organic solutions.
I've been able to get rid of ants in the past by putting out little saucers of borax mixed with icing sugar. The ants ingest the borax as they eat the sugar and it kills them -- I believe it can kill most in a nest when they bring the food home. This wouldn't be safe if you have pets or children around, methinks.
You can also smear a ring of vaseline around the base of the bush to keep the ants from climbing up, assuming they don't have access from neighboring plants. This works for me. Good luck!
Do not try that method. We did and killed a bunch of our trees.
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