Is it just us, or are the ants winning this year?

Across Utah and the Mountain West, gardeners are reporting some of the worst ant infestations they've seen in years. In our own garden, ants have damaged basil, carried away cucumber seeds, attacked radishes, and covered vegetable beds, flower gardens, and fruit trees. The small black ants common in northern Utah even bite, while southern Utah gardeners often battle larger red ants.

We've tried many of the common remedies:

• Diatomaceous earth – kills only the ants it touches
• Vinegar and water sprays – works temporarily on surface ants
• Homemade borax mixtures – our ants completely ignored them

The problem is that most treatments only kill worker ants. Meanwhile, the queen remains safely underground producing thousands more.

A mild winter, warm spring temperatures, and dry conditions may have created the perfect environment for ant populations to explode. Irrigated gardens provide exactly what ants need—food, water, and shelter.

If you've battled ants for weeks with little success, the goal isn't to kill the ants you see—it's to eliminate the colony.

Many gardeners have found success using enclosed liquid ant bait stations. The worker ants carry the bait back to the nest where it is eventually shared with the queen and developing larvae.

Products such as TERRO Liquid Ant Baits are commonly used for small black ants. While these products are not organic, they are considered low-toxicity when used according to label directions because they are contained within bait stations rather than sprayed throughout the garden.

If you choose to use bait stations:

• Place them near ant trails, not directly on vegetables.
• Keep them away from children, pets, and wildlife.
• Allow the ants to feed and carry the bait back to the colony.
• Be patient—it can take several days or weeks to significantly reduce a colony.

One thing we've learned is that ants are often a sign of another problem. They commonly protect aphids and other sap-sucking insects in exchange for honeydew. If you're seeing ants on fruit trees or vegetables, inspect leaves and stems carefully for aphids, scale, or other pests.

This has easily been our worst ant year in recent memory.

What have you tried?

✅ What worked?

❌ What didn't?

Have you found a natural, organic, or low-toxicity solution that actually eliminated the colony?

Reply to this newsletter, comment on social media, or send us a photo. We may feature some of the best gardener-tested solutions in an upcoming issue of Bloom Gardens.

After all, when it comes to ants, many of us are still looking for the magic answer!

*Woodstuff Landscape Supply
955 S 1950 W Springville Utah 84663
(801) 489-4777

www.woodstuffut.com