Courtesy JoAnne Skelly
My friend Kirk saw me putting baby powder on an outbreak of tiny ants on our patio and asked, “Do I see an article idea here?” This is the time of year where critters, insects and weeds make themselves known after their winter respite.
Thankfully the ants are not indoors. But what causes these outbreaks of thousands of ants every few days on our paved patio? It may be the warmer weather following a mild winter that is encouraging reproduction and new colony formation.
Our sweeping and blowing every day to get rid of cottonwood litter may have disturbed them because the pavers are laid in sand not cemented in. All the other landscaping activities we have been doing may have agitated them too.
While they probably need food, we haven’t left any out, neither for humans nor pets, so I’m not sure what they are eating. There are products available to control ants. However, I have been using baby powder quite successfully for a long time.
I read a publication from the Agricultural Research Service that explained that the powder clogs the exoskeleton of the ants preventing them from absorbing moisture.
Then, when the coated ants go back to the nest, they carry the powder into the community, wreaking havoc. Whatever the reason, it works. It is safe as long as you don’t inhale it, and it smells nice too.
The downside is having white powder in the cracks of the patio for a short while. Mammalian pests are back too, unfortunately. The ground squirrels, voles and rabbits are all doing their thing throughout the yard.
There are holes, tunnels and sunken areas throughout the lawn. Something has burrowed under the house leaving behind a large mound under the wood pile.
The rabbits have eaten my sedum down to nubs and I suspect they are the ones who ate leaves off my new kale plants. I think the populations are less than last year and I hope it is due to the Cooper and red tail hawks and the great horned owls that live here.
I can’t bear to put out poison that could cause the raptors harm. Then, there are the weeds. The annual weeds include red-stem filaree with its magenta flowers and cranesbill seedheads. There is cheatgrass, annual bluegrass and perennial grasses invading my flower beds.
I pull bur buttercup every time I see it to reduce its Velcro like seed heads that are horrible in socks or pets’ fur and ears. I like the dandelions, and they are everywhere too. Black medic with its tiny clover-shaped leaves is another invader in my flowers and lawn. Just another spring for a gardener.
JoAnne Skelly is Associate Professor & Extension Educator Emerita University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Email skellyj@unr.edu.