Question
Hi Charlotte,

I was just reading a message that you had responded to about killing dollar week etc by using sugar - we would really like to try this as we have dollar weed trying to take over part of our back yard.  My husbands biggest question is about the ants.  Do you have a problem with ants because of using the sugar?  We live in coastal Georgia.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

Answer
Hi Lisa;
I used to have ants, but no more.
You water the sugar in, so it doesn't attract even sugar ants, which the ants in your garden aren't/
Besides, when you get on an organic program and make a healthy enviornment for the garden gritters, they will eat all the ants that might come around.
If you use chemicals, putting down sugar afterward and watering them in together will help, but most of the beneficial microbes will be killed. the sugar will only keep some of them alive.
Those microbes enriching the soil is what kills the weeds.
Downside of organics:
I had vild violets growing in my lawn, and I liked them, but when the soil got nice and rich, they died out, and I have been planting them in from my neighbor's yard, but they just will not survive.
The sugar will aork anywhere, because it doesn't hurt anything. When you get a little too much chemical fertilizer in one spot, it burns the grass. You can dump a ton of sugar in one spot, and it won't burn anything.
Insecticides and fungicides are poison, but baking soda keep dowm mold and mildew better that commercial fungicides, and the garden livestock jeeps better control of bugs than all the insecticides I used to use did.
I see maube a dozen grubs a year, they used to be all in my soil,no matter how often I treated for them, and the adults ( June bugs) drove us crazy.
Now I see the June bugs flying around my neighbors that just will not go organics yards.
My Asthma is 90% better since I don't use those chemiclas, and also my allegies.

Charlotte


PS:
To keep fire ants out of your yard, chop fresh orange peels and scatter them over your yard.
If you have a very large area to treat, you can treat the smaller area where your animals and/or children play all over, and when you see a mound anywhere else, drop some chopped orange peels on the mound.
Orange oil is the maun ingredient in effective fire any killers.