Ants in compost

I put out my clippings last fall to compost. It is in a rubbermaid composting container. I have never had a problem before and I only put in leaves, grass, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc. Never meat, fat, or milk products.

I opened my composter today to get some of my "gardners gold" and it is totally infested with "sugar ants, or piss ants." They all started running with their eggs.

Can I still use this compost or will I infest my garden with ants? Do I spread it out and hope they leave? What would cause the ants to inhabit my compost?

I had tons of worms though!! Woo Hoo!

Any ideas?

Thanks
Deb

Deb, you might want to turn the compost a few times over the next week. Usually if ants are disturbed too much they will pack up and leave, thinking "this place is not safe!". You could also add more moisture to your bin as they don't care for that very much either. Once the ants are gone, yep...use it!

Good luck!

Shoe.

And be thankful they aren't fire ants! LOL
Debbie

Are there really piss ants? I have always called people that but have never met one personally. LOL

I'm glad you said it, not me. (Ducking and running) LOL

I have been fighting these darned ants for three years in my house, in every potted plant, bag of soil, under bricks, rocks, they're everywhere! Why all of a sudden have they gotten so much worse? I finally called Terminex in this month and am getting some relief in the house. Maybe it will help with the ones outside too. Maybe I could sweettalk the Terminex man to bait areas besides the house LOL.
My Granny always called them piss-ants I always thought it was just a hillbilly thing...where you from nDEBT? ROFL!!!

Lana

Actually my dad was Air Force. Mom was from Texas and I married a WV boy!

So who knows where the term came from for me.

Deb

Boiling water will kill ants in a ant hill. It worked in our sandbox. You could try it in your compost pile. Linda

I don't think boiling water would be very good for the worms or the beneficial bacteria that are in the compost though!

Just a side note--this probably won't work in a compost heap, but as far as "regular ants" that you might find in your home (not carpenter ants, just regular little house ants) I've found that cinnamon works WONDERS. It won't kill the ants, but if you can find where they are gaining entrance into your home and then put a good line of cinnamon in front of it, it will keep act as a barrier. I've got two small children, so I try to avoid pesticides as much as possible. The cinnamon has been very effective --too bad it does squat for carpenter ants. :P