This Means War.

FYI - I'm typing this with a cat between my eyes and the monitor.  Please excuse the typos.

I have had lots of peony plants.  I don't have as many as I used to, because some ants moved in and  built a ginormous ant hill along the side of my house.  They killed three plants, and are wrecking havoc on the others.  Now, I know that if you have peonies, ants will come.  But.  There's a limit, folks.

If you've been reading this blog long, you know I'm going to avoid the chemical route.  I tried the Diatomaceous Earth.  I tried a mixture of borax and sugar, in liquid form and powder.  I tried spraying the bejeepers out of the ant hill with water, many nights in a row.  They won't go away.


And so, tonight I stopped off at the nursery.  They have a counter there where they keep a guy who is all-knowing about the garden.  He knows all about natural deterrents: the plants to buy, or the insects to introduce.  He also knows when to give up and to spray the living crap out of the buggers.


And so, I'm going to take his advice.  I bought ant spray, which I will use tonight.  Following his instructions, I'll wait about 5 days before I dig out the hill and replace my peonies.  THEN, I'll go back to the natural route and surround those baby plants with Penny Royal.    If that doesn't work, I think I'll invest in a blow torch.