Post and giveaway sponsored by Central Garden & Pet, but all opinions are my own. Please see end of post for additional disclosure.
Remember that new patio we just put in? Well, in order to pour new concrete, we first had to dig up old concrete.
Which, apparently, disturbed the pavement ants who were squatting underneath. (Who knew!!!??)
Which resulted in a mass relocation of gross little ants. They built little ant hills throughout the struggling grass (remember, this is our first summer resurrecting a lawn neglected for a few years before we moved in!).
A closer look (sorry).
I was excited to try GardenTech’s Sevin Ready-To-Use 5% Dust to gain some control over these little pests.
I love that it’s ready to go. Once I opened the top, I was ready to shake up their world!
Is it wrong to feel joy and empowerment as I sprinkled their little hills?
I just sprinkled the hills, and will repeat every couple weeks as needed. Shaking off pests has never been so easy!
Note: I made sure the kids stayed away from where I applied it, and we’re keeping the dog on a leash for a couple days.
Meanwhile, back to the concrete project, the displaced dirt was relocated to the mossy part of the back yard, and we’ve planted new seed. A bit of a do-over for the back lawn. It took several years for the lawn to get into this condition, and I know it won’t come back overnight. But we’re seeing progress, day by day!
Next year I’m hoping to plant a raised garden bed for some vegetables. And I pity any little ant that dares invade my tomatoes.
Let’s have some fun – would you like to win a $25 American Express Gift Card? Just leave a comment about the grossest insect you’ve battled in your lawn or garden! A random winner will be chosen July 6th, 2013
Looking for Home and Garden 101 inspiration? Check out my favorite Pinterest board, and start your own if you haven’t already!
Central Garden & Pet partnered with bloggers such as me to help educate us all about their products. As part of this program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the use of the products. Central Garden & Pet believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Central Garden & Pet’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. A winner will be chosen by random and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.
9 comments
Not necessarily the grossest bug I’ve ever dealt with in my yard, because that to me is a mole cricket, but as you know how much I love my wine you will appreciate my 4th of July story. I had gone out front to watch the neighbor’s shooting off fireworks. I had set my wine glass down on the stoop next to me and when I went to pick it back up I found a visitor. It was obviously dark, so I did not see him, but as I went to put my lips to my glass I kissed a slug. He was right there making his way over the rim of my glass. HOW MUCH MORE DISGUSTING CAN YOU GET? I suddenly looked and sounded like Lucy screaming about Snoopy’s dog germs. I’m still wigged out about it. 🙂
Hi Susan,
Grossest bug could be the tomato horn worm, or the huge Goliath beetle, it was as big as my thumb! But I think they are all pretty interesting.
I agree with the first comment…. Be extra careful . It is a poison. It poisons everything. I don’t know about your part if town, but we behave a well here. I don’t use any chemicals here at all. There are other ways. Google it and you will know for the next time.
It is supposed to work on all ants except pharoh ants and carpenter ants. Go get ’em!
Does this stuff kill fire ants? We have them everywhere! Especially under the plum tree, which stinks because the plums are really good.
The grossest insect I have battled is very large wolf spiders!
I guess the grossest would be huge water bugs. I hate them!
Well, the grossest thing I’ve ever seen in my lawn is a dead snake. But as far as insects, I hate hate hate fire ants.
Hi Erin,
Very good advice to keep kids and pets away when using any product like this. It is very important to read any label thoroughly before use!
Susan
ps – we have no honey bees in our yard. 🙂
PLEASE don’t use this product anywhere there are honey bees. This is a non-selective insect killer and will kill the already threatened bee population. It is particularly toxic it to bees because they take it back to the hive and poison the hive. There are several methods to remove ants from your lawn that don’t involve poisons that can harm other insects, including diatomaceous earth. Also, if you are going to use a product like this PLEASE read the label carefully. It is extremely dangerous to pets and people if not applied according to the directions (which includes not applying it when it could blow around and not allowing pets or people in the treated area until it has been given adequate time to settle). This is a serious insecticide and needs to be treated with respect.