PUBLISHED FIVE TIMES YEARLY FOR LAWNTHUSIASTS © By O. M. Scott & Sons Co., Marysville, Ohio Eighteenth Year Number 84 C O N T R O L O F A N T S It is for food. AN TS do not directly harm garden plants or grasses although some jaws are species having very strong able to crack seeds and appropriate them the earthen mounds thrown up about the entrance to their nests that make the presence of ants undesirable. Besides being u n s i g h t l y , t h e mounds sometimes s m o t h e r y o u n g p l a n t s . The gal­ leries or burrows which ants form in the soil disturb root growth by causing undue drying. f r o m W h i l e a n t s do not feed on plants they a re g ard en pests because of their habit of foster­ ing aphids (plant lice). Some species g e t part of the ir f o o d t h e s t i c k y s w e e t , excreta of aphids. This impor­ tant to them that they carry the aphid eggs underground in the autumn and protect them over the winter. In the spring they carry the young aphids to a succulent weed host for a food supply, later moving the adult aphids to still other “pasture.” It is said that is so some types of aphids have become so dependent on ant transportation that they have practically lost independent means of locomotion. While a good deal is known about ants, it may surprise some to learn that there are kings as well as queens in the colony and that in their early life they have wings which they use to em erge from the nest. T h e males mate and soon die, the females fly to attractive nes tin g sites, tear off their wings, make nests and lay a few eggs. The queens live 12 to 15 years during which time each lays thousands of eggs. Control Measures N o cont rol is effective unless the whole colony is destroyed. This can be done by fumiga­ tion or by poison­ ous baits. A f u m i g a n t is probably first choice if the nests can be located. With a screw driver or pointed stick enlarge entrances to nest. Probe to 8 inches to be sure of reaching depth where queen is located. Then 2 pour into the openings a thimble-full of one of the chemicals that form a heavier-than-air gas which will pene­ trate the ant galleries and suffocate the colony. Carbon bisulphide is effective. Since it is a liquid a funnel should be employed to get the material deep into is another gas-forming material. It is also obtainable at most drug stores in a product called Cyanogas, made by the American Cyanamid Company. This is in convenient powder form and a little poured into the opening quickly releases a deadly gas. the soil. Calcium Cyanide After inserting either carbon bisul­ phide or Cyanogas, close the opening with soil or other covering to seal in the gas. Avoid spilling either material as it will destroy the grass. Caution. Carbon bisulphide is highly inflammable and explosive. Cyanogas is very poisonous. Keep children and pets away and do not inhale the fumes or open container indoors. Gasoline may be used as a fumigant but since the fumes are lighter than air, some means must be used to con­ tain the gas underground. The gas will be better contained if a heavy paper covering is used, the edges being sealed with loose soil. Poison Baits. If the nests are not easily located or if for house use, one of the poison baits may be utilized. These can be made at home but it is quite a little trouble and there is the danger of accident when laymen com­ pound mixtures containing poisons. It is probably safer and easier to purchase one of the prepared ant killers sold at drug stores. Some of these attract both sweet and grease-eating ants. Usually they have two types of poison baits. One kind lures the ants into a trap from which they cannot escape. Another bait contains a slow acting thallium sulphate poison which is carried back to the nest and fed to SCOTTS LAWN CARE the queen and her young. This is the better poison for outdoor use since it would be difficult to trap enough ants to have much effect on a full colony. Most ant baits dry out rapidly after which they are not effective. Outdoors they should be placed in the shade or they will only last a few hours. A mixture of one pound of brown sugar and one ounce of paris green is said to be an effective poison that will be carried to the colony. If it is too sticky, a little flour may be added. Here again there is danger of acci­ dental poisoning of pets or children attracted by the sugar. Another suggestion is to dust Rote- none or Pyrethrum powders around the nest openings. Dry Soils. The ant problem is apt to be more severe in dry soils, espe­ cially gravelly or sandy locations. In extreme cases the number of ant hills may run into the hundreds over small areas. Spot treatment may be out of the question. If so, the brown sugar- paris green 16 to 1 bait may be scat­ tered over the infested area at the rate of / 2 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. The spread should be thin and even and made when the grass is perfectly dry to avoid burning and danger to pets. One L a w n C a re reader reports suc­ cess in applying a solution of a can of Chloride of Lime to 5 gallons of water. Another kept flooding the ant nests until they finally got discouraged and moved away. T E R M IT E S Termites resemble ants and are some­ times mistakenly referred to as flying ants, winged ants or white ants. from nests At times swarms of these may be seen emerging formed under a lawn. The termites with wings are the true males and females. The soldiers and workers do not have wings. The workers are the destructive NUMBER 84 forms which are active in foraging and feeding on wood. Because their damage is so much to be avoided, it is important that every home owner be able to recognize them. The accompanying illustration may aid in identification. The main difference between wingless termites and ordinary ants is that termites do not have the slender waist, typical of true ants. The wingless termite workers are white and always work under cover. A, Adult form of that destroy wood; B, a true ant with the slender the kind termite, waist; C, winged form of termite. that If a colony is located it should be promptly destroyed by one of the meth­ ods suggested for ants. A search should be made for passageways lead from the nest to wherever the termites may be working. These should be bro­ ken up and the surface over which the passageway has been running, heavily treated with creosote. In extreme cases it is best to consult reliable authorities on the problem. Dogs Still in the Limelight Those who love dogs regardless of how they behave, those who love dogs but insist that they should behave, and those who just don’t love dogs vied with each other in commenting upon our No. 76 bulletin entitled “Dogs Beware.” Feeling ran high. Letters 3 in now, after two frequently come years, commenting upon this issue and taking side one way or the other. In the midst of the barrage we received, strangely enough, an order for seed for a dog cemetery in Marion. A L a w n C a r e reader now writes us that Ameri­ can Mercury for January 1944 carried a story entitled “Why I Hate Dogs.” Our informant says the story is excru­ ciatingly funny and adds this: “I lived for five years on a 53,000 acre ranch in New Mexico where dogs were both necessary and enjoyable. Last summer when the neighbor’s dog buried a large bone in my bed of Fox­ gloves, on which we had worked so painstakingly, it was not funny at all.” From Massachusetts comes a letter to the effect that a certain lady had a sign on her lawn which read, “Notice to dogs. This land is poisoned.” Dogs which could not read were apparently warned by their masters, because the sign, she said, was effective. Those of us who do have a strong attachment for dogs— and the number is legion— might well start a school of manners before it gets too late. Conqueror Here is a reader from Long Island who has solved the Dandelion prob­ lem in his lawn. The task sounds a bit involved but maybe it comes easy with a little practice. We wonder, though, if even Mr. Carhart would be successful in the heavier clay soils of the midwest in contrast to the lighter and sandier Long Island soils: SIRS: the articles about Dandelions. For five years I have studied Lawn Care, especially I have tried every patented device for pulling Dandelions and have half a dozen that I will give away. I have spread poison broad­ cast but that only turns the lawn brown for weeks or kills all grass entirely and only they do mildly discourages the Dandelions; 4 SCOTTS LAWN CARE been, and the grass seems to grow more vig­ orously afterward. The best time to dig is in the spring or fall, after a rain, so that the earth will lift easily and the grass will quickly recover. Do not take the root out until it is com­ pletely loosened from the soil and can be shaken free. If any pull at all is required to get it out, the root will be broken off. If even so much as a half-inch of the tip of the root or any of its branches is left in the ground, it will grow again to the surface, if not the same season, the next spring. It is much better to dig only a few each day, successfully, times as many carelessly. then surely three than Say ville, N. Y. A. B. CARHART For instance imagined. Seeds are transported by clothing to a far greater degree than may be gen­ erally the trouser cuffs of a home gardener who had spent four days in such work at midseason, were found to carry the seeds of 33 kinds of plants, 19 species of grasses and many types of weeds. His socks contained 300 seeds of just one kind of weed— the assela tussock. (And it makes no difference who wears the pants!) Lawn Care Binder This d ur ab le, lo os e -l ea f ri ng binder, containing all issues of L a w n C a r e and with capacity five more years, will be sent for $1.00 p o s t a g e p a i d . H u n d r e d s o f L a w n C a r e readers have presented them to friends as gifts and to public libraries and garden clubs. for The same complete set of bulletins in stiff paper binding is 25c. not die. I have applied crude oil, gasoline and brine, individual plants, using a medicine dropper or a long-nosed oil can. The leaves fade but the root survives. the crowns of to into The proper procedure is simple but requires some care. Push a spading fork the ground to practically the full length of the tines, nearly straight down, about six inches from the root. It is better to go too deep at first, rather than too shallow, for the earth must be moved as a solid clod below the level of the base of the root. Push outward and down on the handle of the fork until the clod of earth begins to move. If the crown of the Dandelion begins to draw down through the turf, stop instantly and set the fork deeper, or better still, start from the other side. through the fork a If the Dandelion crown begins to lift with the earth, showing that the rest has loosened, then by withdrawing little or changing the angle, while further pressing down on the handle with one hand, the sur­ face of the turf can be forced to break in a line direcdy the root, by pressing with the thumb or finger of the free hand or with the point of a trowel. Only after this is accomplished, turn the earth up further, breaking the clod wide open just above the tips of it with the thumb or finger of the free hand or foot, the whole root can be easily lifted out clear, including all the branches as well as the fine hair roots down the stem. tines. Then, while holding the With a little watchful care, the raised clod need not be broken away from turf around the edges and it can be pressed back into place with a kick of the foot, first side- wise and then down. I do not find that this leaves any serious scar where the break has the O. M. SCOTT & S O N S CO. O H I O EVERY PACKAGE OF SCOTTS LAWN SEED BEARS TH IS TRADE-M ARK AND IS SEA LED FOR YOUR PROTECTION