Ants

[pavers4u]

I have a customer with a paver sidewalk that has been invaded by ants. I am looking for ideas for how to get rid of them. What have you guys found to work?

[Granite]

. . . try Pave Tech's Sand Lock.

[windsordog]

Buy an anteater . the prefered choice is an african red tailed one.he is well mannered and does not care if he will be tied to the front porch. The only problem is they hate mailmen as much as dogs do.

[Paver]

Mix in some coffee grounds with your joint sand before refilling the joints (new or used grounds). It won't kill the ants, but it should keep them away (for how long, I don't know).

[gryan]

I have used ant baits, the loose tiny granules spread over the paver surface after I blow out the joints with a pressure washer. I'll come back when dry and install poly sand to prevent them from coming back. I have seen a lot of areas that have settled or sunk from the ants excavating the base sand. I pulled a few pavers and the whole surface turned black with ants. I was itching for days thinking evrything I felt was an ant What a pain...

[Paver]

I hate ants, they never stop trying. Have you had to go back and repair any settled jobs that we caused by mice digging tunnels in the bedding sand? I wish I had taken pictures, it was actually interesting to see all their paths. I had to replace the bedding sand in a few key areas that I thought the mice were coming in by the garage with some concrete. I never heard back from the homeowner after that, so it must have worked.

[gryan]

I never heard of mice in the bedding sand. Thats crazy. When I ran a lawncare biz about 6 years ago I had problems with mice createing little pathways through a lawn. I ended up having to fill in the ruts they caused.

On patios I see a lot of ant problems. In certain areas when you lift the paver without disturing the sand much you can see their tunnels right below the paver. Its amazingly intricate. You can spray them but their is always so many more below the surface and probably their eggs, if they lay eggs?... I use a granular bait so they take it to the nest and share it. It has worked well last year.

Paver- do you install and seal or just seal? Where are you out of?

[Paver]

My name is Bob Cramer, I am PAVE TECH's Director of Operations. I started as a laborer back in the late 80's when PAVE TECH was a paver contracting company and have been with them ever since. I have been fortunate to visit hundreds of jobsites around North America (and worked on some of them) during my years and some around the world. I have learned a lot from contractors over the years and welcome the chance to share that knowledge. I used to help PAVE TECH teach hands-on training around the country and still do on a rare occasion. Currently, I am one of the guest Instructors at the School for Advanced Segmental Paving and sometimes teach the Foundation Skills Class and the Hardscape Chemical Certification class.

[pavers4u]

I appreciate your suggestions and will give them a try.

[gryan]

My name is Bob Cramer, I am PAVE TECH's Director of Operations. I started as a laborer back in the late 80's when PAVE TECH was a paver contracting company and have been with them ever since. I have been fortunate to visit hundreds of jobsites around North America (and worked on some of them) during my years and some around the world. I have learned a lot from contractors over the years and welcome the chance to share that knowledge. I used to help PAVE TECH teach hands-on training around the country and still do on a rare occasion. Currently, I am one of the guest Instructors at the School for Advanced Segmental Paving and sometimes teach the Foundation Skills Class and the Hardscape Chemical Certification class.


Interesting. I mut have missed you when II went through the paver skills course last spring. If I remember correctly our instructors name was Mark. Thanks for the intro!

[windsordog]

Maybe Bob was napping somewhere.:p

[Whyzman]

Maybe Bob was napping somewhere.:pOr, perhaps just visting his relatives in Mound, MN helping to put in some Formica at his Aunt Hill's house... :p LOL You'll have to do some digging to fully appreciate this one...

[Stoneman705]

Leave rice out for the ants. It expands in their stomaches and kills them.

[BossPaver]

In Germany moles are a big issue with the bedding sand. One of the reasons they use coarse aggregate for a lot of their bedding. But that creates other issues like joint sand dropping into the bedding and unlocking of the pavers.

[windsordog]

Anymore in depth talk on here about the never ending ant problem.

[BossPaver]

Anymore in depth talk on here about the never ending ant problem.

I used to laugh at that question but that was many years ago. Diazinon insecticide in granules used to work great but has limited availablity now. Search for it on the web. One of the things that make the situation worse is fine joint sand. There is a reason not to use fine joint sand from a technical aspect too but the finer the sand the happier the little buggers get.