I’ve succumbed. But before I go on, have a look at the state of my lawn now:
and this is how is used to look like just 3 years ago:
Can you imagine my distress every time I walk into the garden now with the images of how it used to look like firmly in my mind?
For three years I’ve been battling ants with every natural product I can lay my hands on to no avail. I tried Neem Tree Oil and a variety of other “solutions” which were anything but. So this week, the last of the year, I declare that I am beaten. Well and truly beaten by bastard ants. Ants that have dug into every single square inch of the garden and are now seriously threatening the trees too. So, I decided that it is now high time to employ science at its worst. Yes, my friends, I have succumbed and bought a few products from the local vendors in the hope that I would reduce the ant’s effects – there is no hope of ever annihilating them of course – but if I can limit their effect enough to have a semblance of the loan at the hight of its glory, I shall be happy indeed.
So what I’ve done all through the morning is spread Diazinon pellets all over the garden. This was the product which has been recommended to me by the garden centres I’ve visited and the agricultural engineer at the government’s experimental farm. I hope to Gaia that it works!
I know that this is not the season for the grass anyway and that planted South African grass goes into semi-dormancy, but even with that it never looked as bad as it does this year. So to aid it a bit, along with the Diazinon, I spread copious amounts of Ryegrass which I hope will start filling in the ugly gaps until summer arrives.
Once that is done, I had to compress the spongy earth a bit. So out comes the roller and I went all over the garden with it. Now instead of the puffy ugly surface, it’s actually looking somewhat level and compact. Now if the poison does its job, I should see those ugly puffs any more. Whether the lawn will ever look like its former self, I won’t be able to venture a guess, but I can promise you this: if what I’ve done today doesn’t fix it, I’m fully prepared to rip the whole bloody thing off and start all over again. A good lawn is worth it.
Have a wonderful New Year!
