Ants are an integral part of garden ecosystem, hunting insects that prey upon other insects while helping pollinate plants. Unfortunately, however, their constant movement through your garden and lawn may become annoying.
Some ants may bite, but they rarely do any lasting damage. Here are a few natural strategies for getting rid of ants in the garden without killing or disrupting their beneficial roles.
Boiling Water
Boiling water can be an extremely effective method for eliminating ants that are ruining your vegetables. Simply locate their nest entrances and pour boiling water inside, which should kill all of the ants eventually. Doing this won’t harm soil or plants and is an eco-friendly way of controlling pests without adding harmful chemical compounds into your garden.
If you don’t have access to boiling water, dish soap and oil are equally effective at killing ants. Combine half a teaspoon of dish soap and 1.5 teaspoons cooking oil in one quart of water and pour this solution directly onto the nest; the detergent and oil will soak into their exoskeletons and suffocate them. White vinegar also kills them immediately upon contact; its non-harmful nature means it’s an efficient ant killer!
Preventative steps you can take to make your garden less attractive to ants include planting companion plants that repel them, such as allium (onions, chives, leeks and garlic) as well as lavender, lemon balm, rue tansy and sage. Allium plants in particular emit natural odors that repel these insects effectively.
Deter ants by spraying your vegetable patch with water containing citrus oils such as orange peels or white vinegar – either can be very effective. In addition, food-grade diatomaceous earth, made up of fossilized remains of microscopic organisms toxic to ants that can be purchased at most garden supply stores, can also help. Sprinkle around ant hills or trails using DE to slowly dehydrate and kill them off.
Applying fire ant bait is the most efficient and economical way to manage fire ants in your vegetable garden, although it does require both time and money investments. Just one application of fire ant bait has the power to reduce their population by approximately 80%; best results may be seen if applied during spring. Alternatively, heavy activity throughout summer could warrant applying more bait in autumn as well.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth, made of fossilized algae, can be an invaluable weapon in pest control. You can sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around your garden to form a barrier that keeps ants away and protect your plants, or mix it with other substances to create an ant bait which kills any that consume it.
DE is designed to harm insects by penetrating their exoskeleton and cutting through soft parts of their bodies, leading to water loss and eventually their demise. Furthermore, its absorber properties help absorb any oils or lipids produced by these insects to further dehydrate them – while remaining safe for use around humans, pets and wildlife alike when used properly.
At most hardware stores and garden centers, DE can be purchased in food-grade versions to avoid poisoning pets and children when inhaled or consumed; food-grade DE is available in resealable bags for easy storage and application.
Distribute DE over any areas where you’ve seen ants congregating, whether inside your home or near entry points such as cracks in the foundation. When applying DE outside, be mindful that damp environments could negate its ant-killing properties.
Once ant activity decreases, reapply DE regularly in order to maximize its protective benefits. You can use either a duster or handheld sprayer for optimal coverage – dustering is great for large areas; handheld spraying reaches hard-to-reach spots in your garden more effectively while placing DE inside ant mounds adds an additional layer of defense against future infestation.
DE isn’t only useful in controlling ants; it also serves to manage other pests in your garden such as fleas, worms, earwigs and snails. Although DE can help combat many different forms of garden pests – including fleas, worms, earwigs and snails – it should be kept away from flowers and desirable vegetation as it can harm pollinators when coming into direct contact. Furthermore, using it on flower beds could alter soil pH levels or water chemistry which in turn could harm vegetables
Nematobes
Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that serve as powerful natural predators of harmful insects, providing more reliable protection than chemical combinations while not harming plants or the environment. You can find them at most garden centers or online. Look for Steinernema feltiae to target daddy longlegs attacking lawn roots; also effective against slugs, carrot root flys, fruit flies onion flys vine weevils among many other pests.
When purchasing nematodes, be sure to carefully follow the instructions on their packaging. These may come in the form of granules, clay pellets or sponges which need immersing in water before use. It is most important to use water filtered through a filter since chlorine will kill nematodes quickly. Ideally use your garden hose or similar to wet down the entire treatment area prior to applying nematodes as this will lower soil temperatures which is beneficial for them.
Once applied, nematodes seek out their prey. When they encounter pest insects such as mosquitoes or ticks, they enter through any opening in their body through openings like mouth or anus and release bacteria that kill and breakdown their bodies before reproducing in its stomach and leaving again to search for more prey – making these parasites far more effective than chemical pesticides!
Nematodes are most effective against ant pests when applied in autumn when they’re laying eggs and the soil temperature is warm; however, they can be used throughout the year although they may not be as efficient against cold weather pests like codling moth and gooseberry sawfly.
Nematodes provide an environmentally-friendly method of controlling an ant colony’s territory, including all ant hills. If possible, mow grass and scarify ant hills before applying nematodes; this will allow deeper penetration of soil by the nematodes and helps control their spread further into soil layers. Renew application every seven to 10 days until infestation is under control – far preferable over spraying them with toxic chemicals!
Ant Traps
Ants may seem like nuisance pests in the garden, but they actually provide invaluable assistance in maintaining plant health. Their marching can act as unwitting pollinators while their foraging helps aerate soil to accelerate decomposition. On the downside however, they can trample young seedlings and damage established vegetables’ roots, so blocking access can reduce this damage significantly. Alternatively, boric acid-sugar mixture can be placed around doorways to block their entrance while at the same time slowly poison them over time.
Ants often invade homes in search of food sources such as sweets or soda. Diatomaceous earth can be applied to areas ant trails frequent and to repel them effectively; other natural options include using cinnamon or cayenne pepper as deterrents against these little bugs. If chemicals worry you, consider spreading Tanglefoot pest barrier where pipes and electrical wires enter.
Home and garden users have their choice of various ant traps available, from paper strips with sticky substances that entice ants in to more elaborate systems with multiple traps with sticky bait that attract ants back to their colony and spread throughout. Such devices can often be purchased at local garden centers.
if ants are nesting in plant pots, water the potted plants regularly to deter their nesting efforts and stop any possible spread to other parts of your yard. Doing this will also prevent further spreading of the pest.
Fire ants of the Myrmica genus can be effectively managed in vegetable gardens by applying broadcast granular bait containing insecticide and an attractant such as soybean oil to problem mounds. Such baits have been shown to reduce fire ant populations by as much as 80%! It’s essential that when applying this method of control for fire ants that exact instructions be strictly followed for application and an insecticide labeled specifically for vegetable crops like permethrin, carbaryl or spinosad is used.