Ammonia for aphids and ants: using ammonia to fight in the garden, how to use

The fight against aphids and ants in garden plots is sometimes a life-and-death affair. Insects of these two species exist in symbiosis, so the fight against them must be carried out simultaneously. To destroy pests, not only commercial chemicals are used, but also various traditional methods. Among the most effective home methods for combating aphids and ants is treating plants with ammonia.

This substance, in addition to eliminating pests, can also saturate the soil with the nitrogen necessary for plants, and in the right concentration it is safe for the environment. In the article, we will look at the features of using ammonia to kill aphids and ants, find out how to use this liquid correctly, and how to spray.

Description and action

Ammonia is familiar to many - it is a colorless liquid with a specific, difficult-to-tolerate heavy odor. Note that this substance is also used in cosmetology, in the manufacture of household chemicals, and even in food production.

Ammonia, or ammonia as it is also called, is a quite effective remedy against aphids. This medical substance for its original purpose has found considerable application in the economy, including agriculture. The damaging effect of ammonia on aphids and ants goes in two directions: firstly, the substance, having a pungent odor, repels pests from the area. And secondly, it destroys those insects that are directly affected by drops of the solution. But this information will help you understand how to fertilize melons and watermelons with ammonia and what results can be achieved.

The principle of action of ammonia on a pest is as follows: the substance enters the digestive tract of the insect, which causes a burn to the walls of this tract, leading to swelling, paralysis and subsequent death of the aphid or ant. In half of the fatal cases, the substance simply does not have time to reach the digestive tract, since the strong aroma of the product paralyzes the pest’s breathing, and the latter dies.

Ammonia also acts as an irritant on ants. Smelling a strong unpleasant aroma, the ants leave the area in a hurry. In addition to aphids and ants, ammonia is also effective against mole crickets, onion and carrot flies, and wireworms.

Ammonia can quite effectively cope with aphids at the beginning of the formation of their colony. However, if the colony is already large, it is necessary to use more potent chemicals to save the harvest. Please note that if “military action” aimed at defeating aphids is not started in time, the pest will be able to destroy not only the entire crop, but also cause the plants themselves, even mature trees, to die.

It is also worth learning more about whether you can water onions with ammonia, and how to do it correctly.

Note that ammonia is good because it destroys not only the insects themselves, but also their larvae and eggs. Thus, the elimination of the pest occurs at all stages of its development, which is very important.

The substance, unlike many herbicides, is safe for the environment, does not cause damage to cultivated plants, does not harm water bodies, beneficial insects, birds, and does not accumulate like nitrate in fruits.

But how strawberries are treated with ammonia in the spring, and what you should pay attention to, will help you understand the information at the link.

In the video - ammonia against aphids:

In addition to all the listed benefits, ammonia is quite accessible and very inexpensive. It can be easily purchased at a pharmacy, and if you need a large volume, then in garden stores. In addition to its damaging effect on pests, ammonia is also a plant food, as it contains nitrogen in large quantities. It will also be useful to learn about how to fertilize tomatoes with ammonia.

Folk remedies for house ants in the apartment

There are a large number of folk remedies for fighting ants. It is impossible to predict how effective natural remedies will be in a particular case, since, unlike chemicals, they often do not destroy pests, but only repel them.

For example, you can boil tomato tops and pour the broth onto the nest. A soap solution is also used for this purpose. Some people draw lines in the places where ants appear with ordinary chalk - this method can confuse a worker heading along the path.

Finally, there is an original method from the “wedge by wedge” series - to disperse house ants, their large forest relatives are released into the room. There is no need to be afraid that forest ants will linger in the apartment - they do not survive indoors.

Boric acid

One of the most common and readily available household chemicals used to kill ants is boric acid.

Recipe for use:

Take 3 teaspoons of sugar.
Take 1 teaspoon of boric acid.
Dilute the mixture with boiling water - two teaspoons is enough.
After cooling, apply the composition to a plate or cardboard - this will be a bait for ants.

In addition to sugar, use honey, glycerin, jam, and the resulting mixture is applied to cotton pads or used to make balls. Another type of bait with boric acid is pieces of minced meat.

The disadvantage of this substance is its toxicity to humans, so boric acid should be used in limited quantities. And make sure that the bait is not eaten by children or animals.

A bait with boric acid attracts ants for two days, after which it is better to make a new one. At first, there will be even more insects in the apartment, attracted by the smell of food, but after a few days their number will begin to decrease.

Strong aromas

Ants, like many other insects, have a sensitive sense of smell, so strong odors are unpleasant to them.

People use a variety of odorous substances and essential oils, which are applied to ant trails:

crushed bay leaf;
cinnamon;
anise;
lemon;
cloves;
mint;
turmeric;
parsley;
lavender essential oil;
camphor;
garlic;
coffee grounds;
black pepper.

Vinegar

Vinegar affects ants not only with its pungent odor - this substance is so caustic that it literally corrodes the chitinous shell of insects. Use vinegar diluted with water to spray surfaces in your home.

Vinegar is poured undiluted into the anthill. By using this remedy, you can immediately see that the ants react strongly to it - they will start running much faster than usual.

How to use

When removing aphids and ants from an area, ammonia is good because it does not accumulate in the soil and fruits. Therefore, this product can be used throughout the growing season: from the initial germination of crops to the period of fruit ripening, as well as after harvesting. Be sure to add soap or shampoo to solutions with ammonia to increase the effectiveness of the drugs and give them sticky properties.

To properly spray bushes and trees with solutions containing ammonia, you will need the following materials and equipment:

Spray. Its volume depends on the number of green spaces requiring treatment. It is also worth paying attention to how to treat currants with ammonia in the same way.

Using a plant spray
Gauze bandage . This remedy will protect your respiratory tract from getting caustic ammonia into it.
Gloves.
A bucket to dilute the solution with the required concentration.
Actually, ammonia itself . We recommend purchasing it in garden stores - the volume of bottles there is much larger, so the cost of processing will be more economical.
Soap . Take either household or tar, since these types have the highest antibacterial and disinfectant characteristics. You can use laundry soap against aphids on roses.
Water.

Using the simple materials listed above, you can properly treat your garden with ammonia from aphids and ants.

Ammonia for aphids: application

Ammonia against aphids: video

Before treating aphids from the garden with ammonia, you should get rid of all anthills (to do this, you can water the anthills with muracide solution twice over the summer), remove dry branches and burn obvious areas of damage. To combat aphids with ammonia, use a watering can with a wide nozzle, since when using a spray bottle, sprayed drops of ammonia may not reach the leaves. The solution is used not only for aphid-infested plants, but also for healthy crops.

When processing, special attention is paid to the underside of the leaf, because this is where aphids hide. You need to spray on a cloudy day or in the evening. All plants can be sprayed with ammonia on grapes every 10-12 days. If the infection is small, the plants are treated every 2 weeks, and for prevention, you can get by with one procedure per month using a weak solution (10 ml of alcohol per 10 liters of water). To treat large orchards, you need to start spraying with an ammonia solution without waiting for the invasion of pests.

Cooking methods

Let's find out how you can prepare solutions with ammonia to fight aphids and ants.

Against ants

To implement this method, take a liter of boiling water and add 100 ml of ammonia to it. The resulting mixture, while it is still hot, is poured over the anthill. To make the effect more pronounced, you can pry the insects’ home with a shovel. But this information will help you understand how to poison ants in the garden, and what the best means are.

Fighting ants

Standard solution against aphids

This composition is prepared in most cases when it is necessary to combat aphids. In this case, take 60 ml of ammonia per bucket of water (10 ml), and add a quarter of a piece of soap. All components are mixed, it is necessary to ensure complete dissolution of the soap. Then the spray bottle is filled with the resulting composition, and the bushes are processed.

Standard solution against aphids

Sugar solution

Instead of soap, you can add sugar to the spray solution, which in its liquid state also has sticky properties. To prepare such a sweet composition, add 3 tbsp to a bucket of warm water. tablespoons of ammonia and 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar. You need to mix all the components until they dissolve, after which you can pour the solution into a spray bottle and use it for spraying. It will also be useful to learn about how to fertilize strawberries with ammonia.

Sugar solution

Which soap is better to use in a solution with ammonia

For spraying, it is better to use simple laundry soap. Toilet soap is also good. It needs to be grated so that it dissolves better in water. You can first dilute the soap in hot water and then add ammonia to the prepared solution.

Do not use liquid soap or dishwashing detergent. Liquid detergent has no effect on aphids. If you do not intend to enhance the effect of ammonia, and use the detergent as an adhesive, then the choice is yours.

Prevention

As a preventive measure against aphids and ants, you can spray the plants every week with the following solution: 15 ml of ammonia per bucket of water. In addition to spraying, you can also water plants with this composition to compensate for the lack of nitrogen in the soil.

Rules for the procedure

It is necessary to treat plants against aphids with ammonia for at least ten days, with a break between treatments of one or two days.

It is recommended to spray in the evening, as at this time the risk of damage to aphids and beneficial insects is reduced.

Before spraying bushes and trees, the latter should be carefully inspected. Preliminary cutting of shoots and foliage damaged by aphids will increase the effectiveness of treatment. After cutting, be sure to burn this biomaterial; do not leave it on the site, as aphids can reproduce again.

A one-time treatment with ammonia will not bring the desired effect. The substance is not so aggressive and potent that one treatment is enough. But here you have to choose: either use chemicals with a strong damaging effect, but harmful to nature, or natural preparations - not so effective and instant, but safe for plants and the entire environment. By clicking on the link you can find out what the recipe for onion flies with ammonia looks like.

After treating plants with ammonia, they should not be watered for several days.

Ammonia can be used as a spring preventative spraying of the garden against aphids. Before the procedure, it is necessary to carefully remove all organic remains from the previous season: fallen leaves, branches, old grass - all debris where aphid larvae may be located. Collected bioresidues must be burned and not thrown away. Repeat preventive spraying at least three times. But you can find out what to water cucumbers for a good harvest by clicking on the link.

How to prevent ants from appearing in your dacha, practical advice

To prevent ants from infesting your country house, you must follow simple hygiene rules:

Store sugar, sweet foods and drinks in containers inaccessible to ants: tightly closed jars, bags, bottles.
Store meat products in the refrigerator, do not leave them on the table or in places where ants can enter.
Immediately after eating, wash dishes, cutlery, wipe the table, without leaving crumbs or food residues on it.
Keep a trash can outside the house and throw out trash regularly.

Reviews

Experienced gardeners will share their opinion on the use of ammonia in the fight against aphids and ants.

Boris, Lipetsk: “I have a decent-sized garden, so I know first-hand about pests. Every spring I start the struggle, and only end closer to winter. Of course, aphids are especially annoying, and where there are aphids, there are ants. In the spring I treat with herbicides, but sometimes aphids appear after flowering or during it. In this case, I use ammonia - I make solutions based on it, and I spray berry bushes and fruit trees. In addition, every spring I water all the anthills found on the site, even small ones, with hot water and ammonia. This struggle bears fruit – I have a wonderful harvest every year.”
Tatyana, Chelyabinsk: “I prefer to grow vegetables and berries in my garden without the use of chemicals. No matter what the manufacturers say, chemicals still end up in the soil and settle in the fruits. I found an excellent folk solution against aphids and ants - ammonia: I use this substance to prepare solutions for spraying bushes. I note that the treatment results are good, there are noticeably fewer aphids, but it is important not to miss the moment when the insect has just appeared on the site. It is necessary to inspect the bushes regularly, carefully, in order to have time to treat in time in case of damage. At the early stage of pest spread, ammonia is an excellent and environmentally friendly remedy.”

So, we learned how to use ammonia to kill aphids and ants on the site. This simple and affordable substance can quite successfully cope with pests, especially at the early stage of infection. Prepare solutions for spraying in the required concentration, and during the procedure do not forget about protective measures. In addition, it is important to carefully process each leaf, including its lower part, and then the threat of aphids will pass your garden, and the harvest will delight you with its abundance.

Possible causes of ant infestation

Before trying to get rid of uninvited guests, you should understand the reasons why insects visit residential premises. There are thief ants. Most often they enter houses in search of food and soon leave. Another thing is red ants; they appear for several reasons:

their anthill is located in adjacent rooms;
The house is rarely thoroughly cleaned, which creates ideal conditions for their reproduction;
the pest was brought by owners or animals;
they are looking for a place to live safely.

Anthill next door

In cases where the anthill is located in the neighborhood, one should expect that the parasites will stop by for a visit. Gradually, when the number of ants grows, they will need to look for new places to feed and live. Most likely, they will disperse into neighboring rooms to create new anthills.

Interesting! Ants prefer damp and poorly ventilated areas, such as basements. They are often attracted by garbage chutes that are equipped in multi-story buildings. In this case, they also end up in apartments nearby.

No general cleaning

In search of food, ants come to houses where they smell food and waste. Rare general cleaning, lack of disinfection in waste accumulation areas and damp rooms create ideal conditions for the life of parasites.

Brought by animals

Quite often, ants get into living quarters due to the carelessness of the owners and the fault of animals. The brought guest, having scouted out the conditions, will look for the way to the anthill. Moreover, if there is food for them in the house, then soon there will be a whole flock here. It's even worse if you bring a queen into the house. Then the room will become the new location of the anthill. Often, parasites enter a home during the moving process, when they hide in the cracks of furniture and other places.

Safe Habitat

When insects are poisoned in every possible way in their permanent habitats, they begin to look for a safe refuge. In such cases, all preventive measures should be used, preventing them from establishing themselves in their own premises.

Errors during use

Despite the ease of preparation and use of the product, some gardeners make mistakes:

The working solution is not used immediately. In general, for the treatment to be as effective as possible, the working solution must be prepared directly in the garden or vegetable garden. Ammonia evaporates very quickly.
Failure to comply with dosage. The drug is not only an insecticidal agent, but also saturates plants with nitrogen. Take this into account when treating them against aphids. During flowering and fruiting, excess nitrogen harms the plantings.
Processing is carried out without personal protective equipment. Ammonia vapors can cause burns to the nasal mucosa and even cause loss of consciousness. Therefore, firstly, use personal protective equipment, and secondly, do not work for too long.

Precautions for use

When working with ammonia, you need to be careful. Protect your eyes and respiratory system. Remember that ammonia vapor can cause temporary respiratory arrest. Therefore, be sure to dilute the liquid outdoors. If you have to work indoors, open the windows.

Carry out spraying in calm weather. It is best to do this in the morning or evening after sunset.

Another important point: do not use the product during flowering, as ammonia vapor is harmful to beneficial insects too.