Ants in the garden - how to get rid of them using folk remedies and medications forever

Ants come to the site seriously and for a long time, build an anthill on it and form a colony with a queen at the head. The trouble is that this large family turns out to be extremely gluttonous and generally causes nothing but inconvenience.

The fight against ants in a summer cottage often takes place with varying degrees of success and does not always end in the final victory of a person. In addition, many feel sorry for the little inhabitants of the site, since since childhood they have been considered “orderlies of the forest and surrounding areas.” However, the dacha is usually ruled by garden ants, which at the same time breed aphids - the most dangerous and hardy pest. So is it necessary to get rid of ants in the country?

Forest ants are beneficial and rarely settle in gardens

How to get rid of ants using traditional methods

If you start fighting ants using folk remedies, you need to immediately prepare for the fact that the result will not be immediate, patience will be required. There is no point in completely destroying colonies; resettlement or the use of other methods, which we suggest familiarizing yourself with, will be much more effective.

Digging

This option is considered radical, but it helps eliminate insects 100%. The idea is to completely remove the nest with ants and then move it outside the garden or other area. During work, it is recommended to use protective equipment, as well as dig the anthill to the maximum depth.

After digging, the nest is placed on a wheelbarrow; if the size is small, then in a bucket. And it goes away from the summer cottage to any other place. It is better to remove ants using this method as a last resort, if other options do not produce results.

Attention! If some of the ants remain, there is a possibility that a new anthill will appear in the old place. To discourage insects, you should pour table salt or lime, wood ash, or tobacco ash into the hole.

After the procedures have been carried out, it is better to dig up the earth and the adjacent area, and use ash for fertilizer.

Kerosene

Kerosene against ants turns out to be a very effective remedy, because insects cannot stand the smell of such a substance. If they smell it, they immediately begin searching for a new habitat. The step-by-step liquidation procedure is very simple:

1. Make a small depression in the anthill.
2. Pour kerosene or gasoline generously on top.
3. As additional protection, pieces of fabric should be soaked in liquid and placed under different trees and bushes.

It is strictly forbidden to water plants with gasoline or kerosene, otherwise not only ants will leave the area. This can harm fruit crops.

Sunflower oil and boiling water

The oil can be used to fight ants in the country house, in the apartment, when ants appear in cabinets, bread bins or other places. To eliminate the problem at home, coat the edges of dishes, cabinets, and doors with liquid. This will prove to be a serious obstacle to movement for the ants.

The second option using oil is adding boiling water or warm water. The method is recommended for summer cottages and vegetable gardens. You need to add vegetable oil to the liquid and pour the mixture inside the anthill. To enhance the effect, experts suggest adding camphor, bay leaf, pepper or fennel.

You can also get rid of ants using simple boiling water. To do this, you do not need to use chemicals; it is enough to pour water on the nest several times a day, after stirring it up. This causes a lot of inconvenience for the ants, so the effect will appear quickly.

Soap solution

This option is considered the simplest, cheapest and safest for people. To prepare a soap solution you will need 100 ml of liquid soap and a bucket of water. You can use detergents, such as Fairy. Thoroughly dilute the mixture and spray the anthill, nearby plants, and trails. Aphids breathe through the skin, and soap foam will help block the airways and oxygen supply. After drying, a crust appears, preventing the ant from breathing normally.

Such treatment can rid gardens and even apartments of such guests. However, you need to remember that when processing plants, you will need to spray the leaves from top to bottom.

Borax solution

Borax is often used to get rid of ants in the garden. The product is common and the solution is prepared with the addition of sugar. To do this, you need to dilute 1 tbsp. sugar crystals with 1/3 tsp. Boers. The powder is added to water and mixed until completely dissolved. The liquid needs to be spilled on the ant trails.

You should not expect quick results from this method, however, the bait will be eaten not only by labor (black) ants, but also by their queen and larvae. The product itself does not need to be dissolved in liquid to prevent beneficial insects from being poisoned.

Yeast and sugar

This recipe will be the safest for humans and pets who may live at home. A sugar solution with yeast will be detrimental to ants. You can use it in different ways:

1. Add yeast and sugar to the water, completely dissolve the ingredients and pour the mixture into the main cluster of ants.
2. Add boric acid powder and a little jam to the yeast. Stir thoroughly and place the bait on plates or cardboard in places where animals or children cannot reach.

Boric acid

You can remove ants using boric acid or borax (salt). Such means reliably cope with the main task and protect the house from invasion. Due to the composition and active substances, the chitin that makes up the ant’s body is corroded. In addition, the components remain on the legs, which helps influence the rest of the colony. The following combinations can be used for extermination:

1. Combine boric acid powder with sugar, honey or jam in equal proportions and add water. The liquid is applied dropwise to the anthill and along the path of movement.
2. Borax is mixed with minced meat. You need to make small balls, they should be scattered in places where ants accumulate.
3. Using boiled yolk and potatoes, balls are made into which sugar and boric acid are added. Make bookmarks twice with an interval of one to two weeks.
4. Combine glycerin, sugar, water and borax in equal parts. Pour the syrup near the anthill.

Attention! It is impossible to quickly destroy ants in a house or apartment if their first appearance was missed. Continued use of the products described will be required, but they must be safe for humans and pets.

In addition to the options described with folk remedies, you can get rid of ants using:

• decoy that scatters along the trails;
• ammonia diluted in water (for plants);
• wormwood and ash, from which a decoction is made.

Fighting ants is not easy and requires time and patience. Experts note that using folk remedies you can remove ants not only in open areas, but also in greenhouses, on trees, other plants, and also use other tricks available today.

How to remove from the greenhouse

The use of chemicals against ants will not always be a convenient option for eliminating pests, especially if a greenhouse where cultivated plants grow is being treated. They will absorb poisons, so it is better to give preference to folk remedies.

There are three types of ants most often found in the garden: red, black and brown. If the beds are located near the forest, then more often the first type appears on the site. Greenhouses are inhabited by black garden insects that consume young shoots of seedlings and seeds. They make nests directly in the beds, and while laying paths, the root system is damaged. Without timely measures, the greenhouse will have loose soil and a large number of holes in the ground.

12 best ways to get rid of ants in a greenhouse

For work in a greenhouse, it is recommended to use valerian. The whole bottle is diluted in ten liters of water, after which the plants, soil and the anthill itself are sprayed. In addition, the mixture helps kill whiteflies and other pests.

Ammonia

Ammonia is often used at home to repel ants. To do this, make a solution based on ten liters of water and 1 tbsp. alcohol Also add up to 4 tbsp. Sahara. All anthills in the greenhouse need to be filled.

Read this article on how to get rid of ants using ammonia.

Before pouring the product, you need to let it sit for 30 minutes. When the mixture is homogeneous, you can fill the nests and spray the plants. Crops do not suffer any harm from this method, because the concentration is minimal, but sufficient to kill ants.

Millet and semolina

Anthills in greenhouses can not only be filled, but also dusted. For this, ash, slaked lime, chili pepper, and mustard powder are used. At home, it is recommended to use millet as an independent remedy or in combination with semolina. You need to pour grain into the anthill, which the insects mistake for eggs and carry it into the house. After this, pour water over everything to swell and block the paths. After some time, it begins to emit a smell that repels ants. A similar action can be carried out using semolina with sugar, which destroys the stomach.

Ammonium nitrate against ants will help for dusting. To do this, it is simply poured dry or diluted in a small amount of water and poured into the nest. A couple of days are enough to eliminate the ants. It is best to perform the operation in the morning or evening. An equally effective option would be to loosen the anthill and sprinkle it with tobacco.

Vinegar

To prepare the product, you need to pour 500 ml of sunflower oil into a bucket of water; if you don’t have it, then corn, flaxseed or hemp oil will do. Add any shampoo or soap and a liter of vinegar. Mix everything thoroughly and in places where ants are most concentrated, you need to make holes in the soil and pour the mixture. It is best to use a spray bottle for these purposes. After the procedure, cover the area with film for three days.

The vinegar solution can be made with diesel fuel, kerosene or gasoline. The method will be effective if the ants are in the foundation, under the blind area. The mixture is poured into the holes through a syringe.

Soda

Before planting crops in a greenhouse, it is recommended to prevent the spread of ants, even if there are no nests. To do this, use a soda solution with the addition of linseed oil. The recipe is simple: add 1 tbsp to a liter of liquid. soda and 30 ml of oil. Complete destruction of the colony can be done by digging up the soil in the greenhouse and filling the tunnels with ash, soda or quicklime. This powder not only repels, but also kills ants.

A good effect is obtained if you use repellers. Essential oils and herbs can be used for this. The main effect is the pungent aroma. It is recommended to use cinnamon or lavender on trails and under plants. Among the essential oils, fir, spruce, lavender or tea tree are best.

When eliminating ants from a greenhouse, you need to know when to stop. There is no need to try to remove all the ants, it is important to monitor the population. After all, complete elimination disrupts the soil ecosystem in the greenhouse, which can cause an attack by other parasites. After settling, they completely destroy competitors, including spider mites, whiteflies and others.

How to deal with insects on fruit trees

Ants are very fond of fruit trees because the fruits are sweet and excellent for food. To save the tree from damage to the root system, as well as the harvest, it is necessary to use simple folk remedies.

6 Best Ant Traps for Fruit Trees

Carbolic acid

To prepare the solution you need to use:

• carbolic acid – 2 tbsp;
• black soap – 400 g;
• kerosene – 10 tbsp;
• water – 10 l.

After mixing the ingredients, spray the anthill and trunk. To completely get rid of insects, you need to perform several waterings, and to enhance the effect, coat the trunk with tar.

Lime

You must first find an anthill and perform one of the following actions:

1. Loosen the nest and add tobacco dust or lime.
2. Pollinate the plant and soil with tobacco dust in its pure form or with the addition of ash and lime. To do this, you need to mix the components in equal parts, approximately ¼ cup per 1 sq.m. No more than two treatments are allowed.
3. Apply lime to the tree itself, about a meter from ground level.

Tobacco dust turns out to be very effective against ants, so it can be used to spray trees or bushes. To do this, add a liter of water to ½ cup and boil for 30 minutes. Water must be constantly monitored and topped up if necessary. The broth is left for a day, after which it is filtered with the addition of two liters of water and 15 grams of grated soap. This helps the solution stick better to the sheets; you can add baby soap. Spray 2-3 times every 10 days, but there should be more than two weeks before harvesting the fruits. To enhance the effect, lime is added.

For fruit trees, it is also recommended to use fumigation. The procedure is performed after flowering. To do this, you need to make a fire from small firewood, wood chips in a bucket and add tobacco dust. Leave in the garden for 30–120 minutes, using face protection. In greenhouses, 5–10 grams of product per 1 cubic meter is sufficient.

Attention! Tobacco dust causes irritation and burns when it comes into contact with the skin, so it must be protected.

Garlic

Getting rid of guests can be done using products that the summer resident always has on hand. Garlic works great. With its help, it is enough to coat the paths to create a pungent odor that is intolerable to insects. They will try to quickly leave the main location.

A tincture is made to treat trees. Garlic can be replaced with onions. The recipe is simple:

1. Grind the fruits and add water.
2. The liquid should completely cover the garlic.
3. Close the container tightly and leave for a week.

Garlic infusion is ready for use; it is diluted in equal proportions with water for further spraying of trees and repelling aphids and other insects.

Other products for treating fruit trees include:

1. Add 10 liters of water to 300 grams of wormwood and leave to brew for several hours. After filtration, spray.
2. Mix 1 tsp. soda with 30 ml of linseed oil, pour in a liter of water. Use the mixture for spraying; it is safe for humans and plants.
3. Using Coca-Cola or other sweet soda, spray the trees, but first dilute them in water with a ratio of 5:1.

The described options are effective, but work must be carried out when there is no wind or rain outside.

Fighting garden ants in the garden and vegetable garden without chemicals

I want to remove the ants very carefully. To do this, we will try to choose suitable means. It’s interesting how experienced gardeners and gardeners solve problems with them:

• Cover tree trunks with sticky tape to prevent insects from moving freely along the tree. Belts are: funnel-shaped; with adhesive, sticky tape; with a trap. An adhesive belt can be found in a specialty store, or you can make it yourself.

• Place pieces of cloth soaked in kerosene around the trunks of affected trees and bushes.
• Colonies of anthills with all their entrances and exits are filled with sunflower oil diluted in boiling water. You can and should add aromas that are unpleasant for murah: fennel, black pepper, bay leaf, camphor.
• Let's “feed” grains! We place semolina and millet near the anthills. The hope is that greedy insects will drag the prey home and eat it there. But the murakh’s stomach is not capable of digesting grains!

• We frighten with pungent odors. What ants really can’t stand is the pungent “aromas” of crushed garlic, onions, cinnamon, tomato sprigs, parsley, and herring (it’s better to take smoked herring).
• We treat tree trunks with lime in the spring.
• Sprinkle the ant paths with ash, salt, dry mustard, and soda.
• They are afraid of water and cannot overcome even streams 2 cm wide. You can make a clay moat with water around the tree.

For the garden and vegetable garden, you can use your own methods of exterminating insects.

How to properly process peonies

The problem with the presence of ants on peonies is familiar to everyone, so you can use simple folk remedies to eliminate the main colony:

1. Mix 5 grams of boric acid with 50 ml of honey, add 50 ml of water. Spread the product in areas frequented by ants.
2. You can use plants with a pronounced aroma; lemon peels, mint, tansy, parsley, and fir cones are suitable. They need to be placed around the peonies or planted nearby, and infusions should be prepared for spraying. This will repel the ants.
3. You can rub the trunks with garlic to repel them or make an infusion from the head with the addition of soap.
4. To prepare the trap, you need to make a circle of cardboard about 15 cm, make a hole inside for the peony stem with a straight cut. Apply Vaseline or Vishnevsky ointment to one side. This will not only repel the ants, but will also allow you to catch them. A few days and they will avoid the bushes.

Coffee also helps against ants. To do this, you need to put the thicket on the ant trails or make a barrier around the peonies. This allows you to protect plants and kill insects.

Use of traps and baits

Repelling ants is not always effective, because they can return, so it is better to use baits. Their popularity is due to their effectiveness, because they easily eliminate ants on the street, but are not suitable for houses or apartments.

It should be noted right away that there is no universal bait, so any means presented may work in one case, but in the second they will be ineffective. If you need to eliminate an entire anthill, then baits with fast poisons turn out to be weak. Same for traps.

Sweet

To prepare, you need to use minced meat or yolk and any sweetness, such as sugar, honey or jam. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, add about 20 grams of boric acid and make peas, placing them near the anthill. Similarly, you can mix sweets with coffee grounds to repel colonies.

Millet and semolina

With this method, grain is poured into or near the nest. The ants will carry it inside, closing the passages and disrupting the feeding process. The cereal must be covered to prevent it from being eaten by birds. In addition, everything is dusted with semolina and sugar, which helps destroy the gastrointestinal tract.

Sticky traps

Such methods are excellent for plant protection. You need to lay out traps near the trees that will distract insects and collect them in one place. They are sold in stores. For example, “Absolute” and “Clean House” gels are effective. They have a sweet smell and taste that attracts ants. It must be applied in dotted lines on the trails. It contains substances that are harmful only to ants.

What damage do ants cause to the site, besides breeding aphids?

• Acidify the soil. It is a scientific fact that ants secrete a substance that interferes with the growth and development of plants.
• They damage the root system of plants. The extent of the damage depends on the population.
• They destroy fruits and ovaries with a high carbohydrate content (if the ant population in the area is large, insects begin to feed on sweet fruits and berries), buds and petals of roses and peonies.
• They spoil the seeds and roots of seedlings. If there are a lot of ants on the site, the underground floors of the anthills go wider and deeper, and the ants begin to feed on seeds and roots that are located not far from their home.
• They spread weeds (drag their seeds around the area).
• They steal food products from a person and drag them little by little into their anthill.

How to drive ants out of your area

You can permanently get rid of ants in your dacha or garden even using folk remedies. All it takes is a little patience, knowledge and available tools. In addition to the options described, you can use no less effective ones:

1. Pour a strong solution of potassium permanganate into the anthill.
2. Sometimes urea, which is often used as fertilizer, helps. It needs to be diluted and doused on the paths, the nest itself with ants. Urine acts similarly.
3. If ants are not only on the site, but also indoors, then Validol should be used. This simple remedy turns out to be effective; the tablet needs to be crushed and placed on a path where ants often pass.
4. Dry vanillin (not vanilla sugar) helps some. This substance acts as a repeller, so the ants will gradually leave the garden.
5. You can feed the ants cornmeal. They love it very much and carry it to the anthill to feed the rest of the colony. However, it is not digested, so it is fatal. Flour is effective, absolutely safe and cheap. A similar effect is observed with milled rice and wheat flour.
6. An infusion of celandine may be useful. Its active substances are poisonous to ants, so they begin to cause stomach cramps and death. To prepare, you need to dig up three celandine bushes with roots, thoroughly chop the plant and add 300 ml of soap in liquid form. Pour in 5 liters of warm water and leave for two days. Before use, strain and use to fill an anthill or spray it. Perform the treatment in the morning, once a week is enough. The mixture is aggressive and can burn crops.
7. Chloride of lime helps a lot; you just pour it on the anthill and water it. This helps get rid of ants quickly.

The described options may not always work or may take time to work, so you should definitely try different methods and combine several methods to achieve the best result.

How are ants useful?

These insects not only cause harm, but also bring benefits:

1. Thanks to them, it is easy to find colonies of aphids feeding on plants. Near the ants wandering around the plants, you can notice small, often green aphids hidden among the leaves. Aphids are a real pest, and the sooner you start fighting them, the better for the garden.
2. These are our allies in the fight against pests that destroy plants in gardens - ants feed on larvae (for example, flies).

3. These insects act as restorers: they feed on carrion, dead insects, small rodents or amphibians, and eat organic and plant debris, thereby cleaning their immediate environment, which we also use.
4. Ants can help improve soil structure in gardens to a certain extent. When they build anthills and drill corridors into the ground, the soil is aerated.

5. Insect droppings contain fertilizing elements (nitrogen, phosphorus) that improve soil quality.

Ways to protect trees

To protect trees from ants, gardeners use various options, this is not only spraying, treating the trunk, there are other useful tricks.

Tires

To create a barrier you need to use an old tire and water. Manufacturing process:

1. Cut the tire into two equal parts.
2. Place the half on the tree and bury the tire.
3. Pour water inside.

Such a barrier will protect seedlings and bushes well.

water ditch

By analogy with tires, a water ditch is made for a tree. You can use any other container for the ditch.

Hunting belt

Protection helps get rid of about half of the ants on trees. Use is carried out in the spring until the buds appear. This helps protect the crown from pests that survived the winter in the ground. Recommended:

1. Place the belt around the trunk and secure it with a rope.
2. It will have a special glue on it that is not dangerous to humans. When an ant hits it, it sticks, so it cannot move further.

Alternatively, you can make your own remedies. For example, cut a strip out of cardboard and wrap it around a tree in the shape of a cone. Cover the cracks with clay. Wrap the foil and make it in the shape of a skirt on the trunk; this will prevent the ants from climbing to the crown of the tree.

Scotch

You can use masking tape or other tape to wrap the trunk of the plant to prevent insects from moving around. The use of sticky substances is especially effective.

Bottom line

So, in order to successfully get rid of ants, you need to determine the place where they come from, their type - this helps to understand where the nest may be and sometimes decide on the choice of means.

The commercially available preparations have a wide spectrum of action and will help get rid of all types of ants: small red ones, as well as large red and black ones. Each situation is individual and it is difficult to say which product will best cope with the task of protecting against ants, be it an apartment or a private house.

What plants repel ants?

Many gardeners use ant repellents. They are planted in garden beds and near fruit plants. Suitable for this:

• narcissus;
• lavender;
• peppermint;
• Melissa;
• mustard;
• red pepper;
• onion or garlic;
• pyrethrum;
• elder;
• anise;
• sagebrush.

The smells will cause great discomfort to the ants, so they will start to run away. If it was not possible to plant the plants in a timely manner, you can simply leave the tops near the anthill. Some use sawdust or coniferous hairpins with wormwood and mint leaves. All this is doused with kerosene, urine or turpentine, bleach, and placed under an anthill. To enhance the effect, you can spray pepper and mustard on the area.

Read more in this article about which plants ants and aphids do not like in the country house and garden.