“There are crowds of ants rushing around the garden - how many Anteaters does it take to flood everything?” – this cry from the heart of the participants of our portal is ready to support hundreds of thousands of owners of suburban areas in our country. Ants can really cause a lot of damage to your garden; they can also enter the house. We have prepared 10 cards that explain the dangers of ants and how to get rid of them.
What ants can live on the site?
There are about 300 species of ants in the regions of Russia. And the everyday concept of “garden ants” combines several of them. In summer cottages, the black garden ant and the red forest ant are most often found, and the house ant and the yellow garden ant are less common.
Red forest ant
This is a large insect about a centimeter in length. Such ants build huge anthills with impressive underground tiers. Aphids are bred, distributed and protected. They eat flowers of fruit trees and shrubs.
Black garden ant
A small black or dark brown aphid with a body length of only 5 mm, but it is the largest “breeder” of aphids. They can completely destroy seeds in the ground.
Earthen or garden yellow
Also small, up to 0.5 mm long. It does not breed aphids, but feeds on the fruits of fruit trees and berries. They build underground anthills and damage tree roots.
Brownie, aka, pest, aka, pharaohs, aka, ship ant
Having settled on the site, it quickly seeps into the greenhouse, house or outbuildings. Tiny, up to 3 mm long. He eats everything he can get his hands on, from kitchen cupboard supplies to pet food.
Guest information
In the overwhelming majority, when people talk about ants in the garden, they mean one species – the black garden ant. This social insect is extremely widespread: its range stretches throughout Eurasia from Portugal and England to Central Siberia and northeast China.
Black garden ant
The ant itself is an insect, 3-4 mm long. Individuals capable of producing offspring are somewhat larger - up to 6 mm, and the uterus can be up to 8 mm in length. They are usually painted black, but this depends on the color of the soil in which this or that family lives. It can be brown or gray. The body is covered with a large number of hairs.
Within its range, this species can exist in almost any environment: from deserts and forests to residential apartments and offices. The secret of such adaptability of the black garden ant is its fertility, the lifespan of the ant family and the peculiarities of its formation.
A colony can number up to a million individuals. Its place of residence, an anthill, is a complex system of branched passages in the soil, penetrating up to 1 m deep. In rare cases, insects settle in hollows or rotten wood, as well as in moist soil and under stones.
The spread of garden ants is enormous. This is due to the fact that to create a new family, one fertilized female is enough, who independently creates her own anthill and no one helps her.
Flying female ant
After swarming, which occurs in July-August, females scatter over vast distances. And if everything goes well, in 2-3 months, in the place that the new “queen” has chosen for herself, a colony of at least 10 thousand inhabitants will appear, and by the end of the year there will already be more than 100 thousand.
The lifespan of the queen ant of the black garden ant can be 28 years, which is not only a record among its relatives in the family, but also among insects in general.
Black garden ant queen
Having such “strategic” means of control, ants can pose a serious problem not only for amateur, but also for professional agriculture.
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.
Humane methods of control
Ants in the garden
Any garden or vegetable garden is a small ecological system in balance. All living beings of this system - both plants and animals - are, as it were, a single organism, each member of which participates in many interrelated processes. And if any component is completely removed from this chain, the ecological balance will be disrupted.
The complete extermination of ants will lead to the filling of the area with various pests and the result will be much worse than it was before this event. There are several methods that can not destroy ants, but only scare them away from useful crops or “repurpose” orderlies to other sources of food.
These methods do not harm the ants, but only force them to rebuild their own food chains. Given the adaptability of ants to various conditions, they will be able to survive such changes in their lifestyle very well.
Moving an anthill to a new location
Anthill in the garden
One of the simplest methods. It involves digging out the habitat of ants using a shovel. The depth of small anthills is from 20 to 30 cm. Having dug up the soil within a radius of 30 cm from the entrance to the anthill to a depth of 20-30 cm and putting it in a bucket, it is simply taken to the border of the site or beyond.
Ants will settle down perfectly in a new place, even if their queen dies. Quite quickly a new queen will appear in the anthill, and its life will continue as usual.
PROS:
- simplicity and speed of solution
- does not require the use of any complex means
- the ant family recovers quickly
MINUSES:
- the method is not applicable to large anthills; removing about half a cubic meter of soil from a site is not always rational, in addition, if the queen remains in its old place, the problem will not go away
Anthill shading
Like all insects, ants love warmth. Consequently, garden ants position their home in such a way that during the day they are heated as much as possible by the warmth of the sun's rays. The main exit from the anthill is always located in a sunny area.
Exit from the anthill
If you shade an area about a meter in diameter from this exit, sooner or later the ants will leave this place in search of a new, warmer one.
PROS:
- simplicity of solution
MINUSES:
- insufficient reliability; results are not always guaranteed
- the process can be quite long
- similar to the previous method, not applicable for large anthills
Repelling ants
Ant repellents
Both the life of an individual ant and the entire colony are controlled using odors. It is with the help of smell that ants communicate with each other, learn about new sources of food, find their way home, differentiate between “their” and “foreign” ants, and so on.
All ants are very sensitive to odors, which can be used to drive them out of their homes.
Using repellent plants
Plants from ants
These could be:
- parsley
- valerian
- mint
- onion
- garlic
- carnation
- and other similar plants
Whole or crushed stems and leaves of these plants are laid out around the entrance to the anthill or along ant routes. These plants are used to tie the stems of crops attacked by aphids. In the case of preventive measures, similar plants with the most pronounced odor are planted around the protected crops in the spring.
Marigolds, mint or valerian are planted between the beds or next to trees. This will not only repel ants, but will also provide the owner with a set of medicinal herbs.
Plants from ants
Sometimes it is recommended to rub the trunks of protected plants with garlic. In some cases, plant trunks, or even the ground, are sprayed with decoctions of the listed repellers.
PROS:
- environmental friendliness of the method
- high efficiency of products with a strong odor
MINUSES:
- Over time, ants can get used to the repellers
- in the case of planting, the application of the method can be significantly extended over time
Using special repellents
There are several dozen products whose smell causes discomfort to ants. They have different origins, however, they are relatively easy to obtain or prepare. These means include:
- charcoal ash
- rock salt
- tobacco dust or ash
- soot
- red pepper
- cinnamon
- bone flour
- lime
- other products with similar properties
The methods of application are very simple - the products, as in the previous method, are laid out in places where ants accumulate and their paths.
Even cooking waste is often used. For example, ants do not tolerate the smell of smoked fish. It is enough to place the head of a smoked herring near the entrance to the anthill, and they can leave their “home” place.
You can put a bunch of potato peelings or tomato tops on top of the anthill. The smell of nightshade crops is also poorly tolerated by ants.
Universal ash
In some cases, it is recommended to water the anthill and ant routes with cattle or even human urine. This is not a very popular method, since urine inhibits the growth of the root system of many plants, in addition, the smell of this liquid is also unpleasant for people.
The following method has worked well: the entrance to the anthill is covered with a sheet of thick cardboard measuring 30x30 cm, on top of which a solution of soot in water is applied. The smell of soot is also extremely unpleasant for ants.
To protect plants, you can use strips of sheepskin about 1 cm thick. Plant shoots are tied with these strips at a height of about 10-15 cm from the ground, with the wool facing out. The wool is wetted with carbolic acid. The smell of acid will prevent ants from getting on the plants.
PROS:
- relative simplicity and efficiency
- large selection of funds
MINUSES:
- products have a negative effect on flora and people; for example, the use of salt leads to a decrease in soil fertility, and soot is a strong carcinogen
- methods may not be effective in humid summer conditions
Methods to block the path of ants
These can be various barriers and barriers made using water, oil, various Velcro, gels and similar devices.
For example, the use of foil skirts on the trunks of plants that need to be protected. The skirt is directed downward with the bell and the ants will not be able to climb over the sharp edge. You can also use skirts made of plastic or agrofibre.
Skirt on a tree trunk
You can wrap the trunks from below with tape with the sticky layer facing outwards, i.e. make a so-called hunting belt .
An effective method has proven to be the use of car tires cut in half and filled with water. Tires are put on the trunks of young trees and dug into the ground. Ants are not able to overcome a water barrier.
Treating the lower parts of trees with hemp oil or lupine juice will also effectively help stop ants. The combination of a relatively viscous liquid and an unpleasant odor for ants will stop any attempt by insects to climb the trunk.
PROS:
- wide choice of funds
- relatively high efficiency
MINUSES:
- difficulty in the technical implementation of some methods
Fighting aphids
From a logical point of view, this is the simplest way. After all, in the end, the goal is not to destroy ants, but to destroy aphids . To ensure maximum environmental safety, it is best to use traditional methods, which consist of spraying affected plants using special solutions.
Spraying plants
Recipes for solutions can be as follows:
- Dilute 200 g of solid (or 100 g of liquid) soap in 10 liters of water
- Dilute 300 g of ash and 50 g of soap in 10 liters of water
- Infuse 200 g of chopped garlic in 5 liters of water for 4 days
- Infuse 100 g of dried chamomile flowers in 1 liter of water for 12 hours; add 3 liters of water and 20 g of liquid soap
The resulting compositions should be sprayed on the affected areas of plants once a day for a week. For preventive purposes, healthy plants can be sprayed during budding, flowering and 1-2 weeks before harvest.
How and why do ants breed aphids?
Aphids have thin skin, they constantly evaporate moisture, and are forced to continuously suck sap from plants. And just as a cow produces milk, aphids produce honeydew, which ants simply adore. Therefore, they care for aphids as if they were their pet: they transfer them to new, young and succulent plants, protect them from ladybugs and other entomophages, and take them to their anthills for the winter.
Prevention
The best remedy for ants in the garden, however, as in the case of any other pests, is timely methods to prevent their occurrence. To prevent the appearance of unwanted guests at the dacha, it is necessary to dig up the soil in a timely and efficient manner, add ash to it, and also plant the repellent plants listed earlier in sufficient quantities. To prevent ants from affecting fruit trees and shrubs, you should regularly treat the trunks, root parts and soil around the perimeter of the plantings one meter with diluted lime (at the rate of three kilograms of chemical per ten liters of water).
What is the best ant repellent?
Boric acid. Based on it, many baits are made with which the ants treat the queen, and thus the colony of ants not only moves to another place, but dies.
In the doses used for ant baits, boric acid is absolutely harmless to humans, animals and plants. Most good and expensive ant repellents from the store are made based on it.
In second place in terms of effectiveness is ammonia, but not ammonia, but ammonium chloride NH4Cl. It is harmless for people and a nitrogen fertilizer for plants. Sold in radio and electrical goods stores.
The best option according to the editors: powder granules HECTOR
The new remedy in the form of powder for ants Hector is a combined preparation. The granules contain bait and a poisonous substance. Having discovered the remedy, the ants report the find to their relatives, and a chain reaction of destruction is formed. As a result, not a trace will remain of the anthill.
Peculiarities:
- should be used in dry weather;
- scatters abundantly in ant habitats (paths, along the perimeter of the greenhouse, along the beds, ideally - directly into the anthill over the entire area);
- just have to wait;
- after 1-2 days, the garden “enemies” will no longer bother you.
How much does it cost: 399 rubles for 300 g.
But they say you can kill ants with yeast?
This is also a very good way:
- Finely chop the briquette of raw yeast,
- put sugar in them “volume by volume”,
- pour warm, but not hot water,
- mix,
- place saucers with this treat near the “ant points”.
The ants will be happy, grateful and will quickly drag the treat inside their nest, to other sweet supplies. And then the yeast will begin to ferment and destroy all the ant food. After this local humanitarian catastrophe, the colony will die out.
Is an ant really that scary?
If there are ants in your garden, it is highly likely that they are black ants of the Lasius niger species. There are other varieties of ants: red, ginger, but they prefer other habitats and can rarely be found on a personal plot.
Insects live in colonies, each headed by one queen. Her duties include laying eggs. All other members of the large family care for the emerging offspring, protect the anthill from enemies, and provide food for the growing offspring and the entire colony. If conditions are favorable, ants reproduce at a rapid pace. Up to 10 thousand individuals can live on the territory of one anthill.
An ant bite is a rather unpleasant thing that can provoke an allergic reaction.
Benefit
Young ants need constant nutrition. And since there is no better treat for them than caterpillars and other insects, foraging ants kill these pests in large quantities. In a day, hunters from one anthill are able to destroy up to two thousand small midges, caterpillars and larvae. This is much more than birds eat.
When setting up their home, ants dig numerous corridors that go deep underground. This makes the soil loose and saturated with oxygen. In the soil near the anthill there is an increased content of potassium and phosphorus. The substances do not require additional processing and have a good effect on plant growth.
Harm
It would seem that what’s better is that they themselves live, reproduce, and even bring considerable benefits, but not everything is so rosy. It's all about the gastronomic preferences of ants. For an adult insect, there is no tastier delicacy than the sweet honeydew secreted by aphids. In order to always have a sufficient amount of food on hand, ants maintain entire colonies of aphids.
If aphids appear on the shoots, expect a colony of ants to arrive soon
Aphids feed exclusively on fresh shoots and leaves, so the ants carefully move their “pets” to the tops of berry bushes and shoots, choosing the juicier branches. As a result, the plant is literally strewn with harmful insects. The shrub will not die from such treatment, but it will be problematic to wait for a harvest from it. Ants protect their charges in every possible way, protecting them from pests. As a result, the aphid population increases exponentially. And the gardener has to fight not only with ants, but also with their charges.
Nectar of flowers, juice of fruits and berries are another favorite delicacy that not a single ant will crawl past. If an ant family decides to build its home in the middle of a bed of Victoria or raspberry bushes, the owner of the plantation is unlikely to be able to enjoy a good berry harvest.
Note: Insects secrete formic acid, which makes the soil acidic over the years. This does not have the best effect on everything growing nearby.
Is it possible to get rid of ants in your summer cottage with a soda solution?
No. But their numbers can be reduced. The ants will most likely leave this place, but will settle in another. But try it if you want: pour 2 tablespoons of baking soda into a regular 1.5 liter plastic bottle, fill it to the top with hot water, and shake until the soda dissolves. Pour the entire bottle into the “ant point” and cover it with sand on top. You can simply sprinkle the ant areas with soda, or soda mixed with mustard powder. Upon contact with soda, the ants die.
Moving an anthill
Methods for getting rid of ants can be very controversial and sometimes very complicated. For example, if you find an anthill on your property, you can put it in a plastic bag, removing the entire above-ground part and the underground part - to the depth of a spade bayonet or even deeper. In the bag, the anthill is transferred to the forest away from human habitation and dumped there in a suitable place. The insects themselves will restore it. This is a fairly humane method, but labor-intensive and dangerous - the anthill can be large and heavy, and the ants bite very painfully.
The second way is, on the contrary, to bring an anthill with red ants from the forest to the site and leave it next to the home of the black ants. Two types of insects are at war. The forest ones will destroy the blacks, and they themselves will return to the forest. But the method, of course, is dubious, long and labor-intensive.
How to drive ants out of a greenhouse?
This is a difficult task; The greenhouse is usually inhabited by brownies, also known as Pharaoh's ants, the most tenacious and cunning. To solve it, you need:
- Find the entrances to the ant nest (track the ants along the paths). The entrance will be under the heating pipe or irrigation system, at the frame rack, etc.
- Take a piece of natural felt (ideal) or any moisture-absorbing fabric (good) the size of a small plate.
- Put on a respirator, safety glasses and drip ammonia from the bottle onto the felt or cloth to completely wet them.
- Place it at the entrance to the anthill, cover the top with a piece of polyethylene. Keep windows and doors to the greenhouse open.
- If necessary, repeat treatment after two weeks.
conclusions
The main thing in the fight against ants on the site is consistency (they will return and you will have to start all over again), integrity (there should be only one owner on the site) and an understanding of how the ant family works. We do not recommend practicing methods that simply drive ants away from the site. It is important to destroy the queen, and then the ant colony will come to an end. The FORUMHOUSE consultant, an agronomist with the nickname Sodmaster, also thinks the same.
Sodmaster
Destruction of ants is of no use if the queen is alive, which in a short time can give birth to a new retinue. The queen does not feed herself; she is fed by worker ants. Now, if you add poison to what they feed her and kill the queen, then the worker ants will scatter or die, deprived of leadership and a national idea. Gel and poisoned baits work precisely on this principle. Ordinary boric acid with sugar syrup does not kill immediately - the ant manages to bring the “delicacy” to the queen, who, having got drunk, dies in agony.
There are quite a few ways to fight ants, and each case has its own. All of them are discussed in our forum thread “How to get rid of ants-2”. Find out how to get rid of ants in your home. Read our article about how ants can be not only enemies, but also helpers for the gardener. Watch a video about how to set up a light garden in which even pests will not particularly bother the plants.
What to choose: chemistry or folk remedies?
When embarking on the warpath for the harvest, first of all, decide how you will fight garden ants: with the help of poisonous chemicals or improvised home remedies. It would seem, why study folk recipes, waste time making formulations based on them, when you can simply buy ready-made “weapons” in any specialized store and not bother too much. But the opinions of experts on this issue are contradictory.
Basically, all chemicals against garden pests are very poisonous. And although manufacturers of toxic substances are trying to reduce the level of their toxicity, the danger still remains, especially for children, pregnant women, the elderly and allergy sufferers. Of course, we need to remember about our smaller brothers - pets. By inhaling or licking the poison, they can at best experience health complications. Another way chemicals are harmful: if used carelessly, they can seriously poison the soil.
However, professionals, in their recommendations on how to get rid of aphids and their “hosts,” do not advise completely neglecting specialized insecticides. In comparison with folk remedies, experts consider them to be more effective drugs and advise using both methods, of course strictly following the instructions for use and safety.
