Ants are natural inhabitants of garden plots. However, sometimes they become a source of serious problems. This is especially true for those situations when ants decide to settle in a greenhouse or greenhouse.
Ants are an integral element of the natural ecosystem. Their disappearance will quickly lead to a sharp increase in the populations of other insects, including harmful ones. However, sometimes colonies of ants begin to grow and spread throughout the area so actively that at some point they turn from garden orderlies into a real natural disaster.
Causes and consequences of the appearance of ants in a greenhouse
Ants appear in a greenhouse due to the following reasons:
- They walked their way, then they noticed a greenhouse. Here it is necessary to drive them away in a timely manner;
- A nest has formed on the site, and insects come to the greenhouse to raise aphids. It is necessary to get rid of aphids and scatter chopped garlic cloves over the beds;
- the nest was formed directly in the greenhouse using external digging. It’s difficult to find it; you won’t be able to find the anthill. This is just a small depression under which the ant kingdom is built.
Such insects are useful in a greenhouse when the colonies have not increased in size. But when pests multiply extremely quickly, the question arises of how to remove them. Possible consequences of the appearance of ants:
- insects secrete acid, which can significantly increase the acidity of the soil. Not every plant in the garden likes the kind of soil that will need to be limed to get a good harvest;
- The main diet of pests is insect larvae, as well as shoots of garden plants and their fruits. Therefore, with a significant increase in the ant population, the greenhouse will suffer significantly and will not produce the expected yield;
- Adults are extremely fond of sugar, which is necessary for their proper functioning. Because of this, they themselves reproduce large colonies of aphids. Such a pest spreads and also feeds on plants from the garden, thus causing significant damage to the crop. In some cases, shoots die;
- insects are able to organize anthills directly next to greenhouse plants, preventing their proper growth;
- since the habitat of pests is not limited to the greenhouse, they bring weed seeds into it from the garden plot, which quickly germinate and choke out the plants in the garden in favorable conditions.
However, in addition to causing damage to the greenhouse itself and the plants growing inside it, insects are also dangerous to people. When ants actively reproduce, it is extremely difficult to prevent their bites, during which they will secrete a special acid. In addition to the pain of the bite, some people develop allergies.
Ants do not like large amounts of moisture. Therefore, if high humidity is maintained in the greenhouse and the plants are frequently watered, the activity of pests will be stopped.
Depriving ants of their “farm”
Ants build entire colonies of aphids and protect them, which is their greatest harm. Yes, aphids by themselves can appear in a greenhouse - even without ants. But, if they were the first guests, then soon you will see how these small workers themselves drag aphids onto your plants, plant them there, and then visit periodically. For ants, aphids are “cash cows” of their kind. The thing is that they need sugar to survive, and therefore hardworking ants create entire “farms” of aphids on your plants, and then go milk them.
By the way, you can get rid of aphids quite quickly by simply spraying them with the popular drinks Pepsi or Cola. There is no need to dilute anything, just put it in a spray bottle. With subsequent watering, the aphids will easily be washed off the leaves, and the ants will leave offended after them.
Get rid of aphids immediately - at least mechanically remove the infected leaves and treat the plants with this solution: 2 tsp. liquid soap to 2 cups of water. An infusion of garlic and tobacco will also help you get rid of aphids.
How to remove it from a greenhouse?
There are a large number of ways to get rid of ants in the greenhouse itself without harming the plants. The effectiveness of such methods varies, but any gardener will be able to choose the most suitable one for his own garden.
Mechanical methods
When insects come into the greenhouse and the gardener does not know how to remove them, then first of all it is necessary to use mechanical methods to combat them. The soil should be dug well every year to destroy the nests and harm the masonry. It is also required to sprinkle the soil with ash upon completion of each digging.
In addition, pests cannot tolerate lime, which forces them to leave. If last season the gardener was unable to drive out the insects, before planting the plants in the greenhouse again, the soil should be soaked with a solution of soda and flax oil. After this, the ants will leave the greenhouse.
Powders
Powders from pests in a greenhouse are poured near their habitats and movements, that is, on their paths. If you know where the anthill itself is located, then it is recommended to remove a small top layer from it, about 5 cm, and sprinkle the area generously. These tools work in different ways. The most effective principle of action is considered to be a combination of bait and poison. This is how, for example, HECTOR ant repellent powder works.
Having eaten even a small amount of the drug, the ant, upon returning to the colony, transfers the poisoned prey to the rest of its relatives, which creates an “epidemic”, as a result of which the entire nest dies.
Varieties
Most anti-ant remedies that work well at home are completely useless in the soil. Some of them are harmful to shoots when they penetrate the soil. No method will give complete confidence - this issue must be resolved systematically.
Long-lasting gels
Most people, when choosing how to exterminate pests, choose gels, the action of which is aimed at penetrating the active component into the body. It is best to use gels in the spring before the plants are planted. Each drug has its own instructions for use.
Powders
Powders from pests in a greenhouse are poured into the place where ants accumulate, having previously made indentations of approximately 4 cm. The bait is sprinkled with earth on top.
Crayons
Crayons emit a smell that ants cannot resist. It acts like powder bait - it kills the queen and kills the offspring in a few days. After 2 weeks there will be no insects left in the greenhouse. During the action of the chalk, it is necessary to monitor it so that it is not washed away by water.
Review of popular tools
There are certain products that have positive reviews from consumers. The active component of such drugs is often diazinon. In addition to such funds, it is possible to use products from foreign manufacturers. When using pesticides, you need to take into account that they are harmful to bees and pets.
The poison is placed in places where animals and children cannot reach it.
Ant-eater
This product is produced in ampoules or bottles. 1 ml of the product should be dissolved in 1 liter of water, then stir and bring the volume to 10 liters. Then the anthill must be excavated and watered with the prepared solution. The procedure is carried out in the morning or evening. The product will not affect worms and soil organisms, but has dangerous components for fish. Prepared immediately before use as it is not stored. Its price is 15 rubles.
Muratsid
The product in question is produced in liquid form. During preparation, take 3 drops of Muracid per 1 liter of liquid. 1 ampoule is enough to prepare 10 liters of solution. With a similar volume it is possible to destroy up to 20 anthills. To treat, you need to water the area that is infested with pests. The product costs 50 rubles.
Ant
The product is considered one of the most common chemicals that make it possible to remove pests from the site. The drug is sold in packaged form of 10 g. It will allow you to drive away insects that harm the shoots in the shortest possible time. The ant is completely safe for others. The granules are added to the soil in the area where the anthill is located. The drug will protect the planting for 1.5 months. The product costs 35 rubles.
Grom-2
The insecticide in question is produced in granular form. This drug helps kill ants in the shortest possible time. The top layer of soil is removed from the anthill, and the granules are laid out. The number will depend on the area. The treated area is sprinkled with soil. After 3 days, the greenhouse will be free of insects. The price is 10 rubles.
Expel
This powder is extremely easy to use. The results of getting rid of ants will be excellent. The product is poured inside the anthill. As time passes, the insects die. The cost is 203 rubles.
Delicia
The powder in question is quite easy to use. The powder is poured inside the anthill. The insects will carry the poison on their paws inside, where they can infect other members of the colony, who will die over time. The price will be 90 rubles.
"Delicia" ant repellent - how the German powder works, read more in this article.
Mashenka
This chalk is a universal repeller that allows you to poison ants and cockroaches. Along the perimeter of the greenhouse, stripes are drawn with chalk, and boards drawn with chalk are laid out near the ant passages. Cost 50 rub.
A great warrior
If you use the gel in question, you will notice how insects come running in heaps to eat it. However, after 7 days the insects will disappear completely. Cost 80 rub.
Absolut-gel
It is the most common remedy that has positive reviews. It looks like a box containing a syringe with the gel itself. It is necessary to drop 3-5 drops onto the anthill, the pests will take the product to the female. When she eats the poison, she will die along with the anthill. Price 55 rub.
Smell repellent
Countering ants in a greenhouse is possible through active and passive actions. It is recommended to take preventive measures to avoid the appearance of pests in the greenhouse. For these purposes, it is possible to use pungent odors that cause anxiety in ants. They do not die, but they leave the greenhouse.
Cinnamon
By scattering a small amount of ground cinnamon in the greenhouse, you can quickly eliminate the ants. Such insects are extremely intolerant of the aroma of this substance.
Mint
Ants can mark the path they have traveled using special odors. To discourage insects in the greenhouse, it is necessary to diffuse the pungent aroma of mint.
Sagebrush
Various plants that emit an unusual aroma will help fight ants in a polycarbonate greenhouse. Along with tomatoes or other vegetables, you can plant 4-5 wormwood sprouts. It will repel pests.
Sunflower oil
If you pour oil inside the anthill, the pests will leave their place forever. The method is completely harmless to the soil.
Herring
The head of a smoked herring is placed directly on the anthill. After a short period of time, the pests will leave their “home” place.
Tobacco dust
To scare away ants, you can sprinkle tobacco dust in the greenhouse. The product is quite effective, but has a significant drawback - after watering, the procedure must be repeated.
Garlic
Pests do not tolerate the aroma of this vegetable. Therefore, the easiest way to scare away ants is to place 5 crushed garlic cloves in a greenhouse.
Ammonia
You can also water the anthill using ammonia. Insects will suffocate from the fumes. This should be done extremely carefully.
Traditional methods of disposal
Gardeners do not always use chemicals; they often try to get rid of pests using folk remedies. There are folk recipes that help reduce the number of ants.
Jam traps
In a plastic flask, the bottom is cut off, and sweet jam is applied to its walls. The trap is set near the nest for 2 days. The insects will crawl into the middle and stick, after which all that remains is to pour boiling water over them.
Fragrant herbs
Pests cannot stand the aromas of a number of herbs: mint, cloves, etc. It is possible to scatter the plants and sprinkle ant colonies with this raw material. This method can drive insects out of the greenhouse, but they will find a new place from the outside, for example, in a flower bed.
Potato
These insects cannot digest starch, so potato peelings are effective in controlling such pests. You need to peel the vegetable, cut it and scatter it in the place where the ants accumulate. Sometimes the peelings are topped with jam or honey.
Kerosene
In some cases, such an insect repellent solution is prepared - 2 tsp. kerosene is added to a bucket of water, after which the greenhouse is sprayed.
Ammonia
This product not only repels pests, but also destroys them. 2 tbsp. l. Dissolve ammonia in 5 liters of water. Next, the passages in the ground should be filled with a similar composition. It is possible to soak a cloth in ammonia and cover the soil with it. In addition, it is recommended to spray the shoots, however, with a diluted solution.
Boric acid
Boric acid is also used against pests in greenhouses. Mix 50 g of sugar, 50 g of water and 5 g of boric acid. The finished solution is poured into saucers and placed in different corners of the greenhouse. Contact of children and pets with the bait should be avoided.
Millet or semolina
Quite a popular way to eliminate ants. You need to pour millet in heaps on the nests and wait. Insects try to eat everything, however, their stomachs cannot digest millet. The method is effective and cheap, and also harmless to others.
8 best ways to get rid of ants using semolina
Baking soda
To fight insects in a greenhouse, ordinary soda is also suitable: 2 liters. powder dissolve in 2 liters of boiling water. Then the anthill is filled with this solution. In addition, you can prepare a dry mixture of soda and sugar and pour it onto the nest.
Vinegar
Another effective folk method of eliminating pests is the use of vinegar with sunflower oil. The components are mixed and poured onto the anthill.
Wedge with wedge
It is possible to get rid of black ants by planting red ones on them. The latter quickly destroy the black anthills, taking their eggs. When the garden is located near the forest, you need to bring soil with red ants and make a short walk to the greenhouse. However, in some situations, pests can work together to cause damage.
Prevention
To avoid the appearance of large numbers of ants in greenhouses or greenhouses, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil, destroying the passages, paths, and paths familiar to these insects. When digging and loosening, you can destroy their lair and destroy the queen. When digging seasonally, you need to add ash, charcoal or insecticides in the form of granules to the soil.
It is important to maintain order in the garden, to avoid deposits of rubbish, fallen leaves, branches, and remnants of building materials. It is under them that garden ants like to make their nests. If the greenhouse has a wooden frame, there may be an anthill in its rotten foundation. It is worth carefully inspecting the structure and if a nest is found, destroy it, treat it with insecticides, and, if possible, replace the parts with new ones that are protected from parasites.
Before planting seedlings in a greenhouse, some gardeners carry out pre-planting soil treatment:
- pour boiling water over it with the addition of hot pepper;
- prepare a mixture of one liter of water, 5 grams of soda and 30 ml of flaxseed oil (can be replaced with another vegetable oil) and water the ground with this solution;
- simply pour a large amount of boiling water over the beds.
When using all means to combat ants in a greenhouse or greenhouse, it is important to read the instructions and compare the harm that even folk remedies can cause with the troubles that ants cause. Sometimes the remedies are too aggressive. In addition, if ants do not live inside a greenhouse or hotbed all the time, but crawl in there from time to time, there is no need to fight them. This can disrupt the natural eco-system, which is important for the normal ripening of the crop.
Features of the fight against different species
In nature you can find many varieties of ants. They are distinguished by their appearance, habitat, feeding method and other characteristic features.
The greenhouse often suffers from an influx of black pests that can suddenly appear in the greenhouse. They look for plant food, so they settle in places where cucumbers, tomatoes and other crops are grown.
Ants eat seeds, so crops can be destroyed in the bud. To get rid of a specific type of insect, various technologies are used - from folk methods to chemicals. It is important to take the time to eliminate or drive away the ants without causing damage to the plants.
Red forest
It is quite difficult to get rid of small red pests in a greenhouse. In many situations, they are considered residents of the forest and come to the dachas that are located close to it. However, sometimes they form colonies in private and apartment buildings.
The best salvation from red pests is prevention. It is recommended to add 5 g of soda to 1 liter of water, and then add 30 liters of flax oil. This mixture is poured onto the soil. Treatment is carried out 15 days before planting. This solution forces the ants to leave.
Black garden
To eradicate black garden pests in a greenhouse, it is recommended to make a mixture of 50 g of vinegar (9%) and 50 g of any vegetable oil. Next, the areas where ants accumulate are watered with a similar composition. Most likely, the parasites will leave the greenhouse. Black ants are the most popular species, however, in greenhouses they should be distinguished from the larger harvester ants.
Yellow pharaohs
It is extremely difficult to expel yellow pests from a greenhouse. They parasitize in human homes and other commercial buildings. These insects are also called pharaoh ants because they were identified in Egypt. Pests form large nests connected to each other. They are difficult to remove, since once one nest is eradicated, the ants will move to another. It is recommended to treat each place with the drug “Grom-2”, which is placed in the place where pests accumulate.
Red fiery
It is possible to poison red ants in greenhouses using a variety of harmless means. These pests live in soil with high humidity. They eat plants and other insects. They are characterized by aggressiveness and potent poison. To remove red ants from a greenhouse, it is recommended to use industrial chemicals. The poison is dissolved in 1 liter of water, then slowly poured into the pores in the soil where the pests live, after which the area is covered with film.
"Old-fashioned" methods, time-tested
You can also work with ants using the “wedge by wedge” method. If you cannot drive out black ants, you can scare them away with large red ones. Red forest ants love to destroy the nests of black ones and steal eggs from there.
If it so happens that your area with a greenhouse is located right next to a forest belt, then just find forest orderlies there, take some earth from the anthill and make a path like this all the way to the greenhouse.
Soon you will see how a whole river runs, takes white eggs from your hearth of black ants, and back. Quite an effective solution. True, this method does not always help, and sometimes both red and black people peacefully coexist with each other. There are also less risky “old-fashioned” methods of dealing with ants. The most effective is boric acid:
And the following methods: Fill a container with 10 liters of water, pour in two glasses of vegetable oil and the cheapest shampoo, add a bottle of vinegar and mix well. In the place of the largest concentration of insects, we pierce a hole with a peg and pour this mixture into it with a spray bottle. Immediately cover with film for three days. If you have enough patience, you can lure ants into a jar with leftover jam.
In one visit, many comrades will gather there, although not the entire colony, naturally. But it’s worth it a couple of times – the number of pests will decrease while you look for the main effective method of control.
Another old-fashioned method is a mixture of brewer’s yeast and honey. Little sweet tooths will eat up, and the remnants of the survivors will go home. Here's how to prepare meat bait for ants: mix 2 tablespoons of minced meat with 0.5 tsp. boric acid.
Divide this mixture into many small balls and spread along visible ant paths. It is only important that this poison is not accidentally eaten by one of your pets, and therefore during these days always close the door to the greenhouse.
Ants also don’t like certain smells. Therefore, spread out the remains of coffee grounds, cinnamon, mint, elderberry and tansy leaves, and cut garlic arrows for them in the greenhouse beds. Mechanical methods are also important in the fight against ants. Try to constantly loosen the soil in which there are insects.
Destruction of the uterus
It often happens that after a serious chemical treatment is completed, insects disappear for a certain period of time and then appear again. Pesticides kill only adult individuals, while the queen continues to actively reproduce.
The queen lives in the depths of the galleries and is extremely difficult to find. Therefore, experts have come up with the most effective way: you need to make sure that the poison gets to the female from the ants. When it is destroyed, the nest will also spread.
To destroy pests in a greenhouse, you need to get rid of the main root of the problem - their uterus. For these purposes, you will need to dig up the soil, as well as carefully examine it, trying to find the largest ant that lays eggs.
Wait for her to appear
Regular loosening of the soil near plants also helps reduce the number of pests, or forces them to change their habitat. This is due to the fact that the nests and passages that are used for movement are constantly being destroyed. When, during loosening, it was possible to find and get rid of the queen, the anthill ceases to exist.
Preparation of a weak poison
When the poison left by insects acts very quickly, they do not have time to convey it to the female. And if the effect is insignificant, slow, over time the queen will be killed.
To prepare a weak bait, an ordinary sweet solution of boric acid is made, in which cotton wool should be soaked and thrown inside the jar. The trap is covered in such a way that insects can get inside. They bite off pieces of cotton wool and bring it to the female. After 15 days, you need to update the contents, reducing the concentration of the solution over time. After 6 weeks, the colony will be completely destroyed.
In addition, you can mix honey and dry boric acid in a ratio of 2 to 1, add 2 drops. water and stir, making the mixture quite thick. Such bait is placed on ant paths. After this, you need to wait for it to be delivered to the female. If the acid penetrates inside the ant, it will initially begin to itch and then be destroyed.
Using Vinegar and Soda
Baking soda is a universal remedy that will help get rid of many problems. You need to use a small amount of soda, then it will not harm the earth. You can use soda as follows:
- 2 tbsp. soda must be diluted with two liters of boiling water. The soda must be stirred well, and after that, pour it all into the anthill, pour it directly into the passages. The treated areas must be covered with earth or covered with dense material to prevent oxygen from entering;
- Baking soda can also be used in dry form by mixing it with powdered sugar. The ants will mistake the mixture for food because of the sweet aroma and the soda will kill them;
- You can also use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to get rid of pests. To use this mixture, you need to make a small depression in the anthill and pour soda into it. Vinegar should be poured on top of the soda, after the reaction has passed, the crater should be covered with earth.
As you can see, soda can be used in any form; it will help get rid of insects, even if you just sprinkle it around the anthill. However, it will act for a long time, so it is better to use the methods described above, they act faster.
Destruction of an anthill
It often happens that ants create their colonies not far from the greenhouse, which causes negative consequences. Pests will come there for food. In such a situation, it is necessary to move the nest away from the greenhouse or destroy it. Physical methods will help reduce the number of pests, but they will not be completely eliminated.
Filling with homemade compounds
There are 2 methods to fill an anthill:
- with the onset of frost, the upper part of the anthill is removed using a shovel, and water is poured under pressure;
- in the summer, fill the nest with molasses and water with jam. This will immediately cause the growth of yeast, which destroys insect reserves. After this, the ants try to look for a new habitat.
When insects settle in beds in a greenhouse before planting seedlings, it is necessary:
- prepare 2 buckets of boiling water;
- use 1 spade bayonet to dig out a nest;
- pour boiling water over the beds and leave the greenhouse, leaving the door open.
Important! It is not the ants that die from boiling water, but their eggs. Pests in such a situation take the surviving offspring with them and run away.
Sometimes anthills are watered with vegetable oil when other methods have not helped. Sunflower oil is much easier to use: after frying, the remaining hot oil is poured into the holes.
Backfilling with dry material
However, the nests are not only filled, but also sprinkled with dry material: dried mustard, ash, lime, crushed pepper, saltpeter. Mustard powder will repel insects.
It is also possible to defeat pests with the help of millet. The ants perceive it as eggs and drag it inside the anthill. Then you need to water the nest, the grains will swell and block the passages. In addition, millet smells unpleasant to pests. After 2-3 weeks, the ants will begin to move out of the garden bed in search of other places.
Another simple way to escape from pests is to loosen the anthill you find and then sprinkle it with tobacco dust or lime.
Getting rid of insects with jam
Surprisingly, you can use jam to fight insects. Sweets attract insects, so you can lure them into a trap with the help of jam. To do this, you need to pour jam into the container; you can use a plastic bottle with the top cut off. The container with jam should be left next to the anthill for a couple of days, after which the stuck insects should be poured with boiling water.
This method will not help get rid of a large anthill; it can be used to get rid of scout ants and prevent the appearance of anthills.
How to protect a greenhouse forever?
To protect the greenhouse from pests, it is necessary to take the following preventive measures:
- break the arrows on the garlic and place them near the beds; pests will avoid these places. Experienced gardeners have invented a reliable method that will forever protect the greenhouse from pests: weave ropes from garlic shoots and tie the base of the greenhouse;
- Also, insects do not like the aroma of vegetable oil, mint, wormwood and elderberry. By scattering 2 branches with leaves in a greenhouse, you will be able to get rid of black ants very quickly. In addition, pests do not tolerate ground cinnamon.
However, you should not try to completely eliminate all ants in the greenhouse. You just need to control their number. If you get rid of all the insects, the ecosystem of such a closed soil will be disrupted. As a result, the greenhouse will be attacked by other pests.
It is necessary to counteract ants, since the damage caused by pests is quite large. It is worth constantly inspecting the greenhouse for the presence of insects. When ants are identified, appropriate measures must be taken immediately to eliminate them once their presence is clearly established.
Using Potatoes
Potato peelings can be used to repel ants, as ants do not digest starch.
To do this, you just need to scatter potato peelings or chopped root vegetables on the site all season long. They will repel ants and anthills will not appear in the greenhouse area.
Chemical
First of all, this group of methods includes various poisoned baits. To create such a bait, you need to mix in a glass of water one-quarter of a teaspoon of boric acid (it is sold at the pharmacy), 3-4 teaspoons of sugar and a couple of teaspoons of fermented or candied jam or honey.
Such bait should be placed in shallow containers and in places where ants can climb, but children and pets cannot. The bait should be exposed daily for a month.
Safer means of control are sharp and unpleasant odors that can drive out insects. Ants do not like the smells of elderberry, mint, wormwood, garlic, anise, mustard and bay leaves.
Our great-grandmothers and grandmothers knew and actively used how to destroy it through odors: they crushed several (2-4) cloves of garlic grown in open ground in some container and poured cold water. The resulting mixture was infused in a bucket for about a day, after which it was watered over the anthill.
Combined
There is another way: for this you need some old utensils, for example, a pot or kettle that has served its time. A piece of dark-dyed cloth is placed at the bottom of such a dish, which is generously sprinkled with sugar or moistened with jam or thick syrup.
After which the dishes are placed near the colony. The queen, and after her all the other insects, will move into such a “comfortable” anthill. After which it is necessary to either throw it away or destroy it along with all its “tenants”.
Since Soviet times, gardeners have known that if ants settled in a greenhouse, how to get them out using mustard. For 1 liter of hot water you need to take 60 g of dry mustard powder, then leave for three days in a tightly sealed container.
After three days, mix the solution with three liters of water and spray the plants in the greenhouse, at the same time it is necessary to water the soil where there are passages, dissolving one teaspoon of mustard in a liter of water. You can simply sprinkle with dry mustard powder in a 1 centimeter layer.
If all of the above methods do not bring the expected effect, then industrial pesticides are used.
Industrial pesticides
This is the last and most extreme resort. Such widely advertised drugs as “Grom-2”, “Muracid”, “Anteater”, “Muravin” contain the same active substance - diazinon.
In addition to these drugs, you can use German powders Delicia and Expel. When using pesticides, you should remember that they are poisonous and dangerous to other insects, such as bees, as well as to domestic animals.
When thinking about what to do if ants have settled in the greenhouse, how to get rid of them, choosing one method or another, do not forget that curious children and animals may become interested in something, and you and your family and friends will eat the harvest.
As mentioned above, there are many methods using natural and natural ingredients that will rid your greenhouse or greenhouse of ants and will not harm you, your family members, or pets.
Source: parnik-teplitsa.ru/kak-izbavitsya-ot-muravev-v-teplice-13
Benefit or harm
Thus, if there are ants in the greenhouse, then before you start fighting them, you need to weigh all the pros and cons of the presence of these insects.
So, the pros:
- Ants destroy all other types of insects, such as spider mites and the larvae of other pests;
- in the process of building their colony nests, they loosen the surface layer of soil, which facilitates the flow of more air to the root system of plants;
- The result of the life activity of an ant colony is the enrichment of the soil with nitrogen, potassium, and humus, which improves its quality.
Disadvantages of having colonies in greenhouses:
- garden blacks feed on seeds and sprouts of young plants, causing their death;
- Sugar is necessary for the life of adult blacks. In order to get it, ants create “herds” of aphids, which they settle on plants;
- they can pose a threat to the health of people and animals, as they sting quite painfully. The formic acid they inject during a bite can trigger an acute allergic reaction.
If, after analyzing all the pros and cons of the presence of ants in a greenhouse or greenhouse, you come to the conclusion that you need to get rid of them, you need to think about what methods will be used.
