Ants are a very common scenario in a garden. It does not only harm the plants in your garden, it has a lot of advantages too. Also, some ants also cause damage to your plant. Nevertheless, having ants in your garden can be very painful if you want to enjoy a lovely evening with your family in your garden.
It will become more dangerous if you have kids or pets in your house. They will get constant bites which will be troublesome. Therefore, it is best to do away with the ants in your garden even though they provide many benefits as well.
How to Get Rid of Ants in Garden Without Killing Plants?
Garden ants can be difficult to eradicate. You might accidentally kill your plans in the process. You can, however, kill the ants without damaging your plants. So, in this article, we are going to talk about the ways to get rid of the ants in your garden without killing the plants.
The Damage That Ants Do to Your Garden
An ant or two in your garden is usually not a big deal. But when different types of ants set up huge colonies in your garden, that is of course a matter of concern. Getting rid of ants is not complicated; however, it should not confuse you. However beneficial ants can be to your garden, the damage they do to it is greater than what they contribute. This is why it is best to remove them.
In case you are still confused, here is a list of the damage ants can cause to your garden.
Ants Bite
Not every ant bites but some species do and the result is pain. There are some kinds of pain that last for a day. Some stay for weeks and causes serious health problems and infections. An intense itch and burning result from the bites for several days. The common garden ant, the fire ant, and the large black ant bites. Therefore, they should be disposed of.
Ants Damage Your Property
Ants can cause some problems that affect your garden experience more than your actual garden. A swarm of fire ants could make harvesting your plants a miserable experience, no matter how good you keep your plants. This species of ant’s nesting habits are the major problem. An ant colony built from wood is called a Carpenter Ant nest. Their eyes are not picky about the kind of wood used in your home’s construction. They are just as fascinated by decaying stumps as with hardwood. This will lead to your property damage and great loss. It is like a silent killer if you do not take any action against it.
Other Insect Populations Increase Because of Ants
As if ants were not enough problems, where there are ants, there are other insects too. Ants often attract other insects as they think the place will be safe to live as ants already live there. Ants also trap other insects to prey on them later as ants also prey on other dead insects.
Getting Rid of Ants Without Killing the Plants
So, you see? ants just invite more problems so, it is better to get rid of them once and for all. But you have to be careful to do that so that you do not kill your precious plants while doing so. So, here are some ways to get rid of the ants without killing the plants:
Use Cayenne
Cayenne is a powerful insect repellent, but will not harm grass. Pour three tablespoons of cayenne pepper sauce into a spray bottle. Place 1 quart of water and 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap into the bottle and spray the area around the nest and watch them disappear.
Use Citrus Oil Spray
You can store the orange peels after eating. This will come in handy to get rid of the ants in your garden. Ants love to eat orange peels because they are loaded with natural components that are toxic to bacteria. If they can’t find the fungi in your garden, they will look elsewhere. Orange oil can be found in many natural insecticides, but you can make your own by adding 1/2 cup orange juice to 3/4 cup essential oil. These ingredients may seem like they would cause problems in your garden, but they actually help your garden.
Soap And Water
You can also clean out the ants on your beautiful lawn with soap and water, which are the two most commonly used cleaning substances. Ensure you are cleaning your lawn with eco-friendly soap in order to prevent damage.
You can immediately spray the mixture in a spray bottle after mixing the biodegradable soap with water. The spray should be concentrated on the nest and also applied along their trail. This mixture also works well to kill the entire colony if you dump enough into the nest.
Sugar and boric acid.
One of the best home remedies for eliminating ants is probably this one. Place small amounts of boric acid paste around the entrance to the ant nest by mixing it with sugar until it turns into a thick paste. Sweets attract the ants, which is why they will be drawn to the paste. They will eat some of it and take the rest home for the queen. Those ants who consume the sweet paste, especially the queen ant, will die shortly afterward because it contains boric acid.
Pepper and peppermint
Crunch up a lot of red pepper flakes. Combine them with peppermint spray or peppermint dehydrated powder. Mix the mixture together and sprinkle it on your ant trails. Cover anthills with this mixture if you find them in your garden. Ants are going to hate the smell and they will leave the place immediately by themselves.
So, that was all about how to get rid of the ants in your garden without killing the plants. If you follow any one of the given instructions, you will have an ant-free garden in no time. But however, you must be careful as ants keep coming back. So, when ants come back you can try different ways given here and that would do the trick.