If there is a plague of ants in the raised bed, it can sometimes be difficult to get rid of the pests. When gardening in particular, the animals can become very uncomfortable when they defend their place and leave their poisons on hands and arms. Killing is not always the best solution here, because ants can also be very useful. The following article explains what options there are to get rid of the ants in the raised bed.
Find the ant nest
If there are a lot of ants in the raised bed all of a sudden, then this can already be a plague of ants. In order to fight the animals , the first thing to do is to locate the ant nest. To do this, simply follow the road on which the ants are traveling in both directions. You can’t miss this street. In this way, the ant nest can be found quickly and the ants can be driven away or relocated.
Hot water
Even the grandparents used hot water in the garden to get rid of ants. Once the ant’s nest has been discovered, it is flooded for days with hot or alternatively cold water. The ants will voluntarily leave their burrow after a few days, but unfortunately some of the animals also die during this action.
Planting herbs
The ants avoid various smells. In this way, natural barriers can be created around the raised bed with various odor-intensive herbs and plants. The positive side effect, in addition to the absence of an ants plague in the bed, is also the daily access to fresh herbs. Plants that ants avoid include:
- Knoblauch
- Onions
- lavender
- chervil
- mint
- thyme
Fight aphids
Ants prefer honeydew as food. However, these are the excretions of aphids. This means that the ants will mainly be in a raised bed with an aphid infestation. To avoid this, the aphids should be combated first, which also cause great damage to the plants. If the ants then no longer find any food in the raised bed, they will no longer besiege it. You can therefore proceed as follows against aphids and thus also against an ant plague in the raised bed:
- Wash aphids from plants
- use a soft cloth for this
- Spray with soapy water and alcohol or vinegar
- shower off all infected plants from above
- use insecticides in the last experiment
- not in a vegetable or herb patch
Baking powder against the ants plague
It is also often recommended to bait the ants with baking soda. Because this is recognized as food by the animals and taken into the ant nest for everyone. However, if the powder is ingested by the ants, it spreads in the stomach of the animals and they burst from the inside, so to speak. Baking powder is not recommended, as it should not be laid out for nature conservation reasons, because the animals die a painful death, even if they can be successfully fought with it.
Nettle manure
You can repel ants with various smells. The animals don’t even like the smell of nettle manure. The liquid manure is simply poured around the plants in the raised bed to drive them away. This is a very gentle way of driving the ants out of the bed. Due to the strong smell, however, the manure should only be used in a bed that is not too close to the house. You can make the nettle manure as follows:
- Chop stinging nettles
- put in buckets
- fill up with water
- not all the way to the edge, otherwise the brew will overflow
- put in a warm place
- here is the south
- when small bubbles rise more, the brew is ready
- when pouring one part of the brew with 10 parts of water
cinammon
The ants don’t like the smell of cinnamon either, but it disappears quickly in the fresh air. To get rid of the ants with cinnamon, the powder must be sprinkled directly on the ant road that runs towards the raised bed. The process has to be repeated several times until there are no more ants on this road. The remedy, on the other hand, does not offer any success if the ant nest is located directly in the raised bed.
Chemicals
There are many remedies for an ant plague available on the market. However, these should only really be used in an extreme emergency. Because these agents, such as feeding bait, always kill the ants and can also damage the kitchen garden in the raised bed. Because chemical agents can also be absorbed by the useful plants through the roots. This is how these funds end up unintentionally on the plate later on. The following ant agents are commercially available:
- Feeding bait
- poisonous adhesive tape to prevent ant trail
- various aerosols
More home remedies
There are of course many other home remedies that can be used against the ants plague. However, these agents are not always nature-protecting and often fatal for animals. Therefore, before use, you should consider whether there is a milder solution to drive away or relocate the animals. The following home remedies are also available to prevent an ant plague in the raised bed:
- double tape across the ant road
- This way ants lose their scent trail
- Chalk to break the ant route
- Vinegar, lemon, or essential oils confuse the ants
- Mixture of pure alcohol, dishwashing detergent and water
- spray where ants are not wanted
- Ants avoid alcohol
Relocate the ant nest
Relocation can be very difficult, but it is the best solution for the animals that are actually useful. To relocate an entire nest, the first thing to do is to find a suitable place that should not be too close to your own garden. This can be an unused meadow or the edge of the forest. The procedure for relocating is as follows:
- Choose a large clay pot as a transition nest
- line with wood wool or straw
- put the pot over the anthill
- the acceptance of the new nest can take a few days
- Don’t bother ants in time
- if ants have moved, slide spades under the pot
- so carry to selected place in corner of the garden
If you want to move the nest to the edge of a forest or a meadow that is not in close proximity to the property, you have to transport the pot with the ants by car. For this purpose, the pot should also be placed in a closed container. The trunk should also be covered with plastic wrap. The pot is then emptied at the desired location at the new location.
Conclusion
For the ants, which are actually harmless in the raised bed, there are various tricks and tips to get rid of them again in the event of an ants plague. But not every measure is suitable, because some home remedies are in no way compliant with nature conservation. Nevertheless, there are definitely good solutions that can benefit both animals and hobby gardeners and which do not harm the animals, but which can still be driven out of the raised bed.
