Ants are interesting and hardworking insects. Everyone loves the forest and is fun to watch. On the other hand, they are unpopular in the garden. Nobody wants them. There are a number of reasons for this. On the one hand, ants “breed” aphids, they love their excretions, the so-called honeydew. It is the ants’ main source of carbohydrates. On the other hand, ants like to build their nests or breeding caves under the plates of a terrace and lift the plates. Everywhere the small craters appear where the insects have their exits and entrances. It’s an unattractive and shaky affair. The ants have to go.
Table of Contents
Ants in the house
Sometimes you can’t believe your eyes when suddenly an ant road leads through the middle of the living room. Window sills are also very popular with ants. They are often used as a road. One thing is clear: the insects don’t belong in the house, they have to go. The question is why the ants chose this route. Most of the time it is the animals responsible for food that are attracted by food and have laid the streets. The following has to be done:
- Do not leave any food open!
- Clear out rubbish regularly, if possible daily!
- Dispose of contaminated food!
- Seal food tightly!
Entrances, i.e. close cracks and crevices, so that ants can no longer enter! Adhesive barriers made of silicone, glue, clay or similar materials are used.
Do not leave any animal feed open in the bowl! This attracts ants in droves.
Lay out intense fragrances! Place juniper leaves, cloves, marjoram or ground coffee directly on the road, if possible over a longer distance so that the road is interrupted for a long time!
Lavender oil, lemon juice and baking soda can also help.
Baking powder, but also deer horn salt, are poisonous for ants, but completely harmless to humans. Sugar can be used to attract.
Of course, ant baits that are available in stores also help. The ants carry them into their nests and feed them to the queen. This dies and so its people are wiped out. The bait should not be used indoors. They are placed outside on the ant road!
Ants in the garden – enemies, of course
Better than any chemical club and often more effective than old home remedies is the regulation of the ants population by natural enemies, predators that feed on ants. No person or animal is harmed and there are no costs. Everything happens naturally.
- Ant-eating birds: green, great spotted and black woodpecker. A green woodpecker eats between 3,000 and 5,000 ants per day.
- Amphibians, spiders and other insects such as beetles and millipedes eat ants.
- Ants do not even disdain bedbugs.
- The ant lion, which catches ants in a funnel, is also effective.
- Unfortunately, there are no anteaters in Central Europe. This species is a big ant lover. He devours vast numbers of the insects.
Move or drive away ants
Even if ants are very annoying, you don’t have to kill them right away. There are also ways that are gentle on insects. They are a little more complex than setting up a food trap, but ants also have their right to exist. They’re useful too. After all, they eat dead insects and animals in the garden, provide for the spread of plants, and are good for the compost heap they plow over.
Relocate ants
It is beneficial to relocate the entire ant colony. A medium-sized flower pot is simply filled with soil or, better still, with wood wool. This is placed directly on the nest with the opening facing down. The ants settle in it. When they are in the pot, carefully slide a spade under the pot and lift the nest. It can be transported to any location.
Ants like to settle in flower pots and tubs. Then you can put it properly under water. Either you submerge everything completely under water, which of course means the death of the animals, or you give them an escape route, for example a footbridge, over which they can escape. You are looking for a new territory. So set up the sponged pot at some distance!
Repel ants with home remedies
Ants have always bothered us humans when they come too close. In the course of time we have learned to drive away the animals, usually without having to work hard. There are quite simple methods of dealing with the nuisances. You don’t have to kill them right away, at least most of the time.
To prevent ants from getting into houses in the first place, a thick line is drawn with chalk on the floor in front of doors. This has to be tightened frequently. (Of course it is stupid if the ants first climb up a wall somewhere and then penetrate through the door from above. Then of course you have to pull the line directly in the way!)
Strong smells drive ants away quite reliably. Even flavored teas are often enough. Spreading mint tea on the paths can make them flee.
Herbs such as marjoram, thyme or tansy and yarrow are also helpful. You take about 40 g of it for one liter of water and also pour this mixture directly onto the streets.
Baking powder, mixed with a little sugar, not only helps in the house, but of course also outdoors, but as already mentioned, it kills.
A mixture of honey and yeast that is placed near the nests is also suitable, but it also kills.
Herbal manure, i.e. nettle or wormwood manure, is better. These drive away the pests, but also smell quite unpleasant for people.
Of course you can also pour boiling water into the ant nest, that helps radically.
Putting baking soda in ant holes also helps in a blatant way.
Ant baits made from honey water, raspberry water, sugared beer or syrup also attract ants. You can let them drown in it, but you won’t get the whole group that way.
Chemical control of ants
Attack ants with chemistry
In very bad cases and when you can’t help yourself, a call to the responsible pest controller is the best way to go. These specialists are familiar with all kinds of pests and usually eliminate the problem quickly and reliably. Anyone who handles chemical agents should strictly adhere to the instructions on the packaging. This helps to avoid injuries and damage to health.
You can use spray, mist and dust against ants.
The feeding baits also help. Although they also kill, it must be said that they are most effective. They exterminate the whole people. On the other hand, they do not harm the environment and, if used properly, neither humans nor pets.
- Wear gloves when applying the agent!
- If possible, do not use any substances that are dangerous to bees.
- If the agents are dangerous to bees, do not apply to flowering plants, not even to flowering weeds!
- Spreading funds can damage the lawn.
Conclusion
Ants are a nuisance, especially when they roam the house in droves. You have to do something about that. However, it often helps to remove the cause of the incursion and break the road. You just use things that ants don’t like and put them on the street. Outside, the most humane method is to move the whole nest. It’s not difficult at all. If you want to have some peace and quiet, you should try feeding bait. Then the queen and her entourage are killed. Nothing moves anymore. If you want to drive the ants away, you have to annoy them with smells. They often look for a new place to stay, but it can’t be far away. Home remedies are sometimes very brutal, because the pests are also killed, without any chemicals. But there are also harmless ones that only result in displacement. These should always be the first choice. Don’t always kill everything that bothers us!
