How to get rid of ants in your garden

Diseases and pests

Today, we'll explore a variety of ways to get rid of ants in your garden. One of them is sure to help, and you'll rid your garden of this scourge. In the fight against ants, you need to understand that the ants themselves, scurrying back and forth across your rightful territory, are pawns. Their existence depends on the queen, who sits deep in the nest, spawning other worker soldiers. The ants, like zombies, are programmed to work from birth. They are the workforce, their job is to feed and protect the queen and her brood. If you can get rid of the queen, you'll be free of the ants.

There are many methods for this purpose, so let's take a look at them one by one. Of course, we want to avoid the most aggressive ones, like those involving poisons, because this is our land, where we grow crops, and poisoning it along with the ants is completely illogical. Therefore, we'll look at folk remedies developed by gardeners for ant control. Many of them can be quite effective—so get to work!

Ants on fruit trees - how to fight them?

In the garden, ants are a real threat to fruit trees—they can nest right in the roots, and the tree will simply die within a couple of years. The trunks should be thoroughly coated with a strong lime solution, and the soil around the trunk should be thoroughly coated. Tar also works well.

Fruit trees (if the nest isn't inside the roots) can be lined with old tires cut lengthwise and filled with water. The ants can't walk on water, so they won't climb the tree. Meanwhile, you'll have killed the aphids—and that's it, the tree is saved, and it'll produce an excellent harvest again! Incidentally, a proven, effective method is horseradish roots; an infusion of them is very effective against aphids. Dig up some horseradish, cut it up, cover it with water, and let it sit for half a day.

Meanwhile, remove all the leaves from the trees, bushes, or garden plots where the aphids are (even in colonies; if they're just isolated ones, a horseradish infusion will kill them). Burn the leaves. Yes, it's a hassle, but it's very effective! Then strain the solution and spray all the aphid-damaged plants, scattering the remaining horseradish directly under the bushes and plants. Meanwhile, keep the ants at bay, or they'll bring in more aphids! See also: Apple tree diseases and their treatment (photos).

Herbs that repel ants

Let's start small—we pity the poor, hardworking ants, whose lot from birth is to toil away for the queen and her growing brood, and who know no other life than carrying food to the nest and feeding the entire horde. Those born immediately join the ranks, with the exception of a few winged individuals who rule the entire ant kingdom, building new nests and laying new brood.

That's the life they lead, these industrious ants. And there's no silver lining in sight—they toil from dawn to dusk for their nest, without holidays or weekends, as they say. So, we try to scare the ants away first—maybe they'll leave on their own in search of a more favorable location, and we won't have to exterminate them.

First of all, if you find several anthills in your yard, plant herbs that ants absolutely hate—tansy and parsley are not popular with ants, and they avoid mustard. Incidentally, if you sow mustard in your yard in the fall, after harvesting, you'll kill three birds with one stone—the ants will flee, the mole crickets will go away, and you'll also enrich the soil with nutrients by digging it in with the mustard greens, as it's a green manure and has a positive effect on the soil's quality.

We water the paths, we mislead with ants

Remember, the key to killing ants is removing the queen, blocking pathways and paths around the garden, and driving them out of the garden. So, let's look at what methods gardeners have come up with to combat ants, and we'll try to eliminate them from our gardens and save our crops and trees.

It's important to understand that ants follow well-worn paths, and they can be controlled by blocking their passages. To do this, spread garlic, oregano and sulfur, baking soda, and ash and lime along their paths to disorient them with their scent. Spray the paths with vegetable oil (the most fragrant kind works especially well), a mixture of boric acid and sugar, or kerosene. Place smoked fish heads on anthills (the ants are then collected on them), traps filled with sugar syrup, and so on. Once you collect the ants in the traps and destroy them, the queen crawls to the surface in hunger—and then you've caught her, and the ant kingdom is over.

But, this is if you have the time and desire to mess around like that; it’s a labor-intensive task, and not everyone can do it.
And then—if you haven't had many of them yet, you can try relocating them to another area this way, and let the neighbors deal with them. But seriously, you need to tackle ants thoroughly. While it's a shame for these little workers, the damage they cause is unimaginable. Therefore, we protect our territory and our crops, and we attack them aggressively from all sides. We tear apart the anthills, pour boiling water, kerosene, and a strong salt solution on them, surround them with wormwood and tansy, and spread yeast, water, and jam everywhere as bait—this sweet stuff is deadly to ants. And don't forget to fight the aphids, the horde of ants that has settled in your garden!

Next, we use ground cinnamon, boiling water poured over dug-up anthills, traps made of minced meat with boric acid, pine needle concentrate, shag tobacco, and so on. And finally, here's another recipe:

Add 2 cups of fragrant vegetable oil, a bottle of vinegar, and a bottle of shampoo (the cheapest kind will do) to a bucket of water. Mix everything together. Next, find the anthills, dig them up deep, and pour this mixture directly into the nests, where the queen and cocoons are located. You can also use tar soap with kerosene and carbolic acid. Try it out—something is sure to help!

Maybe you still want to know, How to deal with moles on your property? Good recommendations, read them!