Ants are common insects that are found in almost any region of Russia. They are very hardworking and active, divided into three castes: males, females and workers. They live in nests, which are also popularly called anthills. They can build their nests anywhere, but mostly they prefer to populate old stumps, soil under stones. Ants and summer cottages do not bypass. There they often like to equip their anthills next to paths, flower beds or in the garden next to trees, causing summer residents inconvenience during work or harvesting. In addition, there are also domestic ants that can settle in a country house. You will definitely have to get rid of them.

These black or red insects reproduce very quickly. In just one season, the colony can increase several times. On the one hand, they bring benefits to humans, one anthill per summer can destroy about one million other harmful insects and countless numbers of their larvae. On the other hand, the ants themselves sometimes do a lot of harm. More precisely, it is not the ants themselves who do this, but the aphids, which they bring to young shoots. As a result, aphids infect leaves (black currant, for example), and ants, in turn, feast on aphid milk. To remove these insects from the site, you should choose the right ant repellent in the country.

Ants

How to deal with ants in the garden and vegetable garden?

Experienced specialists have long been arguing about whether it is necessary to fight ants in the garden. Some agronomists insist that it is imperative to evict them from the beds and greenhouses, while others, on the contrary, say that ants are helpers.

What are the benefits of ants:

  • enrich the soil in the garden with oxygen and trace elements (phosphorus and potassium);
  • loosen the soil. Small insects loosen the soil, and it has been shown that such loosening is more beneficial than mechanical loosening with hoes or hoes.
  • destroy other insects that are more harmful to garden plants. Ants are excellent helpers in the fight against flies, slugs, caterpillars and their larvae.

Harm from ants in the garden and vegetable garden:

  • spoil vegetables and fruits. In addition, these insects can also spoil root crops (potatoes, carrots, beets, and others). They gnaw vegetables and feast on sweet juice. As a result, most often ants can spoil vegetables that contain a large amount of sugar;
  • damage flowers. These underground inhabitants love to feast on the sweet juice of the roots. Most often, roses are damaged. Flowers can become seriously ill after an ant infestation;
  • make the soil more acidic. And acidic soil is not suitable for all plants;
  • are carriers of aphids. Harm trees and shrubs. During the season, an insect colony can destroy a plant, making millions of tunnels in the bark. The tree gets sick and gradually dies.

How to get rid of ants in the garden

Salmon from ants in the garden

Novice gardeners often ask the question: how to deal with ants? There are quite a few ways to protect beds from underground pests. And it is not necessary to immediately poison them and resort to chemical methods of struggle. Do not rush to immediately get rid of the anthill itself.

Important! It should always be remembered that ants help fight other more harmful insects. If you destroy their nest, the population of other pests will very quickly increase on the site.

From time to time it is recommended to observe insects and see how often they visit the garden beds. If the ants do not cause any harm to garden plants, then you should not rush to evict them from the site. If black or red insects have chosen strawberry plantations, then their destruction can also be postponed. The first step is to "feed" the ants with sweet syrup. To do this, you can take a couple of tablespoons of any jam or jam and dilute it in warm water. Treats for insects are poured into small bowls or unnecessary lids, and then placed next to the strawberry bushes. As a result, it is highly likely that the ants will forget about the berry and switch to treats. However, there is also an important condition, feeding for ants needs to be renewed periodically, especially after rain.

How to get rid of ants in the garden

If, nevertheless, black or red insects behave aggressively and gradually attack the plantings, then it is already necessary to act more decisively. There are a lot of remedies for ants in the garden. Almost all of them contain in their composition two substances unpleasant for insects - these are diazinon and chlorpyrifos. Because of the first substance, ants fall into convulsions, which, in turn, lead first to paralysis, and then to the death of the insect. The second poison, chlorpyrifos, paralyzes the nervous system. Both substances remain in the soil for a long time - up to two months.
The most effective drugs for fighting ants are Thunder-2, Great Warrior, Muravyov, Muravyov, Muratsid. The fastest effect is given by the Great Warrior. Insects will disappear from the site within a maximum of a day and a half after treatment. One square meter will need 30 mg. The drug is a gel that is spread in the form of small droplets on pieces of cardboard and laid out on the soil surface next to the anthills.

Fighting ants in the garden

Crawling insects can also cause enormous harm in gardening. As mentioned earlier, red and black insects bring aphids to garden plants. The latter spoils the leaves by sucking the juice out of them. Thanks to the juice of the aphid, it secretes sweet milk, which black and brown ants love to feast on. The greatest harm ants can do to currants. If you do not pay attention to the shrubs in time and do not take action, then the plants may die altogether. In the early stages, the problem with aphids and ants can be solved without any chemicals or folk remedies. It will be enough to cut off the top of the head from time to time - fresh leaves. Aphids tend to eat delicate leaves. This method will help get rid of aphids, and the black currant bushes themselves will give more side shoots, on which the main crop of this berry crop is formed.

Flowers are planted next to fruit trees that scare away these insects - for example, calendula

Boric acid from ants in the garden

Often ants bring aphids to other fruit trees, taller ones - apple, pear, cherry, plum, apricot, peach and others. You need to start fighting them in the spring. Flowers are planted next to the fruit, which repel these insects - for example, calendula. Ants do not tolerate its smell and will bypass such areas. You can also throw rags soaked in kerosene or gasoline near trees and bushes. The ants also cannot stand the smell of these substances. In addition, trapping belts will also help.
If it was not possible to cope with the ants using the above methods, then you will have to resort to chemical preparations. For example, the Anteater can be used to poison plants. To do this, you need to dissolve only 1 ml in 10 liters of pure water. of this drug. One bucket of water is enough for 5 square meters. For greater effect, it is also recommended to use some other drug.For example, the Great Warrior, which should already be sprinkled next to the anthill. The result is visible after two to three days.

How to get ants out of the area: folk remedies

If you are not a supporter of chemicals, then you can resort to the old, folk methods. All of them are ecological and do not pose any harm to human health.

Additional Information! In the fight against ants, the elementary ingredients that are available to every person can help - soda, salt, sugar, sunflower oil, citric and boric acid, ammonia or vinegar.

Saline solution for ant control

A saline solution gives a good effect, this method is also the cheapest. It is quite simple to make such a solution. Dissolve one kilogram of table salt in three liters of water. Put the saucepan on fire and bring to a boil. Then the resulting solution is poured into anthills while still hot. Its inhabitants cannot stand salt water and die from it. Some experts say that you don't need to prepare the brine, but just scatter the salt around the ant nests. However, for the best effect, it is recommended to make a saline solution. Moreover, this method has its own minus - salt reduces soil fertility. Therefore, it should not be abused.
In the fight against these insects, semolina or millet, which is sprinkled on places where ants congregate, can also help. The sunflower oil left over after frying cutlets or after cooking other dishes also gives a good effect. It is poured into the crevices of ant nests. The inevitable death of these insects are gasoline and kerosene. They are also poured into anthills in a pure form without dilution.

How to get rid of ants: prevention

To prevent the ants from returning to a specific area after treatment with chemicals, prevention should be taken. First of all, scare them away with pungent odors - lay out rags dipped in kerosene, fish heads, sawdust or shavings. Tobacco dust, black or red ground pepper, tomato tops help well.

Note! Some plants can also scare off insects - wormwood, mint, lemon balm, parsley, calendula, marigolds. They do not tolerate their smell, besides the flowers will also delight the eyes of others.

Trapping belts will also help in the fight against ants. They need to be planted on trees every spring. However, it must be remembered that it is necessary to fix such devices almost at the very base of the tree. Then not only ants, but also other harmful insects will not be able to penetrate the trees. Thus, observing simple methods of dealing with these insects, you can effortlessly remove them from a specific site. And if you also do prevention, then the ants will not return after a while and will not cause new problems.