Basically unproblematic, ants can become a real plague in the house and garden. This is especially true when they're lounging in the kitchen or under the patio, or feeding the aphids in the flower bed.

Many ants on a plant almost always indicate a lice infestation

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. The best home remedies
  3. Home remedies don't always help
  4. Eliminate ant nest
  5. prevention
  6. insecticides
  7. Useful helpers in the garden
  8. Problematic ant infestation
  9. frequently asked Questions
  10. Why is it better not to use insecticides against ants?
  11. I have red ants in the garden, what kind is this?
  12. Can I also fight the ants with garden lime?

    13. the essentials in brief

    • Baking soda only works if it contains baking soda and is a very macabre remedy
    • Traps made of beer magically attract the ants
    • Cucumbers, coffee and chalk help at best in the short term
    • Essential oils have proven to be a helpful home remedy

    The best home remedies for ants - and which ones you can safely forget

    Old home remedies are circulating on the Internet and in various gardening magazines, which are said to be particularly effective and quick to help against ants. In fact, many of these tips are practically useless, as the remedies have little or no effect. In this section we have clearly presented which home remedies actually help and which ones you can safely forget.

    Baking Powder / Baking Yeast

    The "insider tip" to fight ants with a mixture of baking powder and powdered sugar is not secret at all, in fact it is ancient and probably dates back to the 19th century. Nowadays, however, the method no longer works, since modern baking agents usually no longer contain sodium bicarbonate - this is the substance that is actually the most effective. In fact, the baking soda and icing sugar mixture is a very effective home remedy, but we still advise against using it. Baking soda kills the animals in an agonizing manner by causing them to bloat.

    beer

    What helps against snails can't be wrong against ants either. In fact, the animals wander purposefully into a set beer trap, as do the voracious slugs, catching two flies with one trap. However, the animals also die here and the cause of the ant infestation - the nest - is also still there.

    vinegar

    On the other hand, it is much more effective to spray ant streets and the ant nest - you can find this by simply following the road - with a mixture of vinegar and water. If you like to repeat this process more often and at short intervals, then the creepy-crawlies will quickly look for a new home that is less susceptible to disturbance.

    cucumber

    This "home remedy" can be relegated to the realm of fairy tales, since slices of cucumber in the middle of the ant trail may irritate the little animals for a moment, but in no way prevent them from doing what they do.

    coffee

    Coffee powder scattered on the ant trail only disturbs the little animals for a short time and they soon look for a new way.

    chalk / baby powder

    Chalk and baby powder or talcum powder also only help temporarily to disrupt an ant trail or to keep an outdoor picnic area free of hungry crawlers. Scattered powder or a line of chalk will keep ants away from the coffee table on the patio table for a short time, but are not suitable for effectively combating a plague.

    copper

    The same applies to laid out copper coins or wires, which only briefly disturb ant trails. However, the animals quickly find new ways.

    Strong scents

    Garlic keeps ants and other unwanted guests away

    The situation is different with strong-smelling plants, which - planted in beds heavily frequented by ants - effectively keep the animals away. In the house, on the other hand, you can use essential oils or hang bouquets of herbs in the kitchen. However, keep in mind that all these scents are also quite intense for humans and you have to like them permanently in the house. For short-term use, for example to drive away ants on their way into the house, you can also apply decoction drop by drop or wipe the floor with a citrus-based product.

    • garlic: works not only against ants, but also against many other pests
    • lavender: dried or fresh lavender is not particularly popular with ants
    • marjoram: perfect for planting out in the garden
    • peppermint: a large peppermint bush on the balcony or terrace keeps ants away
    • tea tree oil: Spread on window sills and door frames, the agent is quite effective, but not everyone's cup of tea due to its penetrating smell
    • thyme: can be cultivated in pots and thus protects balconies and terraces
    • cinammon: a bowl of cinnamon bark on the windowsill smells pleasant to humans and keeps creepy crawlies away
    • lemon: perfect for indoor use thanks to its pleasant smell, especially use fresh juice and grated zest

    vacuum cleaner

    If the crawling is too much for you, you can also grab the vacuum cleaner and simply suck the ants away. The method actually helps, but only in the short term. Immediately remove the bag over the household waste after vacuuming, otherwise the ants will crawl out again and simply make themselves comfortable in another corner of the room. Bagless vacuum cleaners, on the other hand, should be cleaned carefully immediately after use.

    youtube

    Why Grandma's home remedies don't help permanently

    All of the home remedies listed here have one very glaring flaw: They usually work, but only for a very short time. As a rule, the ants are back in no time at all, because the essential oils and co. only eliminate the symptoms and not the causes. For this it is necessary to eliminate any food sources as well as popular nesting sites - and also to locate the ant nest. You can also easily relocate the little animals without killing them.

    Locate and eliminate ant nest

    The ant nest is usually quite easy to find by following the path of the crawling creatures on the ant trail. In most cases, this is outside the home. Now you have different options:

    • plant pot:Fill a flower pot with wood shavings and put it open side down over the ant nest. Now wait a few days, the animals usually move there together with their larvae and you can put the pot down again in a safe place.

    • Water: If the relocation of the animals does not work as hoped, you can simply flood the nest with water. Keep pouring water in and the ants will eventually move too. The disadvantage of this method, however, is that you have no influence on the new nest location. Also, many of the animals drown.

    This is how you prevent an ant infestation

    Ants have an extremely good sense of smell, which shows the animals the sweet food they are looking for from afar. During their migrations, they react strongly to appropriate stimuli, which is why you can counteract an ant invasion in advance by simply implementing rules of conduct. Furthermore, when creating terraces and other structural features, it is important not to give the animals any incentives to build a nest.

    Prevention is better than tedious combat.

    Ants in the house and in the apartment

    If ants have already created veritable ant streets in the house or on the balcony, they have found a worthwhile food source here. The nest is not always on site, instead the animals have found a loophole somewhere and can get in and out of there at will. Now it is best to proceed as follows:

    • Seal loopholes: Locate wall openings and joints and seal them well using suitable means. In particular, inspect door and window openings.
    • cleanliness and tidiness: Ants are primarily attracted to exposed fruit, used pet food bowls, and other sources. Do not store fruit and pet food openly and clean the bowls immediately after use. Don't leave any used dishes behind, but wash them right away. The same applies to leftover food that has fallen on the floor.
    • Do not store food openly: Food supplies are also best kept in airtight containers. Incidentally, this also applies to food stored in the refrigerator, since even refrigerator seals are not an obstacle for ants either.
    • garbage: In particular, dispose of biological waste exclusively in well-closable containers and dispose of them outside every day - by the way, here too in lockable garbage cans.

    ants in the garden

    Ants are difficult to keep out of the garden

    An ant infestation in the garden, on the other hand, is difficult to prevent, after all, the animals find hiding places and food in abundance here: ripe fruit on trees and bushes, sweet strawberries in the garden bed, aphids on roses and other plants, loose pavement slabs on a sandy subsoil, etc. - all this offers perfect conditions for the little crawlers. However, you also have a few options here:

    • Do not lay paving slabs on sand, but on coarse gravel
    • Close joints well
    • Store the compost in a container that can also be closed properly
    • Seal garbage cans odor-tight
    • Immediately combat any infestation of leaf sap-sucking pests
    • Plant aromatic herbs such as marjoram, chervil, lemon balm, peppermint, etc. in vulnerable areas

    tips

    It can also help to specifically settle predators or to ensure that they feel comfortable in the home garden. The various species of woodpecker, for example, are excellent eaters of ants, but the small crawlers also like to eat spiders, centipedes, some predatory beetles and amphibians such as frogs.

    What helps against ants and aphids?

    A conspicuous ant infestation in the garden is often due to aphids. Here you must first eliminate the cause - namely the aphids - otherwise the ants will keep coming back. The sweet honeydew is just too tempting for that. So fight the aphids by spraying the infested plants several times with a broth of garlic, onions or nettles. Alternatively, concentrated black tea or a vinegar-water mixture with a dash of washing-up liquid also work. Ladybugs and other beneficial insects, on the other hand, only work if you drive the ants away first.

    Ants in the lawn

    The yellow garden ants, in particular, feel very comfortable in the lawn, building small, hill-shaped nests here. These are mainly found in bare, sparsely vegetated areas in sunny locations and on sandy soil. An infestation can be prevented very well by caring for the lawn carefully and thus keeping the turf as dense as possible. In particular, regular liming is shown to be effective against ants.

    Ants on the terrace

    Sun-warmed terraces are the perfect place for an ant nest

    Terraces in the warm sun are particularly popular with ants, as the rays quickly heat up the surface covering and the nest below is always nice and warm and provides ideal breeding conditions. Here, however, an infestation that is difficult to fight can already be prevented when building the terrace by using coarse gravel or high-quality split instead of sand for the subsoil. The animals cannot clear away this material like sand and have little incentive to build a nest.

    Only use insecticides in exceptional cases

    Insecticides or bait traps are available in drugstores and garden shops to curb the ant plague. Avoid these toxic and polluting agents, especially if you must use them indoors. Ant baits usually contain an attractant - for example spinosad - which the animals carry into the nest, feed their offspring with and from which the entire colony ultimately perishes. Flooding the nest is also quite violent, but many animals still survive - and water is known to be non-toxic.

    Useful helpers in the garden

    In fact, while ants are known to be annoying, they are useful animals. With their digging activities, the little crawlers loosen the soil in the flower and vegetable bed and thus ensure that it does not solidify and that the oxygen exchange works. You do not have to worry that the roots of the plants will also be loosened and damaged. This is usually not the case.

    Ants as pest controllers

    Insects are also among the most effective pest controllers that have numerous herbivorous caterpillars, larvae, beetles, etc. on their menu. A colony of the protected red wood ant (Formica rufa) destroys up to 100,000 of these garden pests - and that per day. The garden ants, which are often found in the gardens, are also hard-working pest controllers.

    In particular, the black or black-grey garden ant, also known as the garden ant, is predatory and captures various other types of insects.

    When is an ant infestation problematic?

    However, the same species is also problematic because it has practically perfected the keeping of aphids. In addition, the black garden ants not only feed on the honeydew of the aphids, but also make do with other harmful insects that suck plant sap, such as scale insects, cicadas or leaf fleas.

    ants and aphids

    The black garden ant keeps these as pets, nurtures and cares for the respective colonies, defends them against attacks and, if necessary, even moves them to other plants - perhaps closer to the burrow. In general, ants love everything sweet and like to go into houses and apartments to look for food - and sometimes even penetrate to the fifth floor of an apartment building.

    The black wood ant keeps aphids as pets

    Ants as storage pests

    An infestation of ants in the kitchen or another room is not only annoying, but also problematic from a hygienic point of view. The little animals not only pounce on open fruit bowls or unlocked supplies, but also transmit bacteria and other pathogens. For this reason, you should always dispose of infested food.

    Other species, on the other hand, cause problems because they like to build their ant nests under sunny terraces and over time erode the sandy foundation there. Here there is a risk that the terrace will eventually sag.

    Common species in the garden

    There are around 200 different species of ants in Europe, and of course not all of them romp about in your home garden. Here it is mainly the yellow and black garden ants that feel at home in the beds and in the lawn. While the yellow garden ant mainly builds mole-like nesting mounds in lawns - and often overgrown with grass - and is otherwise hardly visible, the black garden ant creates veritable ant streets and is quite active. The aforementioned red wood ant also occasionally gets lost in gardens. This is a protected species and must not be disturbed or killed.

    kind Latin designation Look Happen problem particularities
    Red-backed house ant Lasius brunneus up to four millimeters in size, bicolored with yellowish-brown to red back and darker body indoors and outdoors Wood pest, hygiene pest builds nests in wood (e.g. under stairs, in floorboards), under wall coverings and under plaster
    Common lawn ant Tetramorium caespitum up to three millimeters long, dark brown to black in color indoors and outdoors hygiene pest likes to build nests in lawns, under wood, stones or even foundations
    pharaoh ants Monomorium pharaonis about two millimeters in size, yellowish in color with a darker abdomen predominantly in houses, also in hospitals, swimming pools, kitchens, etc., prefer warm, humid climates very large colonies with up to 300,000 animals, looking for protein-rich food hard to fight, quickly build new nests
    Black-grey garden ant Lasius niger up to five millimeters in size, dark brown to black mainly outdoors, but also indoors always on the lookout for sugary food, build heavily frequented streets mainly build nests in the ground, under paving stones etc.
    Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus up to 4.5 millimeters long, yellow to brown-yellow mainly in gardens and on meadows / in the lawn rarely leave the nest, as they keep root lice in the burrow for honeydew extraction lays earthen nests under stones or builds anthills

    flying ants

    Anyone who sees flying ants in their home for the first time is often startled. Although the animals appear much larger than the normal, quite small crawlers and often appear in large swarms, they are completely harmless. In fact, these are normal ants that are just on their nuptial flight and are not making any moves to conquer your home.

    The animals willing to mate are usually out and about at dusk and are attracted by light sources. Because of this, the winged ants suddenly find themselves in the living room in the evening. But you don't have to turn off the light or close the windows in summer: simply install a fine-mesh fly screen in the window openings, which also keeps other annoying insects away.

    Flying ants can get lost in the house

    Should a few nuptial wings get lost, turn out the lights and open the windows fully. After a while, the little animals find out all by themselves. If necessary, you can also help with shooing movements.

    frequently asked Questions

    Why is it better not to use insecticides against ants?

    Insecticides and other chemical pesticides are poisons that have no place in the house and garden. Even if the toxins used are not dangerous for humans, they still harm the environment - for example by getting into the groundwater - and are not only fatal to the pests. Biocides do not distinguish between pests and beneficials, but simply kill everything.

    I have red ants in the garden, what kind is this?

    If you live near the forest, it could be the red wood ant, a protected species that is also very useful in the garden. You should not bother them or kill them, the animals are threatened with extinction.

    Can I also fight the ants with garden lime?

    Dusting the ant trails and nest with garden lime (€9.70) or algae lime has also proven useful in the fight against creepy crawlies.

    tips

    Ants do not stay close to the ground, but do climb up the walls of buildings. They do this when they sense a particularly worthwhile source of food - ergo, even in an apartment on the upper floors you are not immune to all invasions.

Category:

Animals in the garden