Red ants in the lawn and garden are not a source of unalloyed joy, even for nature lovers. Our admiration for ingenious ant colonies reaches its limit when nest mounds become dangerous stumbling blocks. Species protection and a sense of responsibility forbid the use of toxic control methods. Instead, you can outwit small red ants with a simple trick or gently fight them with natural means. This guide explains the details in a detailed and comprehensible manner.

The red garden ant is aggressive, but like all ants, it is actually a beneficial creature

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Gentle means overview
  3. Means in the lawn
  4. medium in the garden
  5. funds in the house
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • The best remedy against red ants in the lawn is resettlement and repeated application of nettle manure.
    • Algae lime, water shower, resettlement or aphid control help against red ants in the garden.
    • Red wood ants bite. Small red garden ants sting. Bites and stings are painful but not dangerous.

    Fight red ants without poison - an overview of gentle remedies

    Natural hobby gardeners do not waste a thought on destroying red ants. Apart from a few annoying habits, ants are diligent pest eaters and make a valuable contribution to ecological balance. If small red ants boldly march into the garden and brazenly colonize the lawn, you can drive away the troublemakers with simple means. The following table lists the best options for lawns, garden beds and houses:

    In the lawn In the bed in the house
    top funds Flower pot trick Flower pot trick chalk
    home remedies + Nettle manure + wormwood manure + ethereal smells
    + algae lime + lemon juice
    + water + Vaseline
    + Fight aphids + vinegar

    These funds are based on three effective strategies: resettlement, disorientation and food shortages. The flower pot trick works equally effectively in the lawn and garden. Household remedies target the fine sense of smell of ants or erect insurmountable barriers. By controlling aphids, you are depriving red ants of an important source of food. The following sections explain the correct application.

    Red ants in the lawn - what to do?

    The red garden ant likes to settle in the lawn

    If small red ants frolic in the lawn, they are usually red garden ants (Myrmica rubra), a species of ant that is widespread in Europe. An average colony consists of 1200 workers who take care of up to 15 queens and their offspring. An unwelcome side effect is growing nest mounds of considerable dimensions. Apart from the blighted lawn, walking barefoot or taking a leisurely nap in the grass becomes a painful interlude due to aggressive ant soldiers. There are two ways to exile the mischievous red ants:

    Relocate with the flower pot trick

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    Red ants devote their entire lives to the service of their offspring. Building a safe nest is one of the most important tasks and greatest challenges for the hard-working workers. The lawn is recognized early on as a bad choice of residence because regular mowing causes unrest. The flower pot trick hits this notch. By offering the red ants in the lawn a tempting alternative, you can gently relocate the entire colony. How to do it:

    1. Fill flower pots with wood shavings
    2. turn pots
    3. slip over nests and runways

    It takes a few days for red ants to appreciate the benefits of their new home. Relocation activities can be recognized by red ants dragging cream-yellow pupae into the flower pot. Then slide a spade under the new nest and carry the colony to a location that will not cause conflict with humans. The distance to the lawn should be at least 30 meters so that homesick red ants cannot find their way back.

    Scare away with nettle liquid manure

    Nettle manure repels ants and is also a great fertilizer

    Nettle liquid manure is a proven way to scare away annoying red ants in the lawn. The strong odor masks the scent marks that ants use to orient themselves. As a positive side effect, nitrogen-rich nettle manure serves as an organic fertilizer for a lush green lawn. That is how it goes:

    • Collect 1 kg of fresh nettle leaves and let them wilt for 8 hours
    • fill into a wooden tub and pour over 10 liters of collected rainwater
    • Cover the vat with rabbit wire
    • set up in a semi-shady location (as far away as possible from the building and terrace)
    • stir daily with wooden stick

    After about 14 days, the fermentation process is complete. Now you can sieve the manure and dilute it with rainwater in a ratio of 1:10. Use a watering can or sprayer to spread the manure over the lawn early in the morning or after sunset. Repeated use increases the anti-ant effect.

    digression

    Red ant bite - dangerous or harmless?

    Large red wood ants (Formica rufa) have powerful mouthparts that are used for defense in an emergency. Anyone who comes too close to the nimble workers on a walk in the forest will be punished with a noticeable bite. Small red ants (Myrmica rubra) in the garden are too weak to bite through the skin of humans or prey. A poison spike on the abdomen compensates for this handicap. In both cases, red ants inject an acid into the wound. Slight red swelling and itching are harmless consequences for a healthy person. Bite and sting victims with a history of insect venom allergy should consult their family doctor after a confrontation with red ants.

    Red ants in the garden - what helps?

    Red ants in the garden should not be poisoned but scared away or relocated

    With heavily frequented walkways, churned, undermined garden soil and nest mounds, red ants are driving hobby gardeners to despair. If you get too close to the aggressive workers, you will feel the poison sting. Recognizing the important roles ants play in the ecosystem, concerned gardeners prefer gentle, non-toxic means to drive the uninvited guests out of the garden. How to scare away little red ants from the garden, never to see them again:

    • relocate: put pots filled with wood shavings over the walkways or nests (flower pot trick see above)
    • confuse: Spread algae lime on walkways, nests and surrounding soil, spray wormwood manure
    • wear down: Irrigate nests and walkways daily with a watering can without drowning the ants
    • Control aphids: Destroy aphids on plants with soft soap solution

    A combination of all recommended methods promises maximum success. It is no coincidence that red garden ants are among the most successful ant species in the world. You have to put the ant people through their paces so that the workers piggyback the brood and leave the garden. If a softly padded flower pot lures, while algae lime and regular water showers get on your nerves, the red ant workers can be persuaded to emigrate. At the latest when there are no more aphids in the garden that donate sweet honeydew, there is no stopping red ants.

    tips

    Pseudo-household remedies such as baking powder, coffee powder, boiling water and the beer-honey trap have been criticized. Using these control methods dooms valuable red ants to an agonizing death.

    Small red ants in the house

    Courageous ant scouts invade the house in search of food sources for their colony. The little red ants have their sights set on openly stored food supplies in order to lay hands on them. With natural means you put a stop to the hustle and bustle. These methods have proven themselves in practice:

    • moving barriers: Draw thick chalk lines or spread Vaseline in strips and renew regularly
    • disorientation: Olfactory senses confuse with ethereal scents, such as eucalyptus, bracken, camphor, juniper
    • deterrence: Spray the floor regularly with lemon juice, vinegar or vinegar water

    As an alternative to chalk, you can use inexpensive baby powder to create an impassable barrier. Instead of petroleum jelly, cheap grease acts as a sticky barrier that keeps red ants out. Fresh lemon juice quickly loses its potency. By studding lemon slices with cloves and placing them at suspicious entry points, you optimize the home remedy's effectiveness against an invasion of small, red ants.

    frequently asked Questions

    What do you do against red ants in the lawn?

    Nettle manure causes ants to flee

    Two approaches have proven themselves in garden practice for the poison-free control of red ants in the lawn. Resettlement promises the best chance of success. For this purpose, put an old flower pot over the nest or walkway, which you have previously padded with wood shavings. When long caravans of workers are moving with dolls in their luggage, use a spade to carry the flowerpot nest to a safe place. The second option is regular spraying of the lawn with nettle manure. Ant workers can no longer find their way to the nest, so the plague in the lawn quickly comes to an end.

    Are Little Red Ants Dangerous?

    Small red ants are red garden ants (Myrmica rubra), also known as red-yellow knot ants. A poisonous sting on the abdomen is characteristic of the widespread ant species. If the red garden ants feel threatened, they do not hesitate to use their sting rigorously. It can also penetrate human skin. An acid is injected. The result is severe pain, red swelling and annoying itching. This is annoying for a healthy person, but not dangerous.

    Can red ants in the lawn or garden also be the aggressive red fire ant?

    So far, red fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) have caused considerable headaches, especially for people in the USA. The aggressive ants have been spreading there invasively since they were introduced from Argentina about 100 years ago. What is fatal is that neither poison nor biocides have so far been able to stop the red fire ant. In Germany, the dreaded ant species has not yet appeared in the wild. Experts fear that they could sooner or later be introduced into Europe in potting soil or other goods. Until then, red ants in Germany are either the protected red wood ant or the red garden ant.

    tips

    Small red ants are not afraid to build their nests under paved surfaces. The result is wobbly cobblestones and natural stone slabs with cracks as dangerous tripping hazards. It doesn't have to come to that if you use special, polymer joint sand with an anti-ant effect, for example Dansand, for paving work in the garden.

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Animals in the garden