Removing ants is one of the annoying tasks when the weather gets warmer. If the pests then storm the garden or the house, a few home remedies and tricks will help.
Kassel – Slowly but surely, the warm weather in Germany can be enjoyed at least a little. But with rising temperatures, the annoying insects are also increasingly coming into focus if you want to enjoy the sun on the terrace, in the garden or on the balcony. One creepy crawly in particular is a thorn in the side of many people at this time of year: the ant. It pours into the house in masses, undermines the garden slabs or preys on desserts and leftovers.
But there are various tricks, tips and home remedies to get rid of ants. You don't even have to fight the insects or even kill them. Because the industrious creepy crawlies make an important contribution to nature. They loosen the earth in the garden, dispose of the carcasses of dead animals or regulate the number of other pests, the larvae of which they partially eat.
Getting rid of ants in the house or garden: fighting animals with home remedies and tricks instead of chemicals
But while ants play an important role in nature, they are sometimes annoying contemporaries that bring homeowners and hobby gardeners to the brink of despair. Namely, when they infest plants or pour into the house in hordes.
To get rid of ants, many people resort to chemical agents to remove and control the insects. But there are other ways to take action against the pests in the garden or your own four walls without killing them right away.
Fighting ants: getting rid of insects with home remedies in the garden or house
First of all, potential food sources should be eliminated to combat ants. Because the food sources are the reason why many ants get lost on the terrace, in the garden or the house in the first place. In the garden, for example, these can be scale or aphids, whose secretion attracts the animals. Therefore, these food sources should be carefully removed to get rid of the ants. Since the animals even protect the lice, which prefer to attack weakened plants, in order to further secure their food source.
Even though ants are useful animals, they are usually not welcome guests in the house or garden. © PantherMedia / tankist276
On the terrace, balcony or in the house, it is often sweet foods that cause the animals to get lost where they disturb people the most. Therefore, it is important to store sugary foods and foods in a closed place in order to combat ants and to prevent the animals from entering the house or apartment as troublemakers in the first place.
Getting rid of ants in the house or garden: fighting animals with tricks without killing them
However, in order to get rid of the animals, normal adhesive tape may help to interrupt the ant trail. To do this, it sticks over the path of the insects. As a result, these lose the scent trail, so that the insects can no longer orient themselves in the direction of the possible food source. Another trick to combat the infestation of ants is a simple chalk line with which you cross the ant road. Chalk or lime have a similar effect on the animals as the adhesive tape.
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In order to prevent ants from entering the house in the first place, joints and cracks should be repaired with silicone. However, strong odours also prove to be particularly effective. They very effectively scare away ants, as they interfere with the insects' sense of direction. In order to fight ants without harming or even killing the animals, (essential) oils or herbal concentrates have stood out as a fragrance interruption. Lavender, garlic, cinnamon powder or mint should be mentioned here. But lemon peel, vinegar, chili, cloves and fern fronds have also proven to be very effective in interrupting the ant paths in the house or in the garden.
Fighting ants: baking soda as a reliable remedy?
For many, baking soda is a panacea for effectively fighting ants. However, the home remedy has a catch. However, the white powder causes the beneficial insects to die in agony, so that the above-mentioned means and tricks are usually the better and, above all, more animal-friendly alternative.
Are ants dangerous to humans?
Ants do not pose a danger to humans. However, if you do feel threatened, formic acid or methanic acid can help, but they burn a bit on the skin. Small amounts are completely harmless to non-allergic people.
Another way to get rid of the annoying ants is to flood the burrow. Once the nest has been identified, regular flooding can cause the ants to settle elsewhere.
Finally getting rid of ants in the house or garden: relocating insects instead of fighting them
Instead of leaving it up to the ants themselves, you can also be proactive in relocating the insects instead of fighting the industrious crawlers day after day. To do this, simply fill a flower pot with wood wool or some grass and use jam as a strong fragrance to attract the animals.
Fill a flower pot with wood wool or dry grass and some jam and place it with the opening facing down over the burrow or the entrance of the ant colony. Soon the ants will begin to lay their pupae in the wood wool or in the dry grass. Then it is only a matter of time before the ants have moved and the flower pot can be moved to another place (at least 30 meters away), where it will cause less damage.
However, if the ants appear in such large numbers that the situation can no longer be mastered, professional help should be considered. This is because species such as the pharaoh or wood ant can cause considerable damage to the house and garden. In addition to the tricks to get rid of ants, wasps can also be effectively expelled or ticks can be kept away with simple home remedies.
