What damage do ants cause?
Ants are brown to black social insects, however there are some species that have other colors such as red, yellow or white. Red ants bite and cause discomfort long after the bite. There are wood-eating ants that penetrate through the wood and make nests, causing problems such as termites. They also coexist with aphids, collecting the honey bees secreted by aphids and thus creating problems in our garden, as they transfer aphids to other plants. So if you see ants climbing on a plant look for aphids! Finally, they carry seeds that we sow and in this way we do not have proper germination.
How can we fight ants in our garden?
There are physical and chemical ways to eliminate them. Among the natural ways are the following:
- Pour boiling water into their nest, which you will need to repeat several times.
- Pour hot red pepper around the flower beds or around the base of the plants. It is best not to come in contact with water to maintain. If it rains, of course, you will have to renew it.
- You can spray them with a soap solution with oil.
- Another solution is to make a solution with garlic and water and spray it as its smell is very annoying for ants. Place a few cloves of melted garlic in a pot of water and let it sit for at least 24 hours. After a day, simmer the garlic for 15 minutes. Then spray.
- Sprinkle baking soda around the plants or anywhere else the ants roam. This white dust will repel them and will not let them ruin your garden.
- You can make adhesive tapes that will be placed around the trunk. In addition to ants you will trap all harmful insects that crawl or walk on the trunk. Such films are also available in agricultural stores.
In addition to all these natural ways, in intense populations, turn to the local agronomist in order to give you a chemical preparation with which you will have a more immediate and universal result.
And one more thing about ants…
Ants are very strong insects and can lift 25 times their own weight. The average estimated lifespan of an ant is 45-60 days !!!
