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What to Plant in the Garden to Repel Ants? List of Plants Ants Avoid
18.04.2023 04:30
Ants in the garden can be both very useful and harmful.
However, more often than not their activities cause more harm than good.
For this reason, many people decide to get rid of them in their garden using natural methods.
Ants in the garden
When looking for a suitable place to create their colony, ants usually choose warm and sunny places. They are usually found in forests, clearings and near trees. However, ants also create anthills under the surface, for example, between paving slabs.
Depending on the species, they may prefer moist or sandy soil, so different species of these insects can be found in gardens. What also determines the location of the anthill is the proximity of the required amount of food.
Ants are mostly omnivorous, and in the garden they primarily look for sweet scents such as honey, nectar, or honeydew, which are produced by aphids. In addition, many species of ants also feed on insects or animal carrion. The most common ants in the garden are:
• turf ant - likes to live under the surface, for example, between cracks in the pavement, creates colonies of up to 50,000 pieces and is slightly larger than the pharaoh ant;
• black garden - also called common, loves sandy substrates, creates colonies of up to 20,000 pieces;
• Red - known as the red ant, it likes to live under roots in the ground where it creates colonies of up to 2000. This is the species that is known among humans to bite.
What to Plant in the Garden to Repel Ants
Ants have an excellent sense of smell, which comes in handy when they want to find food found by another ant. They then follow the scent that the insects create, leaving a special trail on the ground that acts as a kind of map for other ants.
However, this extremely sensitive sense of smell can also be their bane, especially when the scent they pick up effectively repels them.
For this reason, when trying to get rid of ants in the garden, it is worth planting plants whose smell these insects do not like. Here is what you need to plant in the garden to scare away ants.
• Mint – the menthol that this plant secretes has an intoxicating effect on ants. Mint should be planted in a sunny or partially shaded area. It is best placed in moist, humus-rich soil. Mint can also be placed on a balcony or terrace, grown in a pot.
• Thyme – although it does not smell as strong as mint, it is also a great plant for repelling ants. Thyme is best placed in a sunny spot and in well-drained soil. This plant does not like cold and excess moisture, so it should be protected in winter by covering it with appropriate material. In addition to repelling ants, thyme also pleases the eye with its pink, white or purple flowers that appear on the plant from June to September.
• Marjoram is a plant that will not only repel ants in the garden, but will also be useful for bees. In addition, marjoram is a wonderful decoration of the space, because in July and August white flowers appear on it. The plant should be placed in a warm and sunny place, preferably in well-drained slightly alkaline soil. In our climate, marjoram is an annual plant, because it freezes in winter.
• Lavender - Compounds such as camphor and linalool will repel not only ants, but also mosquitoes, flies and ticks. The plant is best placed in a warm, sunny spot and in permeable, calcareous soil. Lavender can also be planted to create a fragrant hedge.
• Basil is not only a tasty herb that is added to dishes, but also a plant that repels ants with its smell. Basil grows best in a sunny place, it can be placed both in the garden and on the balcony. In the garden it is an annual plant, and at home it can survive for several years.
• Rosemary – the camphor smell of the plant effectively repels ants. Rosemary is worth planting in a herb garden or on a windowsill, balcony or terrace. In addition, rosemary can also be used as a spice in fresh or dried form.
Like basil, it is an annual plant when grown in the garden, but can last for several years indoors.
What plants are ants afraid of?
So-called repellent plants are great for the garden and will effectively repel ants. These include wormwood, tansy, marigolds, garlic, tomatoes or parsley.
These are plants whose smell also repels ants. They can also be planted along the edges of flower beds.
In addition, it is worth placing the leaves of the above-mentioned plants on the anthill itself, as well as on the ants' marching routes, thanks to which they will bypass this place in a wide arc.
Ants in the garden - consequences
Ants are creatures that work both beneficially and destructively in the garden. The positive effect of their presence can be loosening and enriching the soil with such nutrients as phosphorus and potassium. In addition, they sometimes make it easier to get rid of other pests that they feed on.
However, their use also has negative consequences, especially when ants appear en masse. This is due, among other things, to the fact that ant tunnels go quite deep underground, which means that insects often damage plant roots.
This causes the death of plants and even shrubs.
Moreover, ants build mounds on the ground, which not only make the lawn less aesthetically pleasing, but also make it difficult to carry out work. It should also be remembered that ants live in friendship with aphids and protect them from enemies, sometimes even allowing them to overwinter in the anthill. This is bad for the garden, because, as is known, aphids are also very harmful to plants.
