It can be scarily unsettling to discover that there are swarms of ants in plants of your garden. They can be difficult to deal with because you also have to contend with the risk of accidentally damaging or killing your plants. But why are they climbing your plants?
Having plants with ants is rare because they generally have no reason to be there and aren't harmful to the plants themselves. Ants on houseplants may be harmless but indicate that you have a larger issue in your garden than just ants in the plants.
Ants typically nest underground so they have no business being plant ants. They might come inside your home to look for food or a nest, but houseplants offer them neither of these amenities. So how did they get there and why?
Continue reading to understand the behavioral patterns of the ants and the complex relationship between the pests, plants, and ants.
Ants have a role to play in the overall ecosystem. They search for food, eat the eggs of some insects, distribute plant seeds, and be food for larger creatures, birds, and frogs. But, if you see plants with ants in your yard, one of the reasons could be that they have made a nest using the shade of the plant.
This signals that your plants' soil has been dry for a long time. Ants do not nest in wet soil so they might be pouring out of the nest after you've recently wetted the dry soil.
Common ants do not infest healthy plants. Instead, your houseplants could be suffering from pests or diseases which in turn produce consumable food for the ants. Plants are made of cellulose that the ants cannot digest. However, cellulose is digested by fungi which in turn converts into carbohydrates which in turn allows the ants to eat the fungus.
This may be the reason why shortly after seeing ants on your plant, they start getting sickly and die. The presence of the ants is a correlation, not the cause.
Another reason for you to notice ants on plants could be due to a pest infestation. Closely examine the underside of your plant's younger leaves towards the tips. There is a good chance that you will find little sap-sucking pests near the leaves and soft stems such as aphids or whiteflies feeding and reproducing.
Using their specialized stylet mouths, they pierce the outer layer of the plant and pump themselves full of sugar produced by the leaves. Excess sugar liquid known as honeydew that cannot be absorbed by the insect is left behind which is detected by the ants due to their acute ability to detect sugar in the air with their antennae.
Ants are vital for your garden's local ecosystem and they aren't causing any direct harm by climbing your plants. Unless you have a serious plant infestation, we always recommend trying to get rid of the ants harmlessly through natural methods that take advantage of the ants' behaviors.
You can also rest assured that none of these methods will negatively impact your garden or the plants in it.
If there aren't many ants around in your plants, chances are they're simply stray wanderers and there's nothing wrong with the plant whether leaking honeydew or being afflicted by a fungus. In either of those situations, there would be an entire swarm of colonies scaling the plants so you would definitely know that they aren't stray.
If you don't want the ants to be on your healthy plants simply because they look bad, you can drop them with a flick of your fingers and they'll simply continue going their separate ways after reorienting themselves.
Ants hate water, simple as that. While hydration is necessary for beings, for a creature as small as the ant, the strong surface tension of water might soon turn into a death trap if they suddenly find themselves inside the tension of the water and the water levels don't recede.
Don't worry though, you're not killing any ants this way, the water will trickle down and the ants will evacuate in advance after the sudden "downpour" since they're not willing to take any risks of being trapped in water.
Spray citrus mixed with water on your plants. The ants are opposed to the citric acid content of lemons, so squeeze a lemon or an orange. Alternatively, you can also place their peels next to the spots.
If you don't like to eat citrusy fruits then you can instead buy a citrus essential oil and make a spray solution.
Another kitchen waste that you can easily use as a natural remedy is to place coffee grounds in your garden. Not only will they repel ants, but they will also repel other pests such as roaches, snails, and mollusks.
That's not all, not only are they reducing the footprint of your kitchen waste, but they will also fertilize the soil of your garden once they start breaking down.
Speaking of scents that ants do not like, you can make use of the capsaicin content of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and peppermint. After all some plants in nature evolved capsaicin for a reason, using something that nature intended to deter animals is the epitome of natural methods.
Moreover, having a stock of them will be a huge help for you in always having seasonings to spice up your cooking in the kitchen as well.
If you have an aversion to having a stock of spice and spicy food then you can instead make use of essential oils such as neem, citronella, mint, linalool, catmint, lavender, thyme, etc. Simply mix a few drops of essential oils in a bottle of spray water.
Since the solution is harmless to your plants and garden soil, you can spray liberally to get rid of more pests than just ants while also imparting a good fragrance to your garden. Be advised though, the scent of the oil lasts far less outdoors than they do when sprayed indoors.
Ants also dislike the smell of the vinegar. If you already have white or apple vinegar in your pantry then why not make use of it? Mix 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Some may have concerns regarding vinegar lowering the pH of the soil, vinegar is a weak acid and won't lower the pH of the soil sufficiently.
Besides the calcium present in the soil will neutralize the vinegar and prevent any change. Vinegar however can function as a plant so only use vinegar on the soil of your garden and ensure that they do not touch the plants.
Diatomaceous earth is a common pest-repelling gardening implement so if you are into gardening, chances are you already have this in your shed. You don't have to go out of your way to buy it but if you already have it then why not save your money and use what's already there?
It will cut through the hard exoskeleton of the ants and cause them to die from leaking water and nutrients. Not exactly harmless for ants but your garden plants take precedence.
Dilute 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) of dishwashing soap to one quart (950 ml) of water and fill up your spray bottle. Spray the plants or the soil surface directly so the ants will know not to mess around in this soil.
Slowly but surely all the ants will end up evacuating as the soap water is more dangerous to them than regular water since it breaks up the surface tension of the water which makes it easier for ants to fall into the water.
While the previous method can be effective for lighter infestations, if both the plain watering method and spraying methods fail to get rid of the ants then perhaps the infestation is heavier than expected which calls for a stronger method.
Dig up the plant soil complete with the roots and place them into a container. Dip the container into a larger bucket containing the soap solution and dip for 10-20 minutes. You should see hordes of ants pouring out although it can also easily kill them.
If you have a really heavy ant infestation and want to break out the big guns then it's time to utilize chemicals. Do keep in mind that none of these chemically involved processes are harmless to ants and most are designed to kill as many ants as possible.
While these methods are safe for your plants, they certainly can't be claimed to be eco-friendly at all.
Baits are the most effective way to deal with ants. Mix approximately 1/4 cup honey with about 2 Tablespoons of borax and stir them. You want to end up with a thick paste, so add more borax until it solidifies into a thick paste.
Place a teaspoon of this mixture onto a piece of card and place them where you normally see ants. Alternatively, you can also use curd tub covers. Over a period of two days, the borax will kill all the ants the food has been shared with, including the queen.
Another borax recipe is to mix borax acid with, sugar, flour, and water to make a dough bait. Shape the dough into small balls and place them around your garden. Once ants either consume or transport these poisonous treats to their nest, it will further continue to poison more ants who will continue to consume the doughball.
Similar to the first recipe, this will also take around two days to work and is capable of killing off the entire colony including the queen.
A simpler recipe that doesn't get your hands dirty is to mix a 1:3 solution of boric acid with sugar. Place it in an empty plastic tub of curd and leave it near the plants in your garden. The ants won't be able to resist the sugary treat but they will then proceed to be dissolved by boric acid.
This won't be able to destroy the whole nest since it is fast-acting and can't be taken into the colony, so it is a bit more environmentally friendly when it comes to not wiping out ants.
Baits aren't all DIY, they are also commercially available over the counter as store products. They are functionally similar to DIY borax baits but will save you all the work and hassle of having to mix and create borax bait especially if you have little time to spare.
They are guaranteed to be more effective but might not necessarily be healthy for your plants. Always read the list of ingredients and any warnings available on the label.
If all the previous methods fail due to a severe ant infestation in your garden with multiple colonies of ants within a short distance, you might not have any choice other than to resort to a spray of commercially available insecticides.
Make sure to read the label and ensure that it is safe for plants. Wear personal protective equipment before applying the insecticides. This way you can ensure that not only ants but also many other pests and insects will never wander into your garden again.
While you are getting ready to completely wipe out the ants in your garden, before you proceed further you may want to know the benefits of having ants in your garden as well.
