Fighting ants in the garden

You can combat nuisance ants in the garden, but avoid killing them if possible. Actually nothing new, but completely normal gardening since its "invention", which is why there is no shortage of tried-and-tested home remedies and methods:

Identify ants before fighting

Theoretically, there can be 100 different species of ants roaming around in your garden, many of which introduce randomly selected "ant items" one by one. Certainly interesting, especially for ant researchers, but: In the garden you usually only have to deal with two species of ants, whose appearance and way of life is quickly described:

Garden ant (garden ant, lawn ant) ​​"Lasius niger"

• most common ant in the garden
• matt black, 0.5 cm long, body with three segments
• Head with compound eyes (incl. hundreds of individual eyes that created images via individual pixels 100 million years before computer screens)
• complicated multi-part middle part
• thick rear end (with internal organs, poison stores, queens have eggs for the next ant colony)
• build nests in the ground (like around plant stalks because of stability, like under sun-warmed slabs, boards, stones because of a good living climate)

Yellow garden ant "Lasius flavus"

• slightly smaller than the black variant
• yellowish to reddish
• otherwise similarly "composed" as the black colleagues
• prefers the moist part of the garden
• builds (dome) nests (in sandy, sunny places, under stones/slabs, in tree bark, lawn, crevices in walls)

When a thriving ant population has just the space in your garden to Having declared ant territory where ants are most disruptive, you usually don't have to know what kind bothers. If a remedy can fight ants there, it can fight red, black, green, and pink-blue striped ants; if a remedy is useless or poisons people/animals/plants more than ants, it doesn't matter whether it doesn't work against German road ants or Indonesian tiger ants. Dealing with most of the 100 "garden ants" is unproblematic and is shown below, before the rare exceptions:

Ants with unusual behavior in an unfamiliar place

In rare individual cases, the ant species is important:

• "Normal-looking" but unusually persistent ants could be (rarely) invasive, supercolony-building Lasius neglectus
• "Normal-looking ants" colonize wooden parts of horticultural structures, these could be "wood-eating" brown garden ants "Lasius brunneus" or glossy black carpenter ants "Lasius fuliginosus".
• Clearly abnormal looking ants are moving about in the garden
• No reason to become an ant researcher, but to seek information and support, e.g. B. at the local environmental office or at www.ameisenschutzwarte.de

"Fighting ants" as a non-existent problem

Don't worry, we don't want to tell you to live with ants digging out your patio from underneath. It's just that getting rid of misguided ants isn't the problem that seems to be piling up at first glance on the web. If sales-motivated sources of information and forum literature influenced by this are left out, a real picture of the is formed Human-ant coexistence: A largely conflict-free co-existence, which occasionally requires subtle corrections and very rarely more decisive ones interventions required.

In reality, the need to control ants never arises for most German gardeners; the soil-tending “pros” among these gardeners would have absolutely no idea why they should do that either (on the contrary, ants make humus). Reducing rampant ant populations to normal levels through human intervention – no problem, driving ants away from places where they disturb people – no problem either; both are part of the gardening trade and gardening for experienced gardeners and are certainly not difficult.

You can call it "fighting ants" (and see it as a welcome opportunity to rid yourself of aggression caused by American presidents and other crude fads arose), you can call it "ensnaring ants" (and find out about the right one inform moon phase for ant resettlement) - You will undoubtedly get along well with the ants if you know what, when, where and why is to do.

More important than individual home remedy tips without justification is therefore a look at which ones Means and substances influence which "ant phenomena" and with which chances of success can. Including justification, also so that you can assess every old fairy tale and every new fake product against ants in the future:

Individually wandering ants

If lone ants roaming the garden are a problem, the obvious advice seems to be to see a psychiatrist to get rid of your ant phobia. Since ant phobias are rare, a very special young plant may have just been planted, or the garden is in one not in very good condition, which often causes problems with excessive ant populations (for long-term remedies, see "Garden in the Balance").

All reason enough to carefully observe individual ants that could be planning the following: There is a nest nearby from which worker bees start looking for food/water. You could now kill these explorer ants one at a time (do it by stepping on them with no home remedy tip), but rest assured that as long as food keeps tempting, the next explorers will follow. If the freshly planted young plant is the "object of desire", it gets a scent defense fence; If you generally want to prevent an ant trail from forming in a certain part of the garden, there is only one practical tip:

• Remove ant treats such as open food + pet food
• Lure scout ants to another part of the garden
• Replant area to be protected with anti-ant scents

If the stray ant is unusually large and has an unusually thick abdomen "with it drags”, you have a queen who is about to start a new ant colony found. Shortly before she swarmed out, mated (in flight, sometimes a variant), shed her wings and is now looking for a nice place for a nest. If you have the heart to kill the hopeful young queen and kill her people, step on it hard or hit her with a newspaper. If not, you can gently sweep them up onto a dustpan and dump them somewhere their nest won't disturb, such as a bed. B. in the back garden by the old trees.

ant trails

If the ant doesn't stray, but marches briskly in one direction with lots of buddies, you can Redirect ant trail by finding and moving the food-giving target to where the ant trail does not bother. The many small enticing destinations nearby can only be filled with scented plants, etc. lock down where you are really serious, you should also send the ants in another direction with lure offers.

ant nest

Or you follow the ant trail to the other end, to the nest. If this does not disturb the given location, the ant trail is diverted; if it interferes, the nest could be relocated. This works with the flower pot trick, but only if a few requirements are met:

• Ant nests are located in the lawn or garden
• It's about "our favorite two species of ants" Lasius niger or Lasius flavus
• Mound was freshly heaped up after rain with sunshine following
• Then immobilized brood stages should be rescued from the wet cold
• A fallen flower pot becomes warmer in the sun than the anthill and is therefore readily accepted as a nesting aid
• Fill the flower pot with wood shavings or crumpled up newspaper (loosely).
• Put on the started nest building and wait 2 to 3 days
• Push cardboard, spade, dustpan under the flower pot, lift and move to a suitable place
• Surrounded by a good supply of food if the new home is close to the old one
• The ants would run 10-20 meters back to their original place of residence, which was ultimately chosen for specific reasons
• In the event of implementation difficulties, www.ameisenschutzwarte.de, working group for emergency and rescue resettlement, will again help.

If nests (small heaps of fine soil) in your ornamental lawn are a nuisance, they shouldn't really bother you, because ants belong in the lawn like earthworms and are necessary if you don't eventually end up with artificial grass would like. If the heaps get out of hand, "Garden in Balance" explains how this stops. Until then, only brutal means help: when the sun shines again after rain, queens often warm up in the hill. A vigorous jump with sturdy shoes puts an end to sunbathing and life... and the correct height setting on the lawn mower sabers off "a bit of nest" until the ants move indignantly.

Proven home remedies and methods for influencing ants

After this excursion into the world of ants, you will know enough to put together an arsenal of means with which you can influence "your ants".

Ants can smell very well, you can take advantage of that. On the one hand, the normal garden ant is constantly hungry because it not only feeds itself, but also “native ants”. A true sweet tooth, she cannot resist any sugary substance; a plain (comfortably upside-down) plate of sugar water will suffice as a lure (in a In an environment with no water sources, a bowl of water can be the best lure, because ants are also thirsty Suffer).

On the other hand, your very fine sense of smell classifies quite a few smells as repellent, here is a list for a quick check, there are definitely some "ant scares" in your household:

• Basil, also against cabbage whites and snails
• mugwort
• nettle
• chili
• Southernwood
• oak bark
• Vinegar (dissipates quickly and may only be applied in small quantities in the garden)
• fern
• Lamb's lettuce
• Grapefruit
• elder
• coffee grounds
• Fighter
• Nasturtiums, also against cabbage whites and snails
• chervil
• herbal manure
• lavender
• marjoram
• cloves (spice)
• oranges
• peppermint
• Tansy, also against cabbage whites and snails
• rosemary
• sage
• sweet clover (which is meant when the use of "melilotenklee" is recommended)
• Centaury
• tea tree oil
• Thyme, also against cabbage whites and snails
• Thuja
• tomatoes
• juniper
• rue
• vermouth
• usury flower
• Cinammon
• lemon

With scents you can drive away the ants or interrupt an ant trail because e.g. B. Vinegar confuses the sense of direction. All anti-ant aromas can be used in a variety of ways: as plants, freshly cut leaves, peels, oils, manure (use of leftovers for many things, also e.g. B. lemon peels) and deploy in many strategically favorable places: stick directly into nests, spray/sprinkle in the path, tie fresh shoots around tree trunks, etc.

Such exposure to ants has been part of gardening for centuries; just as long, the simple + inexpensive means and methods are used, with which you can master ants in every situation. We don't ask you tips on how to plant cress or spray lavender oil in the path of ants or pour coffee grounds (which also fertilize your plants) in the path; You will certainly be able to develop your own ideas using the resources available. The more creative you are, the more fun it is to drive away ants: Depending on where the ants are in which form, there are one or more ingeniously suitable means to "rethink" them exactly at this place move".

The list above doesn't stop you; Ants in pots or otherwise definable areas can be driven away (or actively engaged in "flowerpot resettlement") by repeated flooding; Glue rings prevent them from climbing trees (balcony boxes, etc.), pebbles (drainage in pots/tubs, terrace construction) are not colonized by ants. If the ants are about to penetrate the structure under the terrace, perhaps a simple plate of sugar water can persuade them to turn back. If you have lived there for a long time, it is worth trying a powerful construction vacuum cleaner before dismantling the terrace and calling the pest control.

If you have some fun with it, you'll probably come up with even more ingenious solutions - like the suggestion of putting plastic table legs in small water containers because the ants certainly don't sail these "seas" (and if they do, you don't care about the ant infestation because you make a lot of money on the net with videos of ants in small sailing boats).

garden in balance

Typical forum complaint from a new gardener who hasn't yet realized that he has to look after himself in terms of costs, work and health into the devil's kitchen if he runs his garden with seller's advice instead of knowledge: "I've almost tried everything; from baking powder to insecticides for sprinkling and pouring agents from various manufacturers; Bait cans and scarifying, flooding and more fertilizer, weed killer, soil replacement with Lawn reseeding - nothing helped even remotely, after a few days there was new brood hatched"

Short answer from the biological research worker Prof. Dr. giving his knowledge for free to advise such people (to save us + ants from such people): “If If you wreak such ecological havoc in your garden, that's to be expected from what you're reporting. It's no news to me that none of this works. With the baking powder you fell for a fairy tale that can no longer be eradicated”. He later explained everything in detail, which is answered by the novice gardener by passing the untold baking powder tip to the next forum member (Baking soda may kill ants, but it's about as effective a control agent as a glass of water in which you pour ants one at a time drown).

One thing is certain: the more nature there is in the garden and the more this nature is in balance, the less likely ant conflicts or ants will become. the more likely it is that ants settle in inappropriate places, but these ants are not noticed at all. Because in the natural garden, some species will become aware of the ants before you and ensure that the population remains at normal levels: natural enemies of ants are e.g. B. many birds, foxes and badgers, shrews, frogs, toads and other small reptiles/amphibians, predatory insects and spiders (99% of young queens are "snacked off" in a healthy environment).

If the garden ecology isn't right, you can divert ants; but you can skip interventions like “remove ant-feeding aphids” and “add ant-brood-eating nematodes” upfront. With correct gardening, people can work towards establishing an ecological balance; but it is not possible for the amateur gardener to create an artificial balance in the garden. Incidentally, this also applies to the entire area of ​​“poison against ants”, its use against the Beneficial ant, which fulfills important functions in the ecosystem, but today in gardens in general forbidden is.

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