How To Kill Ants Outside
This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industrys leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association , QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association . MMPC’s work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 13 testimonials and 80% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 849,415 times.
A small number of ants located outdoors will not typically pose many problems, but when a massive infestation occurs or when the ants begin to sneak their way indoors, you will need to head outside and kill the colony at its base. Using either chemical pesticides or common household materials, you can get rid of an entire colony in a small amount of time!
How Ants Benefit The Garden
Since they enhance soil structure and aid plants to flourish, ants are not inherently harmful to the garden. Ants in the garden also help to control a variety of garden pests that may harm crops. Ants also help to break down organic matter, which is then used by plants as fertilizer. Having ants in your garden can be beneficial for a variety of reasons.
Ants In The Garden Good Or Bad
Ants tunnel in the ground, allowing moisture and oxygen to reach plant roots, and ants play a beneficial role in a healthy gardens ecosystem. In addition to fertilizing plants, the tiny six-legged insects speed up the breakdown of rotting plant material.
Ants have a poor reputation, despite their usefulness in the garden. All ants, particularly the aggressive biting fire ant, are seen by some gardeners as unwelcome garden visitors. Since ants eat the honeydew they create, they may be harmful to the garden, protecting certain plant pests like aphids. As a result, ants may be a indication of an aphid-infested plant population. Moreover, an ant hill might make a beautiful, green lawn seem drab.
So, is it a good or a bad thing for ants to be in the garden? It all depends on the answer. Ants help maintain soil and plant health in general. Other ant species, on the other hand, may be beneficial to get rid of at times. Ants play in maintaining a healthy garden, according to this article. Youll also learn how to get rid of ants naturally, without causing harm to yourself or the environment.
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They Also Indirectly Affect Your Garden As A Whole
Ants like to feed off Honeydew which is secreted by Aphids as they feed on plant sap.
To keep a constant supply of Honeydew, ants protect aphids from predators like Ladybirds and tend to their ongoing needs. This protection often causes an increase in aphid activity all over your garden. This, in turn, leads to plants being damaged as theyre used as a source of food.
Professional Ant Killing Products
For the most reliable, quickest results, choose a product that is specifically designed for killing ants.
I have also found there is no one solution to killing ants. It is always best to use a multi pronged approach to give you the best chance of removing them.
I recommend Home Defence products to homeowners as they are usually enough to get the job done.
I use their products in a 3 stage solution:
- Stage 1 Fast acting killer spray: quickly kills ants you have in around the house.
- Stage 2- Ant killer granules: apply on ants and on to the ant nest to kill the colony.
- Stage 3- Ant bait stations: can be left around the garden/house for any remaining ants to feed on and take back to the nest.
Fast Acting Ant Killer Spray
This is usually used on the first stage when you first find the ants and just want to remove them from the area.
While this is not designed to be used on your lawn directly, the ant killer spray is highly effective at killing ants quickly in and around the house.
I would not recommend wasting your time spraying ants around your whole garden, as there are other solutions for that.
Just use this in the areas in and around your home.
Ant Killer Granules
After you killed ants in and around the home, its time to go after the colony.
The ant killer granules can be used to kill ants in two ways:
If you know where the nest is, it would be wise to use both methods above.
Depending on the size of the nest, you may need a second application a month later.
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Move The Colony Of Ants
Another very simple way to keep ants away, without using any treatment and without causing damage to your lawn is to locate the anthill and physically move it. If you cannot locate the anthill or if it is in a place that is difficult to access, you can also try to attract the ants at one point. For example, by putting a terracotta pot upside down to heat the soil and create the ideal environment for an ant hill.
Ants Can Increase The Population Of Some Garden Pests
Ants, including Carpenter ants, feed on aphid honeydew. Aphids may draw a considerable number of ants, even if they do not harm your garden in itself. Ants, for example, make it difficult to manage aphids since they protect them from other predatory insects.
Carpenter ants also feed on aphids that honeydew produces, which they raise. An increase in the number of garden pests that destroy plants and crops may occur as a consequence of this mutualistic symbiosis process.
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How To Get Rid Of Ants By Removing Food Sources
If youve had an invasion of ants, put off any return visits by cutting off their food supply, both outdoors and in. This means tidying up after al fresco dining and sealing food away indoors.
Close all food containers and regularly clean the cabinet/pantry shelves, recommends Alice Sinia, PhD, quality assurance manager of regulatory/lab services for Orkin Canada who performs analytical entomology and technical support in pest/insect identification. Then, wipe all countertops regularly, and vacuum and mop the floors regularly to clean up any food crumbs and stains.
Make sure to shut trash cans tightly and, once pets have eaten, pick up the bowls immediately and rinse them out. If you come across a single ant or just a few, squish them.
Think water as well as food. Correct any moisture problems inside and outside the home, says Eric Benson.
What Can I Do About Anthills On My Lawn
Deep plowing is one of the most traditional ways to get rid of ant hills on a lawn. However, if you dig deep where the grass is, as good as it may be for a garden or a seasonal crop, it can also end up destroying the roots of the seedlings that make the blades of grass sprout. There are several alternatives to treat this problem.
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Homemade Ant Spray Remedy
What kills carpenter ants and other types of annoying ant species? Soap suds and oil from this recipe enter the ants exoskeleton making them unable to move. The soap suds and oil suffocate the ants.
Homemade Ant Spray Remedy Recipe
- ½ teaspoon liquid dish soap
- 1 ½ tablespoon canola oil
Add all three ingredients to a spray bottle and shake to mix. Spray liberally on ant trails and pour directly into their nests.
How To Use Spray Pesticides To Get Rid Of Ants
Mix non-repellent insecticides with water following the proportions from the manufacturer’s instruction. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray directly into the nest. Make sure to cover every anthill you find in the area. The method will take from a couple of days to a week to start working and to get rid of the whole ant colony.
You can use the mixture to spray around your property to keep the ants from coming inside. Pay extra attention to door and window areas or on walls with cracks and holes.
Restrict the use of the insecticide to every 6 months at least.
There is only so much that over the counter pesticides can help you with. To handle a severe infestation, your best shot is to hire professional pest controllers. They use tested pesticides that will assure your ant problem is over.
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Why You Need To Get Rid Of Ants Outdoors
Getting rid of ants outdoors is necessary if you dont want them to invade your home. Ants like carpenter and odorous ants will make nests within your house, while others will only come inside to take food back to the nest. Ant species that create nests inside the walls of your home can cause all sorts of hidden damage.
The biggest issue with ants coming into your home is the pheromone trail they leave behind that other ants will follow. What starts as one or two ants quickly becomes a huge problem that takes weeks to eliminate.
How Do I Safely Get Rid Of Ants On My Lettuce 4 Simple Ways
Over time, Ive tested many methods to rid my garden of the pesky ant-aphid twosome. Some worked. Others didnt.
One recommended method is blasting them off with a strong stream of water from the garden hose. Thisll works okay for plants with stronger stems and leaves though not so well on the tender leaves and heads of lettuce plants.
Unless you want to ruin your harvest, dont spray your lettuce plants with strong jets of water. Instead, I recommend these three soft-spray recipes to dislodge the ant-aphid duo.
Each has three steps, and these treatments are all highly effective, natural, and environmentally friendly.
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Who Is The Ants Enemy
Many people might not be aware of the fact that some spiders eat ants. Most spiders eat a variety of things, including ants, while some spider species only eat ants. Others are in direct competition with ants. Black widow spiders, jumping spiders, lynx spiders, and several other species hunt and kill ants.
Are Acrobat Ants Dangerous
There are no real dangers behind acrobat ants. The most concerning conclusion behind finding acrobat ants inside or outside your home is the likely presence of wet, decaying wood that is attracting them to your home.
Acrobat ants can bite and sting however, the pain is very mild and short-lived.
The wood damage directly from acrobat ants is minor, but they can release frass, which can be a nuisance to homeownersoverall, most would describe them as more of a nuisance than a threat.
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How To Control Ants On Plants
To reduce Ant activity on and near your plants, eliminate the pests creating their food source. Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray controls various pests, including sap-sucking and honeydew producing pests such as Aphids, Whitefly, Leafhopper, Scale and Mealybug, it also controls Ants and Sooty Mould. Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray can be used on many types of edible and non-edible plants for a variety of pests, making it a highly versatile and broad-spectrum insecticide to use in the garden.
Killing Ants In Your Lawn With Chemicals
Spot control is the best method for killing ants. They tend to concentrate in a small area and spot application isolates the chemical zone and minimizes damage to beneficial insects who also call the grass home.
Use either a spray or granular form. Locate the nest and apply the chemical as indicated on the label. Granular forms require activation with water, so it is best to irrigate after applying the chemical. In all cases, wait until a treated area has dried before allowing children and pets into the toxic zone.
Ants can be a blessing and a curse, so consider the severity of the problem before resorting to chemical treatments. Their activity is also a natural pest control and can increase the tilth of soil, acting as wild aerators to loosen the dirt around roots and enhance growth.
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Entry Points Of Acrobat Ants:
- Utility lines, pipes and electrical wiring.
- Cracks and holes on your foundation.
- Damp or decayed wood such as tree stumps, firewood, tree cavities.
Another way to get rid of acrobat ants is to inspect the plumbing in your home. Since acrobat ants are attracted to damp, decaying wood, plumbing issues may be causing wood damage attracting acrobat ants.
You can also try using ant bait. Place the bait where acrobat ants are found, and make sure you purchase a more advanced, slow-working bait so that the ants have time to spread the bait to the queen, which will eliminate the entire colony.
When using sprays, avoid repellent sprays. While they might seem to be exactly what you need to kill acrobat ants, it wont have the result youd hope for.
Repellent sprays kill acrobat ants on contact however, it also triggers a process called budding where the ants sense danger and split off into new colonies, with new queens. Then, they may start reproducing even faster.
Instead, use nonrepellent sprays. This kind of spray will have a slower effect, reaching the entire colony before the ants begin to die.
Should I Get Rid Of Ants In The Backyard
Ants get a bad press but as part of the eco-system they have benefits for the garden. Their nests aerate the soil, and they make a tasty snack for birds and other insects. Unless theyre causing a nuisance, its best to leave them be.
There are hundreds of species of ants in North America, explains Eric Benson. Most ants are beneficial in the environment. In fact, many native ant species help control pest ants that try to establish in yards and invade homes. If possible, dont use broad-spectrum insecticide sprays in the yard that kills all insects, including beneficial ants. If you kill beneficial ants, eventually new ants will move back into the yard and the new ants are likely to be pest ants.
On the downside, ants can disturb plant roots while digging out their colonies and form ant hills on lawns. You can simply brush these away or break them up with a fork and treat with an insecticide or organic powder. Keep aphids under control, as ants farm these for the honeydew they produce. Wrapping affected branches in adhesive tape will catch ants and prevent them reaching the aphids. Ants exploring walls or window frames can be deterred by soapy water, but avoid this on decking or steps as it can make them slippery.
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Chili Or Cayenne Pepper
To exterminate ants, surround the ant mound with chili or cayenne pepper.
Some homeowners mix chili or cayenne pepper with coffee grounds to make the repellent more efficient. But, the coffee grounds effectiveness in getting rid of ants is yet to be proven. While this is a natural alternative to repelling ants, avoid pets from digesting the pepper.
Chili or Cayenne pepper mixed with water repel ants. The mixture masks ants trail and can be poured inside the ant mound.
Understand How Ants Live
Whether you’re dealing with ants indoors or out, it’s best to eliminate the ant nest versus simply repelling ants. Each ant colony can contain hundreds or thousands of members. Left alone, ant colonies multiply, and a small problem can become a nightmare pretty quickly.
Outdoors, it’s easy to spot an anthill in the lawn or on the pavement. The part of the anthill you see is just the tip of the ant colony iceberg. Colonies often extend 2′ to 3′ beneath the surface mound and another 2′ to 4′ around it! Indoors, it’s not easy to spot the nest, because ants tend to hide beneath floors, in walls or between cabinets.
Each ant colony includes at least one queen and worker ants. The colony survives as long as the queen lives. Whatever tactic you embrace to get rid of ants, aim to kill the queen. If your treatment fails and the queen lives, the colony can splinter and migrate, forming new colonies. If you only repel ants, they may exit one area, but will likely turn up somewhere else.
Shutterstock/Wong Hock weng
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Why Does My Yard Have So Many Ants
There are various types of ants and they come in all sizes, but almost all build anthills where they can settle. These insects build their nests under the ground or in the hollows of trees, digging the soft part of plants. This is why yards have so many ants it is the perfect place to settle their colony of ants.
The nests are where these social insects accumulate and process supplies to feed themselves and proliferate. Anthills are connected by a network of tunnels that run underground and are recurring places where worker ants enter and leave.
It can be difficult to notice this type of activity from the outside since the nests are usually located at a fairly deep distance. However, if you pay attention, you may notice some lumps at the entrances and ants coming and going. In the case of the burrows that are formed in the trees, it is easier to notice them, since ants climb to get in them.
Another reason that attracts ants to lawns is honeydew. This is the substance that aphids release from plants as they pass over leaves and stems. Its sugary taste attracts bees, wasps, and ants, which attack plants to feed themselves in abundance. Ants that perch in trees are as dangerous to your garden as those that make their burrows in the ground. This is why, once you identify the nests, you must take immediate action to eliminate them.