When To Call An Exterminator
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When is it okay to call for professional help in getting rid of ants in yards? When youve tried all other options, but the ants keep coming back, you might decide its time to bring in a professional exterminator. These pros have the necessary training and chemicals to eradicate the problem permanently.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In The Yard For Good
Depending on the type of ant you have, they can pose a threat to your homes stability and also be a risk to people with sensitive skin. Ants also can bring other pests alongside them and even make their way indoors. If you want to learn how to get rid of ants in your yard, this guide will teach you all you need to know and provide excellent natural remedies like vinegar and baking soda.
Use Insecticides To Get Rid Of Lawn Ants
Insecticides are probably the harshest option, but also the most effective at eliminating ants long-term. Youll want to concentrate your efforts directly on or near dirt mounds.
A product like Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Lawn & Landscape works effectively on ants and will not harm your lawn or flowerbeds. It also comes ready to use, so no need to mix it with water.
Another option is to use insecticide granules instead of a spray. Spectracide Triazicide Insect Killer for Lawns Granules is an excellent alternative if you do not want to mess around with a spray. You can spread them uniformly and they just need a little water applied to make them stick.
NOTE: Always be sure to read the label and directions of your product before use.
While insecticides are very effective at eliminating ants, they come with a caveat. The insecticide does not know how to differentiate between good bugs and bad bugs. While using this product, you might harm bees, ladybugs, and other good guys out there.
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Does Squashing Ants Attract More
The reason many people mistakenly believe ants eat the bodies of dead ants is because of an alarm mode. Sometimes the scent of a dead ant will trigger a scented alarm. It causes ants to enter into an attack mode of self-preservation. … By squashing them, you are triggering a scent that will simply attract more.
Using Boiling Water To Kill Ant Nests
Poring boiling water into an ants nest is the simplest and most widely used method to treat an ant nest. Try and locate all the entrances and pour boiling water into them.
It will immediately kill most of the ants inside. Although some ant hills may appear small, most are bigger underneath and are home to several colonies. Using boiling water has some drawbacks, though. They include:
- Boiling water wont kill off the entire colony because of the big size of the nests.
- It often takes several attempts to notice success.
- Using hot water can result in boggy and wet areas on your lawn.
- Hot water can scald your grass, turning it brown.
Did you know boiling water is great for all sorts of things around the garden? You can even kill weeds with boiling water
Peppermint
Did you know that Peppermint is an insect repellant? You can plant Peppermint in your home or use it as a natural remedy to eliminate ants. Ants hate the scent. Apart from repelling ants, planting this plant will leave your home smelling minty and fresh! Plant peppermint around the perimeter and entryways of your home.
You can also place peppermint cotton balls in areas where the ants frequent. Like most essential oils, keep this oil out of reach of pets, who may become very ill if exposed to this oil. You can find peppermint essential oil at your local grocery store.
Raking ant mounds
It might sound too simple to work, but its among the modest and most effective ways of getting rid of the stubborn ants on your lawn.
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If You Are Serious About Removing Ants
- Remove potted plants from the house if you see ants on them. Sometimes the best solution is the simple one.
- Pour on boiling water: Pour it on ants, along their trails, and into the holes to their colonies. It is effective on small colonies that do not extend too deeply. Reapply as needed.
- Spread diatomaceous earth: It is a powder that can be spread around foundations, door frames, window sills, anthills, or on visible ant trails. It can be mixed with water and applied with a spray bottle, or a pressure washer. It is non-toxic to humans and pets but will kill ants. It can stop an ant infestation.
- Use a soapy cloth or sponge to wipe away any single ant you see inside. The soap eliminates the trails that other ants would follow. As effective as an insecticide spray in temporarily removing foraging ants in a building but safer.
Why Is Your Yard Full Of Ant Hills
Typically, ants invade your lawn because there is food or water nearby. Ants often feed on aphids and other small insects, so if your garden is infested with aphids, this can make your yard more attractive to ants. Controlling pest insects can help deter invading ants.
- Ants are drawn to yards with abundant food and water.
- Aphids and other small, pest insects are an attractive food source for ants.
- Keeping your garden aphid-free can deter ants.
- Ants are attracted to water sources, so a yard with moist areas can attract ants.
Sometimes, your yard just has the perfect conditions for ants and it isnt your fault. Areas with high humidity often have readily available water that ants need. If your lawn has wet or moist areas, its likely ants will be attracted to it.
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Home Made Ant Killers
When it comes to killing off a nest, there are numerous home remedies that get recommended on the web. The problem is, they often dont work immediately, dont work at all, or have other side effects.
These include
Pour Boiling Water into an Ants Nest
This is the most widely known way to kill a nest. Simply find as many entrances as you can and pour boiling water into them.
The issue is that this
- Often takes several attempts
- This can result in wet, boggy areas in your lawn, and
- It can scald your grass causing it to turn brown
Use Dishwasher Liquid and Olive Oil
Another common method is to mix washing up liquid with olive oil and water. This penetrates the ants exoskeleton and suffocates it.
Again though, it can take a while to work and the detergent can bleach the grass, making it paler than the rest of the lawn.
Put Boric Acid and Sugar on Your Lawn
The idea behind using Boric Acid and sugar is that you mix it into a paste and put it on certain areas o of your lawn near the nest. The sweet sugar attracts the ants and they take it back to the nest for the colony to feed on. Then the Boric Acid kills the ants.
The problem with this approach is that it needs to be mixed very precisely. If you dont use enough Boric Acid, you wont kill the ants. Use too much and youll kill the ant that takes it before its reached the nest. Youll also kill the grass.
Pour White Vinegar Onto a Nest
Many people recommend pouring a litre of white vinegar onto an ants nest.
Tips For Getting Rid Of Them
Okay. Now its time to get rid of ants that are invading your yard. There are many ways this can be done, and how you want to kill the ones around your home is up to you.
Some methods are natural, some are not so natural. Either way, these critters are strong in number and can carry life-threatening diseases. So, what are you going to do to get rid of the ones that are plotting to invade your home?
Choose your pest control method and lets get to work.
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How To Control Ants In Your Lawn
Im all for nurturing a healthy ecosystem, but sometimes you dont want to have an ecosystem crawling all over your picnic and up the leg of your shorts. In this blog, were looking at ways of controlling ants in your lawn.
Ants are amazing little creatures. They have truly sophisticated societies and are just as well organised and as busy as bees are.
In the garden, ants help to aerate the soil, to break down dead plant material and to eat pests such as mites and lava. They are fascinating insects and an important part of the ecosystem. But, as I said in the introduction, nobody welcomes an ecosystem invading their summer afternoon.
On a lawn, ants do very little direct damage. They dont seem to eat the grass or its roots. However, they do create ant hills. Mounds of earth that ruin the look of a lawn, make the surface uneven for mowing and potentially create areas of bare soil for weeds to colonise. For the most part, theyre a nuisance rather than a threat.
Now You Know How To Get Rid Of Ants In Grass Naturally
While ants play an important role in your lawns ecosystem, they can be a nuisance. Especially if your yard experiences recurring ant mounds or the little pests eat your vegetation.
Now that you know how to get rid of ants in grass naturally, you can rest easy knowing that the ants will be gone without applying a harmful insecticide that could put children, pests, and pollinators at risk.
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Ants Be Gone Summing Up
Congratulations, youre now a veritable master of natural extermination. With these tips and tricks up your sleeve, you can keep ant infestations under control without harming the environment or your family .
But remember, while ants can be a nuisance, theyre also our friends, so dont go hunting them willy-nilly. Only use these methods if you absolutely have to.
Ant Hills In The Lawn: How To Get Rid Of Ant Hills In The Lawn
Ant hills or ant mounds in your lawn are the indications of an established ant colony. They are comprised of decomposed material, clay, sand, and tiny rock particles. It looks like a simple dome-like aggregate of soil and decomposed material. However, it can go up to several feet deeper and wider under the soil surface and form a complex labyrinth that provides a safe shelter to ants.
Underneath the soil, there are well-crafted chambers and tunnels for workers and queen. The mound also used as an insulator against extreme temperatures and harsh weather conditions. The colony of ants can grow up to thousands and millions if not disturbed. Simply, leveling the ant hill will not help to get rid get of the problem. There is a simple way that can kill most of the ants inside of the ant hill, try doing the following:
- The first step is to locate the anthills. You can place ant baits in order to track the ants back to the anthills. After locating ant hills, the easiest way to get rid of them is the application of boiling water directly over the mounds at the entry points of ants.
- Pour hot water to completely drench the ant mound. You can add liquid soap in the steaming hot water to increase its effectiveness.
If you want to know more about ant hills and the ways to get rid of them, click on the following link: How to Get Rid of Ant Hills: A Complete Guide.
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Vinegar Solution For Ant Control
Vinegar is naturally acidic, and ants are intolerant of acidic conditions. This makes vinegar solution a great option for controlling ant infestations on your turf. You should- however- be careful to only pour vinegar solution directly onto the ant nests, instead of spraying it around the lawn, as your turfgrass can also be burnt by such acidic solutions.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In The Lawn
Ants in the lawn can be annoying, unsightly and sometimes painful! Being able to enjoy your backyard is a right for all homeowners. Certainly, if you have children and pets, you want them to be able to enjoy playing on the lawn without getting bitten.
Ants that set up home in and around your lawn tend to be ants that bite or sting. Green headed ants will be well known to many people giving a painful sting that may itch for several days afterwards. But there are a number of smaller, faster moving ants that also give a mild sting or bite not as painful, but still annoying.
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Field Ants In The Garden
It doesnt refer to a specific species of ants. Instead, the term field ant refers to several ants fond of living in lawns and fields.
Appearance
Field ants vary a lot in appearance because theyre made up of different species. Most of them are usually about a quarter of an inch long. They also vary in color, from black to red to brown. A Field ant is ubiquitous, and youve probably seen them.
How Field Ants Damage Your Lawn
Field ants build and live in mounds. These mounds are built underground before they start pushing up the soil to create visible ant mounds on your lawn. These mounds are usually huge, spanning up to three feet or more.
These mounds damage the grass on your turf. The ants also destroy the grasss root structures, leading to brown spots in your garden. These mounds can also make it hard for you to mow the surface of your grass.
Homemade Ant Killer Mix
Ants can be suffocated by pouring a mixture of cooking oil, dish soap, and water into the ant hill. To do this, mix 4 tablespoons of oil , 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and 8 cups of water together. Its best to whisk the oil and water to combine, then add the dish soap and stir. Next, pour this mixture directly into the top of the ant hill. The mixture of oil, soap, and water will suffocate ants on contact.
- Whisk together 4 tablespoons of cooking oil with 8 cups of room-temperature water.
- Add 1 tablespoon of dish soap to the oil and water and mix.
- Pour the mixture into the hole at the top of the ant mound.
- The oil and soap will cling to ants and suffocate them.
- Avoid using hot waterthis can damage your grass.
Some recipes may tell you to use hot water for this mixture. Avoid doing this. Hot or boiling water can kill grass. As long as you use room-temperature water, you wont harm your lawn. The oil and soap will kill quite a few ants and may even wipe out the entire colony.
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How To Control Fire Ants In The Lawn
Fire ants are a nuisance and a painful, dangerous pest to anyone unlucky enough to live in their region.
While there are several species of fire ants found throughout the U.S., the red imported fire ant that has invaded the South is quite possibly the worst of all. Their painful bite, aggressive swarming behavior, and ability to form floating rafts to survive floods have made the red imported fire ant a nuisance throughout the South. You can find their mounds in gardens, yards, parks, playgrounds, golf courses, and pastures throughout the South.
Ants Eat Grass Seed Not Grass
If you have recently applied fresh grass seed to your lawn this could be a reason for a sudden infestation of ants as you have just supplied them with some of their favorite food. This is kind of tricky because if your lawn needs fresh seed there is really no other option than to spread them, if youre worried about ants maybe be a bit more conservative in your seed application.
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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.
Destroy Your Lawn And Garden
Ants are opportunistic omnivores. If you havent treated your garden, ant activity can decimate it in a matter of days.
Farming ants, one of the most common species, secrete hormones from their exoskeletons to attract their prey. This prey includes aphids and other small insects. So what started as a farming ant infestation in your garden will become an aphid infestation as well.
Field ants create massive mounds that burst above the ground. Not only are these mounds unsightly, but they can also cause real damage to your yard. The field ants inside them will feed on your grass and will dig holes in the earth to construct their mound.
To make matters worse, a colony that begins as a tiny anthill will grow and multiply at a rapid rate, and eventually wreck the home and garden youve worked so hard to maintain.
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