Summer is here and with it come the ultimate picnic crashers: ants. Lately, I have seen tiny ant hills in every sidewalk crack throughout my whole neighborhood and I have even found them, to my chagrin, in my vegetable garden. Consistent warm weather sends ants into a frenzy. They begin foraging for food and establishing new colonies which is why all those new ant hills have popped up in your yard.
Getting rid of ants might be on your gardening checklist if they are making a mess of your yard or if they are a species of ant that bites or stings. Ants are social insects and, like humans, they are omnivores. Keeping your outdoor spaces free of food debris and fallen fruit from trees can go a long way. But sometimes you need a little help to keep ant populations at bay.
Here are five natural ways to get rid of ants and their hills so you can enjoy your summer without the creepy crawlers or their dirt mounds all over your yard.
5 Natural Solutions to Get Rid of Ants
Ants can quickly establish a colony in your yard or garden and even migrate into your home. Most species of ant are harmless to humans but some can bite or sting. Not what you want when you’re gardening or trying to enjoy a backyard cookout! Ant hills also don’t look very nice in the middle of your ornamental garden.
Typically, ants are drawn in by food which you can often control. Picking up fallen fruit from fruit trees (a Garden Weasel nut gatherer from Ace Hardware makes this easy), getting rid of aphids and their ant-attracting honeydewand regularly working your soil will help keep them from building a nest.
Whether you are finding ant hills in your lawnbetween your patio pavers, container plantings or garden beds, here are some simple and natural ways of getting rid of them without resorting to harsh pesticides.
1. Boiling Water
(Image credit: Peter Meade / Getty Images)
Boiling water works best in areas of your yard where you don’t mind killing other plants, like cracks between pavers that contain weeds in addition to ant hills. Pouring 2-3 gallons of boiling water on an ant hill will kill many ants, but also disrupt the structure of the colony. Soak the mound thoroughly with the boiling water for best results.
2. Flatten the Mound
A simple and non-lethal option is to flatten the ant hill with a shovel or spade. This will disrupt their colony and make them move somewhere else. It might take a few repeated flattenings for them to get the message. If you have ants like fire ants or Asian needle antswhich can harm humans, do not do this. It is safer to call a pest professional so you don’t get a deadly sting.
3. Boric Acid Bait
Creating a boric acid bait is a good solution for ant control if their hill is located somewhere near delicate plants that you don’t want to harm. When I was transplanting tomatoes into my raised bed a few weeks ago, I learned that an ant colony had taken over and they became frenzied because of my intrusion. A boric acid bait is perfect for this situation.
To make boric acid ant bait, mix equal parts boric acid, available from Amazon, and sugar water. Pour the mixture into small containers like bottle caps and leave them near the ant colony. The sugar water will attract the ants and the boric acid will kill them.
4. Flooding
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A good old garden hose can come in handy for taking care of ant hills on your sidewalk or in your lawn. Flood the ant hill thoroughly with a steady stream of water. A few minutes of soaking will disturb the structure of the ant hill and the ants will disperse.
5. Dish Soap
Another simple solution that won’t kill your grass is a mixture of dish soap and water. Add a few drops of dish soap to a gallon of water and pour it into the ant hill. The dish soap will break the surface tension of the water which will allow it to drown the ants, killing the colony.
I wish you an ant-free summer. Happy gardening!
