Ants are a problem to have in your home garden and even are attracted to your home. They can harm your crops and feed on tender seedlings like Okra and watermelons.
Having an ant infestation can signal the end of your home garden. But how do ants live and how do we control them to protect our home garden?
How Do Ants Live?
Ants are creatures that create colonies, with each colony containing hundreds to thousands of ants. Each ant has a different role in the colony which allows them to function. Ant colonies multiply at a staggering rate if left alone.
Ant hills are very easy to spot around your home garden. However, the part of the ant hill that you may see in your yard is just the tip of the ant colony. Ant colonies normally extend deep within the surface mound and it is this deep area wherein the ants live.
Inside this area of the ant colony, you will find two classifications of ants: Worker Ants and the Queen Ant.
Worker Ants are the ants that gather food and resources for the colony. These are the types of ants that you see around your home garden. The younger worker ants tend to live inside the colony and make the ant nest bigger. The older worker ants are the ones that gather food and roam outside of the ant hill. These ants are what we tend to see when removing an ant infestation in Vaughan in your home garden.
Just spraying the visible ants will not prevent an ant infestation. This is because by doing this, you are just eliminating the older working ants that are following a trail. They will just be replaced by other worker ants and the ant infestation will never stop.
The main target should be the other type of ant living inside the colony: the Queen Ant. The Queen Ant is rare because this is the type of ant that you don’t see roaming around in your home garden. Queen Ants normally live inside the ant colony where they are fed and served by younger worker ants. The reason why the Queen Ant is the main target is that this ant is responsible for laying the eggs. If all you do is spray the Worker Ants, the Queen Ant just produces more of them.
The Two Species Of Ants That Will Damage You And Your Garden
There are two main species of ants that are a known menace to you and your home garden.
The first is the Fire Ant. This ant specimen is the red-coloured ant that you see in your garden and around a lot of places. Fire Ants are infamous for their bite. These insects grab a hold of the victim and inject a venom that produces a painful welt that lasts for days. For some people, these welts are fatal.
A fire ant colony may have at least 100,000 to 500,000 members inside.
The other ant specimen known to cause havoc in your home garden is the Carpenter Ant. Carpenter Ants are among the largest known ant species. They are identified by their black color.
Bites from Carpenter Ants produce a burning sensation on top of the wound because of the acid that they spray when biting. However, the bigger issue with Carpenter Ants is where they tend to make their home. Carpenter Ants create their homes around any kind of wood, which will damage either your crops or your home.
How To Control Ants in Your Home Garden?
Keep in mind that ants are one of the most persistent creatures in the world. Research has shown that ants existed along with dinosaurs, which makes them very adept at surviving. And that makes it very challenging to control these creatures from damaging your home garden. This is why you should consider hiring an ant exterminator expert in the Toronto area. Our pest specialists can help you remove your infestation of ants.
Knowing this, is it possible to control ants in your home garden? It’s very possible and here are some of the materials you can use when controlling ants in your home garden:
- Use Boiling Water – Find the ant hill and pry open the nest using a rake or something similar. Then pour boiling water over the ant hill. You can mix liquid soap along with the boiling water to control the ants better. Keep in mind that boiling water destroys vegetation so be careful not to damage your crops when controlling ants in your home garden using this method.
- Use Vinegar – Create a mixture of vinegar and water. You can add some liquid soap to increase the mixture’s potency. Head over to the ant hill and pry it open then pour the mixture on top of it. Remember that vinegar also kills your crops so be mindful when pouring the mixture.
- Use Boric Acid – Mix together a little bit of sugar or peanut butter with some boric acid crystals inside a small bottle of water. Get a small pot and boil the mixture for at least 6 minutes. Put the mixture back in the container and cool it. Afterwards, use a small container to bait the ants inside. Make little holes in the container so the ants can go in and out of it. Apply some of the mixture into the container and cover it. Put the container near the ants nest and wait.
- Use Spray Pesticides – Go to the ant hill and apply a heavy dose of the chemical pesticide around it. Make sure that the dose is heavy enough to reach where the Queen Ant lives.
- Use Chemical Ant Killers – Pour the recommended dose following label instructions on top of the ant hill. Keep in mind that there are different kinds of chemical ant killers with differing functions. Some chemicals act as bait and slowly control the ants. Other chemicals can control ants upon contact which does not normally purge the Queen Ant. When this happens, a second ant hill might appear. Use the same treatment for this new ant hill and continue to monitor the progress.
Aside from using these materials, here are some procedures you can do to make sure that the ants around your home garden are controlled:
- Eliminate Ant Trails – Ant Trails are scented paths left by pioneer Worker Ants that other Worker Ants can follow. Because of these paths, multiple ants are bound to show up simultaneously. The scents cannot be picked up on by normal humans and are very hard to eradicate. You will need to create a mixture using a little bit of vinegar plus water and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture in places where you’ve last seen the ants.
- Mow The Grass Then Spray Insecticide On The Entire Grass – The best way to control ants in your home garden is to remove all the things that they are attracted to and the conditions they are comfortable with. Mow the grass regularly, make sure the plants and shrubs are trimmed. Keep the grass free of any trash or debris as this will attract ants to your home garden.
- Remove Sources of Moisture – Repair any leaky pipes or faucets in your home garden. Make sure that there is no collection of water nearby. If you have gutters, check and ensure that they are working as planned.
- Remove Aphids and Other Pests – These creatures produce honeydew. Ants are attracted to the sugar found in honeydew, which will cause them to flock to where these pests are.
- Sow Artificial Sweeteners To Ants – Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners like Stevia are harmful to ants. Make sure to spread them near ant hills for maximum effect.