How to eliminate ants from the vegetable garden, gardens and fields

Fight against ants in the vegetable garden, lawn and land

Annoying and harmful, ants are able to cause various damages: to the lawn, by raiding newly sown seeds; in the vegetable garden, devouring the newborn seedlings and in the ground, managing to attack even the fruits close to ripening. How to eliminate them?

Index

Remedies against ants

How to eliminate ants with non-professional products

Remedies against ants

To date, there are few effective strategies against these insects. More and more often, natural remedies against ants such as deep tillage are adopted. This is a practice that can limit its proliferation, but it is not always a possible solution, especially when cultivation is in place.

Another activity that can limit the invasion of ants is to plant shrubs and aromatic plants (such as lavender, marjoram and tansy) along the edges of our vegetable garden,in order to disturb the passage of insects.

If, as is understandable, these remedies are not sufficient to eliminate the damage, then it is usual to resort to the use of chemical means , through disinfestation.

However, given the new European directives, there is currently no product for non-professional use that is really effective in eradicating ants.

However, we would like to share some of the experiences of customers and farmers who have had to deal with this problem and which allow us to present alternative solutions to eliminate ants.

How to eliminate ants with non-professional products

Among the most widely used products in the biological control strategy of ants, the first place is occupied by

• Boron 17

It seems that ants are very attracted to this product, despite the fact that the boric acid of which Boron 17 is composed is very harmful to them. Since it is an extremely soluble product, our recommendation is to operate several administrations, or to administer a few pinches of this product on the mulch, at different points of the row.

It is important to keep in mind that Boron 17 has no action against ants if it is dissolved in water.

We also remember that boric acid is a fertilizer allowed in organic farming, so it is absolutely not harmful to people or animals.

A further strategy, although not organic, is to use 

• Nexa , a chemical product for civil use, used by some even near crops

It is important to know that the product is not allowed in organic farming and that the contamination of the active ingredient on fruit and vegetables will make them inedible. Nexa is effective for its nest destruction activity and, therefore, reduction of the presence of ants in the fields.

Other solutions to eliminate ants involve the use of protein baits, mixed with insecticides based on deltamethrin or acetamiprid.

With a solution obtained in this way, small areas under the foliage of the plant or with a strip along the rows of vegetables to be defended will be wetted, keeping a safety distance of at least 50 cm, to avoid the effects of drift.

To get an idea of the dose, keep in mind that with 10 liters of solution you can defend up to 100 plants. A good technique is to make a continuous strip all around the vegetable garden or orchard.

Other solutions to prevent ants from climbing on plants and eating their shoots involve the use of mechanical protections such as:

• Rincotrap
• Pegafit
• Tem-o-cid

A good technique is also that of repellency, which makes crops inhospitable and unattractive. In this regard, our staff has had good experiences with

• Delumbri limax, a product that is also effective against snails, rodents and other unwanted visitors