How To Prevent or Kill Ants Ecologically

The best protection against ants is prevention, meaning making sure they don't show up. Store food in tightly sealed jars. Always cover food scraps in the kitchen tightly and make sure the countertop is clean. Sweets in particular are an immediate invitation for ants. Make sure no syrup, jam or honey sticks to the outside of jars.

Keep ants away from you

Seal garbage buckets tightly. Also, thoroughly wash the picnic table on a regular basis and sweep the tiles so that loose sand goes right back into the joints. Patch cracks and crevices in walls, doors and windows and shelves.

Because if only one ant finds its way into your pantry, it won't be long before the entire ant colony knows. After all, ants communicate through scent trails, which they smear on the ground. In this way, they not only find their way back to the nest but also show other ants the way to discovered food.

How many species of ants are there?

Science has now described about 12,000 ant species, and there are probably at least twice as many in total. Because ants are found all over the world (except Antarctica), they are one of the most successful animal groups. It is estimated that the total biomass of ants is greater than that of any other animal species on earth.

Repel ants with herbs and plants

Ants hate the smell of some plants, such as lavender, tomatoes, African Marigolds (Tagetes), barnyard wormwood, sage, chives, basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, garlic, mint, lovage (maggi herb), nettles, ferns and marigold. Place these herbs or plants in some strategically placed pots or in smart places in your garden to keep ants at bay. You can also lead ants astray by placing these strong-smelling herbs on ant paths. The ants will then get lost and look for food in a different place.

When prevention is no longer an option

You may be in a situation where you are way past the stage of prevention and you are dealing with a full blown ant infestation. If you can find yourself in the above statement, the pages on this website will show you how to kill ants in a more ecologically responsible way.