Garden ants bring a lot of trouble to summer residents: insects bite, carry aphids around the site, which destroys fruit trees, shrubs and flowers, and during the ripening of berries and fruits they cause great damage to the crop. To effectively combat ants, the chemical industry produces a lot of funds. But there is an equally effective, at the same time environmentally friendly and economical way to get rid of ants once and for all - millet groats.
Reasons for the appearance of ants
Miniature myrmica redhead
An ant brought in from the street, as a rule, seeks to return to its colony, while the eggs are protected underground, and therefore the penetration of ants into the living space has a purposeful character. In addition to indoor environments, they are attracted to food debris, crumbs, sugar and decaying debris. The reasons for the appearance of these insects in the apartment may also depend on the specific features. In the garden, they can spoil the root systems of plants, their fruits and carry weed and disease seeds around the site.
Only in the temperate climatic zone there are more than 12 thousand varieties of these insects, on the territory of Russia 5 species are most famous for penetrating into human dwellings and settling there:
- Small thermophilic pharaoh ants, popular for habitat in heated dark and humid areas of living quarters and outbuildings, are active all year round. It is difficult to withdraw them due to the system of their settlement, which is scattered nests.
- Yellowish thief ants with identical color and size to the pharaonic species form huge colonies both in the wild and indoors. They penetrate into the residential area mainly in search of food, but they can also settle there, preferring the basement floors. The miniature red myrmica is displayed no less difficult than the pharaoh ants, choosing areas near the kitchen.
- Larger black and red-breasted ants can also crawl into the apartment for food, but they live within nature. The settling of the black variety on the living space can be called an accident, in rare cases it is facilitated by weather conditions, while red woodworms love wood. They are able to spread with furniture and can significantly harm wooden buildings.
Research into why millet and semolina helps against ants have not been carried out, however, after using these cereals, the ants disappear. Ants do not eat the found food on the spot, but deliver it to the nest for further distribution. There are several versions of the reasons for the departure of ants from a summer cottage or other territory sprinkled with these grains:
- ants perceive the grains as their eggs, and drag them to the wet bottom of the colony, where they swell and block all important passages, or become overgrown with fungi dangerous for the colony;
- the smell of millet and semolina grains repels ants;
- groats, being eaten, swells already in the digestive tract of insects, leading to their death.
The main advantage of this method of getting rid of ants is that it is harmless to humans and the environment.
Alternative ways
Semolina mixtures are not the only way to bait harmful insects. There are several other folk remedies that cope with this task no worse than decoy.
A mixture of sugar and yeast
Yeast cannot directly affect the body of ants, so you should not expect a magical result from this method. Nevertheless, it is quite effective.
In a one-to-one ratio with the addition of a small amount of water, a solution of sugar and yeast is kneaded. From the resulting mass, small balls are formed, which are laid out on "ant paths".
Harmful insects are very fond of the smell of yeast, so they will gladly drag the treat to the anthill. In pantries, the product will ferment, which will spoil the quality of all stored products. As a result, insects will starve to death.
This method can also be used in apartments.
Hot peppers
You can fight the pest using ground red pepper. The powder is scattered near the anthill and along the notorious "ant paths". When an insect gets inside, it burns the internal organs, as a result of which it dies.
Cinnamon
Another budget remedy that insects are afraid of is ground cinnamon packaged in bags. In order to get rid of annoying pests on the site, it is necessary to dilute the sachet of the product with one or two liters of water with sugar and pour the resulting solution onto the anthill.
As in the case of yeast, fermentation processes are activated, as a result of which ants will be forced to leave the summer cottage.
If insects attack in your apartment, simply sprinkle dry cinnamon powder on the largest congestion areas. It smells fragrant, which attracts pests, and affects the body in a similar way to red pepper.
Mustard powder
The smell of mustard powder repels ants. It can be used both dry and as a solution (100 g per 10 liters of water, spray all plants in the garden once every two weeks).
3 effective ways to use ant mustard
A mixture of powder with coffee shows itself perfectly. This remedy is also unloved by harmful goose bumps. Mix the ingredients in a 1: 1 ratio and process the anthill and ant paths.
Millet
Millet groats are analogous to semolina. There is no basic version why these insects do not like semolina. Most gardeners agree that when it enters the ant organism, the cereal swells and tears the body of the insect. In addition, when millet enters the storehouse, at the first rain it will cause clogging of tunnels and passages of the opposite pest due to an increase in size.
For maximum effectiveness, before use, 500 g of cereals should be soaked in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes, then add 100 g of powdered sugar, honey or jam for sweetness. It will be possible to remove ants in this way only in the garden, pests accustomed to "kitchen" nutrition are unlikely to pay attention to millet.
Boiling water
Pouring boiling water over an ant's dwelling is one of the easiest ways to fight goose bumps. One bucket will be enough for a one-time treatment, it is better to get rid of harmful insects in this way for several days in a row, treating the anthill with buckets of boiling water.
A more effective option would be to prepare a saline solution - adding three kg of table salt to a bucket of boiling water (10 kg). The treatment of harmful ants at home with such a drug is many times more reliable than the above method.
How to deal with ants using millet or semolina
Millet
How to get rid of ants using millet is known among many gardeners and summer residents. Millet against garden ants is abundantly scattered over the territory where the insect colony is located, which can be slightly stirred up for better penetration of the grains, as well as in the most frequent places of their visit, for example, in the vicinity of fruit trees, rose and berry bushes. To sprinkle millet against ants indoors follows an identical principle.
The most suitable time for processing the grains of the dacha is the dry days of late spring and early summer, during this period the ants that came out of hibernation are already active, but have not yet caused damage to the garden. For greater attractiveness, cereals from ants, semolina or millet are mixed with powdered sugar in a proportion of 1 kg per glass of sugar, or with molasses, honey or jam. To prevent the birds from pecking the seeds, they are sprinkled with dry leaves, branches, grass, earth or needles.
How to make bait
Even dry groats, scattered in places where insects accumulate, can achieve the desired effect in the fight against ants. If you have time and want a faster result, you can prepare a delicious bait:
- mix a pound of millet with 100 g of fine sugar or powdered sugar;
- mix millet grains previously soaked in water with honey, jam or sugar;
- boil the syrup from old jam or candied honey and soak the millet in it.
The sweet taste of the bait will attract more ants and make them quickly share their find with other individuals and the queen.
Other folk remedies
Borax solution
In the event that millet groats or semolina against ants do not help or have stopped helping, there are still enough folk methods in the assortment of domestic summer residents. You can fight ants that have bred in an apartment, garden or greenhouse with the help of substances with a strong odor. To do this, in the area of distribution of insects, they are scattered:
- boric acid;
- cinnamon;
- lemon juice;
- cheap perfume;
- mustard powder;
- red pepper powder;
- kerosene;
- borax solution;
- nicotine water;
- vinegar.
To cleanse the area from rapidly multiplying insects, garlic arrows, anise and tomato leaves are left near their colonies. In gardens, frequent loosening and sprinkling of slaked lime or ash also helps. The effectiveness of this or that method depends on the type of insects, better or worse tolerating various means of fighting them, air temperature, weather conditions, humidity and precipitation. To find the most effective method for a particular situation, you can alternate approaches, however, in a neglected situation with the resettlement of insects in a room, it is better to call specialists in the fight against parasites.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
The most important advantage of this method is its naturalness. Groats, unlike chemical insecticides, do not harm the plants in the garden.
- Other pluses:
- low cost;
- availability of ingredients;
- ease of preparation;
- is also used as prevention.
One of the disadvantages of the method is its dependence on weather conditions.... On a rainy day, a toxic treat will simply wash away with precipitation. The use of millet is effective in dry weather. Another disadvantage is attributed to the use of dry cereals - you need to wait for the effect. On the other hand, baits with sweeteners, flavored with boron, act faster.
Entomologists have found that male ants, unlike females, emerge from unfertilized eggs, that is, they have only the maternal set of chromosomes.
Testimonials
Kerosene
Christina: “I didn't like this method. Insects are certainly a disaster, but I still prefer to eat millet. "
Mikhail: “A very effective remedy! Slugs also appeared, it's a pity, a lot of cereals must be transferred to pests. It is necessary to sprinkle in those places where the ants climb from the ground, they left me only from the already sprinkled areas. For some reason, they do not react to wet grains. I had to move from place to place with cereals, until I reached the garage. But the garden now looks clean. "
Vasilisa: “The rash of leaves of plants that they don't like, and garlic on the insects did not help, after that they were not there only for one or two days. Krupa turned out to be the most reliable option, so it turned out to be taken out for a month in just a few days.I had to spend a lot of time in the garden, properly scattering and dropping in the grains, otherwise the birds would peck everything at me. "
Wheat grains used in summer cottages and gardens are absolutely safe for other representatives of the animal world. But it is still recommended to combine the folk remedy with other gentle chemicals (Muravyin, etc.).
Why millet is effective for use in the garden
The principle of action of millet groats on ants is not fully understood, but the method of fighting insects is one of the most common.
There are several versions of why ants are afraid of millet:
- In warm weather, nanny ants bring eggs to the surface so that they warm up in the sun, and often mistakenly bring millet inside the anthill, confusing it with an egg. Under the influence of the humid environment of the ant dwelling, millet swells and clogs the exits. As a result of this, the uterus dies of hunger, and after it the offspring.
- Insects feed on millet and, accordingly, feed their queen with it. Food, unusual for ants, is not digested, but it also swells in their stomachs, which leads to the inevitable death of the individual.
- When grains enter the lower layer of the anthill, a soil mold fungus settles on the grains under the influence of high humidity, exuding an odor unpleasant for insects, and the whole family of ants leaves the nest.
Whatever the reasons forcing garden ants to move away from their homestead, around which millet is scattered, but this method of pest control deserves attention.
It is recommended to scatter millet around the anthill or directly on it in early spring or early summer, and in order for the insects to show interest, the cereal should be slightly sweetened
SUITABLE FOR CASARIN VARIETIES
Drought-resistant varieties and hybrids are best suited for cultivation according to the Kazarin method. They are genetically predisposed to the formation of a powerful root system. Often, these tomatoes are intended by breeders for cultivation in the Caucasus and other regions with a similar climate.
Suitable varieties:
- Pink Elephant.
- The bush is semi-determinate, the fruits ripen 112 days after germination. The leaves are more like potato leaves in shape. Fruits are flattened, raspberry, with pronounced ribbing, weighing about 280 g. The taste is officially recognized as "excellent". Productivity - 6.2–8.2 kg / m². Tomatoes of the Pink Elephant variety, like all pink-fruited tomatoes, stand out for their excellent taste and increased sugar content of the pulp
- Miracle of the earth.
- A lettuce mid-season determinant variety. Fruits are almost spherical or slightly flattened, ribbed at the stalk. Raspberry peel. Average weight - 380 g (individual specimens - up to 700 g, according to the author of the variety). The taste is good, the yield is high (13.9 kg / m²). The description of the miracle of the earth tomato variety differs from the author and in the State Register; first of all, it concerns the weight of the fruit
- Hector F1.
- French mid-season determinant hybrid. Suitable for fresh consumption, homemade products, processing into tomato paste, juice. Tomatoes are of classic shape and color, with almost invisible ribs. Weight - 94-102 g. The taste of both fresh fruits and juice is excellent. Productivity - up to 6.5 kg / m². It is not affected by fusarium, verticillosis, nematodes. Tomatoes of the Hector F1 variety are medium-sized, this is the reason for their versatility.
- Maestro F1.
- Late-ripening determinant tomato with a prolonged fruiting period. Fruits in the form of a rounded cube, orange-red. Mass - 85–96 g. Taste - good and excellent. The variety is resistant to fusarium. Productivity - up to 5 kg / m².
- Tomatoes of the Maestro F1 variety ripen for a long time, but bear fruit almost before the first frost
- Vasilievna F1.
- Early ripe (97 days) indeterminate tomato with amicable fruiting. Recommended for fresh consumption. Fruits are almost round, bright red in color, weighing 152 g. Taste is rated as "good and excellent". Productivity - 9.6 kg / m².The variety is not affected by fusarium, cladosporium, mosaic disease, root nematode. Tomatoes of the Vasilievna F1 variety have innate immunity against many diseases dangerous for culture
- Centaur F1.
- Indeterminate tomato, ripening period - 111-122 days. Tomatoes are round, smooth or with barely noticeable ribs at the stalk, weight varies between 160-230 g. The taste is excellent. Productivity depending on growing conditions - 13.7-27.3 kg / m². It has immunity to mosaic disease, cladosporium, fusarium. Tomatoes of the Centaur F1 variety stand out with an almost record yield
- Titanic F1.
- Indeterminate medium early (113 days) tomato, recommended for fresh consumption. Average fruit weight - 200 g, shape and color - classic "tomato". The taste is great. Productivity - 10 kg per bush. The variety is not affected by the tobacco mosaic virus, fusarium, cladosporiosis. Tomatoes of the Titanic F1 variety are considered a salad variety
