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Ants

Has anyone got any helpful ideas on how to get rid of ants in my flower beds without harming the plants

Thank you in advance

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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,160

    They like dry places so watering copiously should help if the soil is very dry.  Failing that, the usual ant killers will work, especially the stuff in little shoe polish sized tins as they're waterproof.   The ants track the poison back to the nest.

    However, lots of birds eat ants so, if you want to be wildlife friendly, try planting pennyroyal which is supposed to repel them or watering with a solution of an small bottle of essential oil of cloves (pharmacy or health shop) in 5 litres of water.  They don't like the smell and move on.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • JanvoJanvo Posts: 20

    Thank you 

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391

    You can also get ant nematodes which you water on to the area.  They don't kill the ants but they will move their nests out of treated areas.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • yarrow2yarrow2 Posts: 782

    A whole border in my garden is infested with ants.  It's a disaster and such a disappointment this year.  Never noticeably had them before.  Interested to read about the cloves - will be the easiest for me to get and try.  Glad to pick up this thread.

  • JanvoJanvo Posts: 20

    Same here, hadn't had them in this area before, noticed lots this year 

  • DyersEndDyersEnd Posts: 730

    I have at least 20 ant hills in my lawn although I hesitate to call it a lawn as it's almost impossible to mow because it's so lumpy. I want to get rid of them rather than move them on but so far I'm failing miserably image

  • JanvoJanvo Posts: 20

    I think we all seem to be having the same problem 

  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,118

    Interesting about the clove oil - I'll try to remember that for next year.

    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
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