Good afternoon, my reader. Ants settle in almost every summer cottage. They often take over the entire territory and begin to spoil cultivated plants. There are various ways to control insects, but they will take time and patience.
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The harm and benefits of ants
It cannot be said unequivocally that ants are only pests. As part of the ecosystem, they provide some benefits:
- in the soil where ants live, an increased content of oxygen, phosphorus, potassium;
- the soil surface becomes looser due to insect tunnels, air permeability is improved;
- eat caterpillars and pest eggs.
But as for vegetable gardens and orchards, there is much more harm from them:
- contribute to the spread of aphids, which settle on all fruit and berry and ornamental crops, and it is very difficult to fight it;
- destroy and damage the crop, eat away berries, buds and buds from the inside, young leaves;
- increase the acidity of the earth;
- the wood of the trunks is turned into dust;
- because of the multi-level network of underground passages, plant roots die;
- settle in country houses, in particular in kitchens, where they are attracted by food products.
Ways to fight
Not all site owners are ready to use chemicals to combat ants, as they fear for the environmental friendliness of the crop. There are several recipes that have been proven in practice:
- Ants do not tolerate unpleasant, pungent odors. Around their settlements, finely chopped leaves and stems of anise, elderberry, parsley, wormwood, gruel of garlic cloves, tomato tops, and cinnamon are laid out.
- To instantly destroy the anthill, it is poured with kerosene so that as much liquid as possible seeps inside. You can't set fire to it. Turpentine, unrefined sunflower and hemp oil have a similar effect.
- Tobacco dust and tobacco are effective. They make a tincture of them or simply sprinkle abundantly on anthills and adjacent paths of movement.
- Dung infusion as bait. Pieces of metal, large stones or bricks are laid around the anthill, and everything is watered with organic liquid. After 3-4 days, the objects are turned over and the insects are poured with boiling water, trying to fill the passages too.
- Anthills are covered with table salt. When dissolved, it will gradually corrode the earth and make it uninhabitable, and soon the insects will move to another place.
- The places where ants accumulate and their paths are treated with a solution of 10 liters of water, 10 tbsp. l. kerosene, 2 tbsp. l. carbolic acid and 300 g of tar soap.
- Pests are not able to climb over water obstacles. Trees and shrubs will be protected by grooves dug around the trunk with a depth of 4-5 cm with water.
- To prevent ants from climbing a tree, they make a bandage at the bottom of the trunk. A dense fabric is impregnated with linseed oil or carbolic solution.
- After watering, a rag moistened with turpentine or kerosene is left under the bushes.
- Make decoy traps. In places of mass habitat, suitable flat objects with jam are laid out. 1 g of boric acid and 5 g of live yeast are added to 100 g of the product.
- After sunset, the anthill is dug up with a large shovel, the earth is transferred to a container without cracks and taken to the forest or away from the plots. The hole is spilled with boiling water, a solution of bleach and covered with strong-smelling grass.
Do you have ants in the country?
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About transplanting flowers in the fall, read the following article: Autumn flower transplant