Cathy Isom tells us why ants are both good and bad for your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Ants Good and Bad for Your Garden
There’s both good and bad news about ants when it comes to your garden plants. Ants are predators and prey since they eat the eggs of many insects and serve as food for birds, lizards, and other beneficials. Their tunnels aerate the soil and allow water and nutrients to flow directly to the plant roots. They also distribute seeds by storing them in their tunnels.
The bad news is that ants can protect honeydew-producing, sucking insects that do a great deal of damage. If you manage your ant populations, you will be closer to managing scale, mealybug, aphid, and whitefly populations in the garden.
With over 12,000 species of ants, not all remedies of removing ants work, but here are a few do it yourself home remedies or suggestions to try. Such as cornmeal. It’s safe for your plants, fairly inexpensive, and is widely available at your local market. You could also make a mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle which is also safe for plants and will turn the insects in the opposite direction. Baby powder is also works and is fast acting, not only in the garden but when ants are found inside your home.
I’m Cathy Isom…