Ants in the greenhouse: a description of pests and how to get rid of them

Hardworking ants like to settle not only in the forest, but also in the garden, and in the greenhouse, as they can find a lot of food near home plantings. However, this does not always benefit summer residents, so below we will study the question of how to get rid of ants in a greenhouse.

Ant: description and life cycle of the pest

Ants are insects that live in large groups, while organizing huge houses, anthills. In one anthill is usually present only one queen, which carries out the process of laying eggs. All other ants are busy collecting "building material" for their anthill, as well as food. It is in the second question that these insects pose a particular danger to gardeners, because they like to eat juicy and sweet berries, vegetables and root vegetables. New generations of ants appear very quickly - almost every 2 months. To do this, the queen first lays eggs, which for 35 days creep in the aisle passages, after which the larvae appear from them. Their life cycle is also short, only 7 days, after which the larvae wind in their own secret and turn into pupae. Only in the fourth stage, small ants emerge from the pupae and grow rapidly and immediately begin to fulfill certain obligations.

It is worth noting that among the ants there are many varieties, but often in gardens and in greenhouses there are only:

• red forest (most often found in cottages, which are located near the forest);
• black garden, which can often be found in greenhouses and which greatly damage the young seedlings of plants;
• brown meadows (less common in greenhouses).

What are the benefits of ants

Despite the fact that the title of our article is devoted to the question of how to get rid of ants in a greenhouse, it is not necessary to bypass the benefits of these small insects. After all, if they appeared in your greenhouse, it will allow:

1. Get rid of a number of pests of garden plants, such as caterpillars, fly larvae, slugs and spider mites, as these pests are food for ants.
2. To improve the fertility of the soil, as the numerous ant moves will make its structure as loose as possible and filled with air. Unlike earthworms, ants are able to go deep into the soil not by 20 cm, but by 1.5 m.
3. To improve the nutritional value of the soil, since the content of potassium substances in it increases by 2 times with the appearance of ants, and that of phosphorus increases by about 10 times. Also in the process of life of ants in the soil humus and nitrogen appear. It is very important that under the influence of ants all these substances pass into the soluble form necessary for plant nutrition.

What is dangerous for greenhouse ants

Ants in a greenhouse are useful only if their colonies are not yet numerous. However, if ants in a greenhouse multiply incredibly quickly, the question of how to get rid of them becomes urgent. What can be dangerous these insects?

1. Ants are able to secrete a kind of acid, because of which the acidity of the soil can rapidly increase. As you know, not all garden plants like these soils, which to get a good harvest have to lime.
2. The basic diet of ants is not only the larvae of various pests, but also young shoots of garden plants, as well as their sweet fruits. Therefore, with a significant reproduction of the ant family, the greenhouse may be seriously harmed and not yield a crop.
3. Adult ants are very fond of sugar, which is important for their normal life, so they can independently breed entire colonies of aphids.This pest can, in turn, multiply and feed on garden plants, thereby bringing irreparable damage to the crop, and sometimes even the complete destruction of the plants.
4. Ants can organize their anthills directly among the rows of greenhouse plants, thereby preventing them from growing normally.
5. Since the habitat of ants is not limited only to the greenhouse, they can bring weed seeds into their backyard plots, which, under favorable conditions, quickly germinate and overwhelm garden plants.

But, besides harm, for the greenhouse itself and the plants growing in it, ants can also be dangerous for humans. After all, with the mass distribution of ants, it will be very difficult to avoid their bites, during which insects release a specific acid secret. Besides the fact that such a bite is quite painful, in some people it can cause an allergic reaction.

How to deal with ants in the greenhouse

Considering that the harm from ants in a greenhouse is many times more than good, it is still rational to fight these insects, rather than to encourage their further reproduction. Below are a few effective methods that will tell you how to deal with ants in a greenhouse.

Mechanical actions against ants

So, if ants appeared in the greenhouse and you do not know what to do, then first of all it is worth trying the mechanical ways of catching them. First, every year it is important to thoroughly dig up the soil in order to destroy the anthills and damage the laying of their eggs. Secondly, in order to annoy these pests even more, after each digging, sprinkle the soil with wood ash. Ants also dislike lime and baking soda, which force them to leave their habitat.

If you didn’t manage to defeat ants last season, soak the whole soil with a solution of baking soda and linseed oil before planting another plant in a greenhouse (5 g of soda and 30 g of oil are required per 1 l of water). Usually, after such treatment, insects leave the greenhouse for a long time.

How to deal with ants chemical means

It is about creating various baits, reacting to which the ants will expose themselves to mortal danger. One of the options for such baits is boric acid, which in the amount of 1 tsp is diluted in a glass of water along with 4 tsp of sugar and the same amount of fermented jam. Putting such a bait in places where you can see the most ants, by the evening you can pick up a full glass of drowned insects. For this reason, changing the glass with the bait will have daily.

This method allows you to catch even the queen of ants. For this purpose, it is necessary to take a large flat container, such as a metal or plastic tray, and cover it with a piece of dark fabric. Saturated fabric with sugar syrup, you will force the ants together with the uterus to move to the tray, after which you can simply throw them away in another place as remote as possible from the greenhouse.

Freedom from ants folk remedies

In order not to resort to the use of chemistry and not to even more feed the ants with sugar, it is important to know how to remove ants from the greenhouse with folk remedies. It must be remembered that ants do not tolerate the harsh odors that wormwood, garlic, mustard, anise, and even laurel leaves emit. Therefore, if you decompose all these herbs in a greenhouse, you will soon be able to notice how the number of ants is rapidly decreasing.

But the most effective folk remedy for ants in the greenhouse is garlic, which is recommended to crush and insist in water for a day. With such tincture it is necessary to water the places of the mass accumulation of ants, from where they will run away in all possible directions and will not soon decide to return.

What plants scare away ants

Help fight ants and some plants that distribute a specific smell. It is clear that to scare away insects you will not grow wormwood or garlic in a greenhouse, but you can plant several seedlings with tomatoes or cucumbers:

• mint;
• lavender;
• marigolds;
• lemon balm;
• nasturtiums;
• catnip;
• rosemary;
• parsley;
• fennel

Extreme measures: ant disposal by industrial chemicals

Fighting ants in the greenhouse with folk remedies and scaring them off with plants with a specific odor does not always give the desired effect, so summer residents have to resort to using more efficient chemicals. Given the fact that they can harm not only the ants, but also the plants in the greenhouse, it is worth resorting to this measure only if insects can really destroy the entire crop.

As such drugs it is recommended to use:

• Thunder-2;
• "Muracid";
• "Ant-eater";
• "Ant";
• "Delicia";
• "Expel".

If you are offered drugs with other names, check if they contain diazinon, which is fatal to ants. However, when using any chemical means to combat ants, do not forget that they can be dangerous for you.

How to prevent ants from entering the greenhouse, prevention

The destruction of ants in the greenhouse rarely occurs at one time, as due to the rapid process of reproduction, more and more new generations of these insects may appear. In this regard, it is necessary to know not only methods of extermination of ants, but also effective methods of prevention. In particular, it is very important to remove from the greenhouse all remnants of old boards and pieces of roofing material, inside and under which ants can live and multiply. Consider that they can settle even in the supports of the greenhouse, which from time had already become decrepit and began to rot. Do not forget to annually make deep digging of the soil and apply various fertilizers in them, which in high concentrations can also have a destructive effect on ants.

The question of how to deal with garden ants in the greenhouse, we have completely exhausted, so next season you can forget what kind of annoying insects that spoil the crop. However, getting rid of them, do not forget about the means of prevention, as ants can look at your greenhouse from the neighboring garden.