Ants are extremely useful animals that have a lasting positive impact on the environment with their hard work. However, they are rather undesirable in your own garden and can become a nuisance. They even occasionally settle in flower pots on terraces and balconies. In any case, it's worth trying one of the numerous home remedies and not just killing the animals. Especially when the ant colony has made itself comfortable in a very limited space in the flower pot, this works perfectly with a little patience.
How do I remove ants from the flower pot?
To remove ants in flower pots, you can use home remedies such as lemon juice, cucumber peels, spices (laurel, clove, cinnamon), ground coffee, abundant watering or lime/garden chalk. Avoid baking soda and chemical insecticides to protect the environment.
Lemon Juice
Ants don't like citric acid at all and they usually run away quickly.
- Squeeze a fresh lemon.
- Put the juice on a cloth.
- Put this on the ground.
- Repeat regularly.
Cucumber peels
Cucumber peels are poisonous to animals. Simply place them on the ground for a few days, this will act as a deterrent and the insect colony will run away.
Spices such as bay leaf, clove or cinnamon
Ants don't like the smells of these culinary herbs at all. It has proven to be a good idea to sprinkle a mixture of all the spices on the soil in the flower pot. Alternatively, you can use essential oils (€22.00 on Amazon), such as those available for steam lamps. Cinnamon oil in particular works extremely well. Drop the substance onto a cloth and place it around the plant. Renew daily.
Ground coffee
Simply sprinkle the soil with a few spoonfuls of ground coffee. It doesn't have to be fresh powder, even the pomace from the fully automatic coffee machine or coffee filter works well. Also carefully pour the powder into the holes from which a lot of ants crawl out and press down with the handle of a spoon. The intense smell of your favorite morning drink scares the animals away and they look for a new place to live.
Water abundantly
Ants don't like floods at all. If the plant can tolerate it, you should water it thoroughly on several consecutive days so that water collects in the saucer. You will see that the animals will soon find it too colorful and they will migrate.
Lime or garden chalk
If you have ant nests in the garden, you should sprinkle chalk powder or garden lime around the flower pots as a preventive measure. The little crawlers do not cross these alkaline barriers and prefer to choose other places to found a new state.
Not a good remedy: baking powder
A common tip for ant infestations is to sprinkle baking soda on the soil in the flower pot. The drug doesn't work particularly well and at the same time means a painful death for the animals. Contrary to popular belief, ants do not eat the baking soda, but die from chemical burns when they come into contact with this substance. Therefore, use gentle methods that also work but protect the insects at the same time.
Tip
Rapidly acting insecticides for the soil should only be used for environmental reasons if all other means fail. Ants are beneficial insects that carry seeds, loosen the soil and serve as food for many other animals. This makes them an important link in the ecosystem that is worth protecting.