I’m a gardening whizz – three ways you can banish ants from your backyard… the most effective costs just 29p
A GARDENING expert has revealed the three easy ways you can banish ants from your backyard – and one hardly costs just 29p.
Although ants aren’t dangerous to humans, they can often wreak havoc in your garden and destroy your plants.
Fiona Jenkins at Myjobquote, the UK’s leading trades matching site has now shared some of the best solutions to rid your garden of pesky ants.
Speaking to the Mirror, Fiona explained that “boiling water is one of the most effective methods”.
She added: “All you need to do is locate as many nest entrances as you possibly can and then pour boiling water inside.
“You may need to repeat this a few times until all of the ants are exterminated.”
Another method with “a high success rate” is liquid dish soap and oil.
Fiona explained: “Simply mix half a teaspoon of liquid dish soap with 1.5 teaspoons of cooking oil, then add a litre of water.
“Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray all of the ants you can visibly see. Then, use the leftover mixture and pour it into the ants nest.
“The liquid dish soap and oil will soak into the exoskeletons of the ants and suffocate them.”
As a last resort, the garden expert suggested white vinegar, which can be purchased for around 29p.
Fiona added: “White vinegar is also a great option for getting rid of ants.
“Pour around a litre of white vinegar into the nest through as many entrances as you can find.
“White vinegar is not harmful to your plants or the ground. However, it works wonders in getting rid of ants as it will kill them upon contact.”
It comes after a cleaning whizz swore by an inexpensive kitchen staple that helped her banish annoying ants from her garden.
TikTok user Anna used to struggle with the pesky creepy crawlies until she came across an easy hack that changed her life.
Meanwhile a pest control expert revealed seven ways to get rid of ants without using pesticides, which can also ruin your plants.
One of these methods involved was a simple as using leftover orange peel.
How to get rid of ants?
As always, prevention is the best cure but there are plenty of tips and tricks to remove them once they’ve made their way in.
The best solution to ant infestations is simply removing whatever is attracting them to your home.
Ants could be attracted by anything from a drop of honey on the kitchen counter, to a jar of jam, or even a dirty spoon left in the kitchen sink.
By removing the attraction the ants might just pack up and leave you alone.
But if you are worried about ants descending onto your home, here’s what you should do:
- Store all food away, ideally in airtight containers, in cupboards or in the fridge.
- Don’t leave food out in the open air, always cover and store away if possible.
- Clean up any food and drink spills as soon as they occur.
- Keep the house clean, remember to keep cupboards clean too.
- Wash pet bowls regularly, remember ants are partial to cat and dog food too!
- Take out your rubbish regularly.
- Clean your entire kitchen with a natural, homemade anti-ant spray, made with one part water and one part vinegar to destroy their pheromones and present infestations.