How to Get Rid of Ants Outside? Guide to Killing Ants Outdoors

Ants are pesky insects that would love to colonize your garden. Your garden is a great food source for a colony of ants, after all.

Down here in the south, we have a problem with fire ants. Never mind your tomatoes, if you stay still too long outside, they will start to eat you!

A few ants aren’t a severe problem for your plants, but a large colony may wipe out your garden and all of the efforts you put into it.

It’s challenging to get rid of the ants in a garden without killing the plants, but it is possible.

There are a few easy and quick methods for getting rid of outside ants without buying harsh insecticides. The first option is straightforward but will kill your vegetation. The others take a few materials you might not have at home. However, these methods are very effective and will not harm the plants you want to protect.

If you want to know how to get rid of an infestation of ants in your yard or garden, read on for my favorite tips:

Scorched Earth Method – Kill Ants with Boiling Water

A simple and low-cost method to kill ants in your garden is boiling water. Simply pour boiling water into every nest entrance you can find and just wait.

Although this method is the cheapest and easiest, it’s not the most effective. You will have to repeat the process until the ant colony is dead, and you might miss a couple of nest entrances.

Take care when handling the boiling water; you don’t want to get burned. If you’re lucky, the ants will rebuild their nests elsewhere and leave your garden alone. But, unfortunately, that is wishful thinking. You’ve only kept them away for a little while.

If it’s too difficult for you to pour boiling water on ground-level ant nests, use a long-handled watering can. When the colony feels threatened, they will take their eggs and young to safety. Destroy the nest when they’re gone, and you will see much less ant activity in your garden.

Homemade Ant Poison – Eliminate Ants with Boric Acid

Sugar and boric acid are one of the most efficient ant-killing products you can make at home. Combining sugar with boric acid gives us a sweet and poisonous paste-like substance.

It’s well-known that ants are attracted to sweets; as a result, apply the paste near nest entrances to get rid of ants in your garden.

The ants will gather the paste, bring it back to the ant queen, and eat it. Thus, the boric acid will poison both the queen and the colony after some time.

Clean Out the Ants Home – Soap and Oil

The soap and oil approach suffocates ants by soaking into their exoskeletons. This is an effective way to get rid of ants without damaging your plants.

With a bit of water, combine liquid soap and cooking oil equally. After that, fill the nests with the mixture straight away. Having a spray bottle helps control the ants outside. Pour the solution into the spray bottle and, when outdoors, carefully spray any ants you discover.

The methods listed above are about as environmentally safe as they come. However, although they are an excellent approach to get rid of ants without damaging the plants, they may not be the most efficient at removing ants.

The chemicals in these products are considerably weaker than a professional ant-killing gel or poison. If you want to use a natural approach to eliminate ants, keep in mind that it will take longer and require more work.

Baby Powder Outdoor Trick

Talcum powder isn’t just for soaking up moisture from body parts. it can also kill ants.

Dusting the ant’s nest with baby powder is a fantastic drying agent, which means it will draw moisture from the ant’s body and eventually cause it to die. Sprinkling some of the powder over the colony should be sufficient.

Safe Around Pets – Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

Diatomaceous earth is a powder obtained from microscopic fossilized diatoms. Food-grade DE, fortunately, is an effective way to kill a range of pests, including ants and roaches, while being nontoxic to pets.

Make sure you sprinkle the powder on a dry section of an ant’s track and give it some time to use the DE properly. In most cases, ants will perish in the following days.

Ant Killer Gel Bait – Best Efficiency

The best way to get rid of ants in your garden without harming the plants is baiting with ant killer gel. The boric acid and sugar process works similarly to the boric acid and sugar method described above. Because the substance is sweet and sugary, the ants will be drawn to it.

Place tiny pieces nearby and let the ants take care of the rest. Once a colony’s queen has taken the gel to her nest, it will all feast on it, ingesting poison in the process. It’s worth noting that the ant killer gel has no harmful effects on your plants. As a result, it’s one of the best ant control solutions available since it kills ants without harming plant life.

Get Rid of Ants Outdoors – And Save Your Plants

If none of the ideas mentioned sound appropriate for your situation, you could always hire a professional exterminator. However, before making this decision, consider that exterminators aren’t interested in your garden and won’t care about it as much as you do.

Some plants could be harmed as a result of their work. Therefore, professional exterminators should only be used as a last resort.

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I hope my guide on how to kill ants out in your garden works for you. If you have any questions about ants or other pest control issues, just shoot me a message, I’ll be glad to help.

It’s not as difficult as you thought getting rid of ants in your garden without harming the plants.

But the most effective store-bought product might not be the best one for your needs. See if a homemade remedy might do the job first.

No matter which option you choose, keep in mind that even the “safest” methods can damage your plants and garden if not handled with care and following the guidelines.