Why Ants In Your Garden Is A Potential Huge Red Flag

While ants in your garden may seem innocuous, they can be a sign of an insidious infestation brewing: Many different ant species support the growth of aphids through a symbiotic relationship. With the help of ants, aphids can take over your garden and cause problems. Agricultural engineer Lucia Hechem, who Chowhound tapped for advice on getting rid of pests in your vegetable garden, explains: "If you see [ants] going up and down your plants, it usually means they're farming aphids or mealybugs for their sugary secretions. They protect these pests, which makes it harder to get rid of them."

Basically, farming ants use their teeny-tiny bodies to herd aphids around gardens so they can snack on sap from plants. They transport the defenseless bugs and their eggs underneath the leaves of plants so they can avoid predators, such as ladybugs, soldier beetles, lacewings, and small birds. In exchange for this protection from predators, aphids let ants "milk" them with their antennae — imagine an ant stroking or tapping an aphid's abdomen — to make them secrete honeydew for the ant colony to ingest. Aphids eventually kill your garden plants by robbing them of essential nutrients.

If you've located an ant colony in your garden, Lucia Hechem recommends using cinnamon as a natural deterrent — sprinkle a light application around the base of plants or where you see ant trails. Using coffee grounds to prevent ants from overrunning your garden is another hack worth trying. Similarly, a spray made out of water and orange peels soaked in vinegar can work as a natural insect repellent. Ants don't like the smell of acidic lemons either. You can also combat ants by planting herbs that repel them, such as mint, wormwood, and tansy, around your other plants.

Combining borax and sugar with a small amount of water forms a toxic solution that kills ants when they consume it. Simply soak cotton balls in the solution and place them around your garden where you see ant activity. Another way to kill ants is to apply diatomaceous earth to ant trails or wherever you notice them in your garden. This insecticide in powder form must be dry to properly get rid of the ants, though. Diatomaceous earth is the safer option if you have pets roaming around your garden since borax is toxic.