How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Garden

Learn natural and effective ways to manage ant infestations in your garden using simple, eco-friendly solutions like cinnamon, grits, and Borax.

Ants in the garden are a common issue, and if you’ve ever dealt with them, you know how frustrating they can be. 

How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Garden: Tried and True Solutions

During a recent garden summit, many gardeners expressed having the same problem. 

From my own experience, I’ve found a few simple and effective solutions to help reduce the ant population in your garden and keep them from coming back.

How Do I Get Rid of Ants Permanently?

The key to getting rid of ants permanently lies in targeting their colony and queen. Killing individual ants may give temporary relief, but if the queen survives, she’ll continue laying eggs, and the cycle starts all over again. 

The goal is to eliminate the whole colony to ensure they don’t return.

In my garden, I’ve used a combination of methods to target the ants both at the source and around my plants. 

Below are my go-to remedies, with step-by-step instructions.

Use Cinnamon to Repel Ants

Cinnamon is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to deter ants.

Cinnamon is an effective natural ant repellent due to its strong smell, which disrupts the ants’ ability to follow scent trails. Ants rely on pheromones to communicate and navigate, particularly when foraging for food.

The intense aroma of cinnamon interferes with these chemical signals, making it difficult for ants to find their way or communicate with the rest of their colony.

Additionally, cinnamon’s fine texture can act as a physical barrier, deterring ants from crossing treated areas.

By sprinkling cinnamon around entry points or areas with ant activity, you create a natural, non-toxic deterrent that is safe to use around pets and children, making it a popular choice for chemical-free pest control.

Here’s how I use it:

Step-by-Step Process to Using Cinnamon To Repel Ants :

1. Buy cheap cinnamon: Grab an inexpensive bottle of cinnamon from your local dollar store or wherever you shop.
2. Sprinkle liberally: Find the areas where ants are active, and sprinkle cinnamon generously along their paths or around the perimeter of your garden beds.
3. Reapply regularly: Watering and morning dew can wash away the cinnamon, so you’ll need to reapply it after each watering or rain.

This method has worked well for me in both my garden and my child’s sandbox, so it’s a great all-around solution!

Grits Will Kill Ants

Unlike cinnamon, which repels ants, grits will actually kill them. Making this a more permanent solution to your ant problem.

If you can locate the ant hill, this trick is a game changer. Grits work by expanding inside the ants after they consume water. We use instant grit packets but regular grits work too!

Here’s how to use grits to get rid of ants:

Step-by-step process:

1. Locate the ant hill: Look for the ant colony or nest in your garden. This is usually a mound of dirt with an entrance hole.
2. Sprinkle instant grits: Pour a good amount of instant grits directly into the hole of the ant hill.
3. Wait for results: The ants will consume the grits, and after they drink water, the grits will expand inside their bodies, killing them.

Be patient with this one—it’s not instant, but it’s a natural and effective solution over time.

Use Borax To Kill Ants In The Garden

Borax is one of the most effective ways to target the ant queen and eliminate the entire colony.

Here’s how I make and use the Borax mixture:

Step-by-step process:

1. Mix Borax and jelly: Take equal parts Borax and a sweet jam or jelly. I typically use about a tablespoon of each.
2. Place near ant paths: Find where the ants are most active and place small amounts of the Borax and jelly mixture along their walking paths.
3. Keep it safe: Make sure to place the mixture in areas where pets or other animals won’t get into it.
4. Reapply as needed: After a day or two, check the area and reapply the mixture if necessary.

The ants will carry the sweet mixture back to their queen, and once the queen is dead, the colony will collapse.

What Will Keep Ants Away?

Prevention is just as important as elimination when it comes to keeping ants out of your garden for good.

By incorporating natural deterrents and creating an environment that supports ant predators, you can maintain balance in your garden.

Here’s a step-by-step process to help keep them away:

• Sprinkle deterrents: Regularly sprinkle cinnamon or other natural deterrents like vinegar or essential oils (peppermint works great) around your garden beds and entry points.
• Create a critter-friendly environment: Encourage natural ant predators like birds, frogs, and lizards to visit your garden by providing water sources, shelter, and native plants. These critters will help control the ant population without the need for chemicals.
• Keep the garden clean: Avoid leaving any food scraps, debris, or compost piles near your plants that could attract ants.
• Stay consistent: Prevention is an ongoing process, so make it part of your routine garden maintenance to regularly monitor and treat areas where ants might reappear.

What Is The Best Home Remedy To Kill Ants?

In my experience, Borax is the best home remedy to kill ants permanently. The combination of targeting the queen and colony is unmatched.

Using this in tandem with other methods creates a powerful defense against ants.

Here’s how I combine all methods for the best results:

Step-by-step process:

1. Start with grits: If you find the ant hill, pour grits directly in to start weakening the colony.
2. Follow up with Borax: Mix Borax and jelly, placing it along their paths to target the workers and queen.
3. Maintain with cinnamon: Sprinkle cinnamon around the affected areas to prevent any new ants from setting up shop.

How to Get Rid of Ants Overnight?

While it’s hard to completely eradicate ants overnight, Borax comes pretty close.

Here’s how you can try to eliminate them quickly:

Step-by-step process:

1. Set out Borax mixture before bed: See instructions above.
2. Check in the morning: By morning, you should see fewer ants, and the colony should start to diminish.
3. Reapply if necessary: If there are still some ants around, reapply the mixture for a few more nights until they’re completely gone.

Enjoy An Ant-Free Garden

Ants in the garden are an annoyance, but they don’t have to be a permanent problem. With a little effort and these simple home remedies, you can eliminate ants and keep your garden pest-free.

Just remember that persistence is key! It may take a little time, but with the right approach, you’ll see those ants packing their bags and moving on.

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