Ants are social insects that live in colonies. So each colony makes a nest where one or more queen ants are laying eggs. Worker ants responsible for building the nest, clean the eggs and feed larvae. Queen ants have wings and worker ants don’t. The suitable site for the nest is the edge of a lawn or the base of a wall.
Once queen finds the site, worker ants begin building a nest. It can consist of many tunnels. In winter the nest becomes dormant and workers stay inside in the tunnels. In spring worker ants go out and start looking for food. That is when they can enter your home hoping to find sugary substances to feed on.
Besides that, ants can enter a greenhouse to feed on flowers’ nectar or honeydew produced by pests like aphids. Moreover, some ants collect oily seeds from plants like buddleia, cyclamen, cabbage, heather, meconopsis, primula, radish, rhododendron and viola.
You need to think about control measures before the growing season starts in spring. Block the entrances and check the cracks in greenhouse frame. There are natural ways of deterring ants from a greenhouse. For example, spray structure with essential oil solution or grow plants that repel ants (lavender, peppermint or fennel).
If you didn’t take action on time and ants are already in a greenhouse, you need to get rid of them. The best way to get rid of ants nest in a greenhouse is to pour cold water on it regularly as it disturbs the ants and encourages them to move on to another location.
Why are there ants all over my plants?
Ants eat honeydew which insects like mealybugs, scale and aphids secrete. Most of the time ants are collecting and protecting these honeydew producing insects so you see them all over stems and leaves of the plants. Honeydew on plants promotes growth of mold with dark spores. So when ants eat honeydew they actually protect plants.
However, if ants farm aphids on the roots of plants, they can disturb the roots resulting in plants’ death. Ants can also bury plants in soil when building nests. That is a very common problem with potted plants and rock gardens. Moreover, when ants form nests under ground, they disturb soil around the plants.
How to get rid of ants without killing plants?
Make a solution of 1 teaspoon of dish soap with 0.5 l of warm water and spray on the plants in the garden or greenhouse. That way you are getting rid of ants without killing plants. Soapy water causes ants to suffocate and it also breaks down their natural water resistance and causes them to sink in the water.
How does soapy water kill ants? First, ants breathe through tiny openings in the body walls – spiracles, and then through tiny blind-ended, air-filled tubes – tracheae. Tracheae penetrate through ant’s body and spiracles locate on each side of ant’s abdomen. So when applying dish soap directly on ants, it destroys the waxy coating of the ants’ spiracles and tracheae, causing the ants to suffocate.
How do I get rid of ants in my greenhouse?
Solution 1 – if ants enter a greenhouse to collect food (nectar, seeds), observe where they are coming from and block entrances. It will prevent further invasions. Seal the cracks in the greenhouse frame and keep your structure clean. I have put together a really easy step-by-step guide on how to clean greenhouse, check it out and share it with other greenhouse enthusiasts!
To get rid of black ants in a greenhouse place ant bait stations. You need to place one bait station on each ant trail. You need to replace them every three months or earlier depending on how heavy the infestations are. It is also a good solution if the nest is buried beneath a paving slab.
Solution 2 – if ants farm aphids on plant stem, you need to get rid of pests. Use a solution of 1 teaspoon of dish soap with 0.5 l of warm water to kill aphids, mealybugs and scale insects without damaging the plants. Once there is no source of honeydew, ants will go away.
Also, make sure that there is no loosened plants in a greenhouse as ants tend to build nests on them. Firm these plants back into the soil and water well. On average, if you water greenhouse plants well and increase humidity, you will get rid of the ants as they like dry conditions.
Solution 3 – the best way to get rid of ants nest is to use a fork to break it and water the nest regularly with cold water so it encourages them to move away. DO NOT use boiling water as it forms scorched patches of turf that is a favorable environment for weeds. You can also use insecticide like a drench or dust containing bendiocarb or deltamethrin as the last resort.
Also, if you have electricity in a greenhouse, you can use an ultrasonic pest repellent. If you have ants in garage and your house, that is a good option as it comes with 6 packs. All you need to do is to plug it in a power socket and it will repel ants away without killing them.
