Get Rid of Ants in My Garden

Curious how I get rid of ants in your garden? Before reaching for the insecticides, let's learn a little more about the role these critters play!

Ants in the garden can be a common sight, and many gardeners want to rid themselves of the once and for all. This mindset doesn't account for the vital role that ants play in the ecosystem though.

Before reaching for insecticides and poisoning the whole ecosystem, though, it's important to understand what niche ants fill and why they're important.

Ants: The "Worms" of the Desert

In Arizona, we call ants the "worms of the desert" - because of how much their role overlaps with that of worms in wetter environments!

Ants are exceptionally important decomposers and help break down and recycle organic matter.

They haul decaying organic matter down underground, where it ultimately helps to improve the soil quality by adding nutrients and improving soil structure.

This nutrient cycling process plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy and fertile garden!

Is Sandy Soil the Reason for Your Garden Ants?

Ants favor sandy soils for their colonies, and have much more difficulty creating nests in high quality soil.

In fact, I've never had an ant nest in any of my rich garden soil before. I've seen plenty of ant nests in the sandy garden paths near the edges and between my beds, though.

Depleted soils are prime habitat for ants, and I've seen plenty of ants living in gardens which gardeners were not amending with enough organic matter.

They don't like to nest in rich fluffy humus, however, they like it dryer and grittier. If the soil is poor enough for ants, it's usually too poor to grow veggies well in.

If you improve your soil quality, the ants will generally go find someplace else to live.

They may still strip nutrients from dying leaves and stalks in your garden, and pollinate your flowers, but they likely won't build any nests in your soil if it's got a high enough organic matter content.

Build good soil, your ant populations will retreat to sandier pastures.

Ants Are Vital Pollinators

When it's ant season, you may see your flowering plants covered in highways of ants communiting to an from the flowers. They play an important role in pollination, transporting pollen from flower to flower as they collect pollen and nectar for food.

Ants Are Part of the Food Web

It's worth warning that poisoning ants will often poison the entire ecosystem. As a food source for birds, lizards, small mammals, and larger insects, feeding poison to ants will harm the entire food chain. In outdoor environments, poisons always backfire (see Systems Thinking) and I cannot suggest enough that you learn to live with ants instead of demonizing these wonderful composters.

Ants Cycle Nutrients

Final Thoughts...

Looking for ways to control other garden pests naturally? Check out the full guide here.