You are right to be wondering how to get rid of ants in grass naturally. Taking immediate actions to eradicate their colony is vital when you have ants everywhere in yard.
They won’t let you have a picture-perfect lawn or garden. They cause nuisance and destroy the grass. Mowing lawn becomes problematic too.
But you are in the right place to get rid of ants in yard infestation naturally and prevent them from coming back.
How To Get Rid Of Ant Colonies In Yard?
You can easily get rid of them forever by applying:
- Boiling water.
- Salt solution.
- Baby powder/banking soda.
- Dishwasher and olive oil mix.
- Sugar and Boric Acid Mix.
- Coffee Grounds
- And many more!
How To Get Rid Of Ants Naturally Outside?
You don’t want your children or pets to play in the lawn entrenched with various ant types. Using chemicals is a fast solution but they can be hazardous for pets and children.
Besides, they can kill the grass as well.
But, don’t worry. There are still some natural solutions to this problem. And they act fast too. Here are some proven to be effective methods that you can apply right away:
- Boiling Water
This is probably the most simple way to kill ants from your yard. As the name suggests, just pour hot boiling water directly on the ant colonies. It will immediately kill them.
But keep in mind that, boiling water will also kill the grass too. Do not pour hot water anywhere but the ant hills in your lawn where plants and grass are growing.
Pouring an excessive amount of boiling water will also result in boggy and wet areas in your lawn.
- Use Salt
You can kill the ants from dehydration if apply a common pantry item – salt. It has been in use for a long time to get rid of ants from the kitchen and you can do the same for your lawn.
Salts quickly dehydrates the exoskeleton of ants and kill them quickly. Find all the ants holes of your lawn and pour the mix of salt and water on them.
Start small. Do not pour the excessive salt mix. Like the boiling water, salt can harm your plants too.
- Baking Soda/Baby Powder
The main objective here is to kill ants by depriving them of oxygen. And the easiest way to do that is to apply baby powder or baking soda. Either one will do the job.
Ants breathe through spiracles and the baking soda or baby powder can effectively block them. When the spiracles get clogged, they can’t breathe and die.
- Olive Oil & Dishwasher Liquid Mix
To suffocate and kill the ants, the solution mix of dishwasher liquid and olive oil is effective too. When you apply the mix directly on the ant colonies, it penetrates the exoskeleton of ants and suffocates them.
The problem with the mix is that the dishwasher liquid can bleach the grass. So, you may have pale grass on several spots of your lawn.
If you think this method is not practical for you to get rid of ant colonies in the yard, don’t worry. I have other cool methods to talk about.
- Citrus Smell
You do not want those outside ants to enter your house whether you have kids or not. They will destroy everything in the house including the structural damage to the building.
The citrus smell is your rescue! It also works great when you have mulch infested with ants.
Ants don’t like this smell at all and they don’t build their colonies where they get this smell. So next time, don’t just throw away lemon and orange peels. Save, dry, and grind them.
Spread them in every entry point of your home including potted plants and flower beds to deter ants always.
- Cinnamon Oil Solution
If you are still wondering how to get rid of ants in grass naturally, then here is another solution for you. Yes, this time you will use cinnamon oil.
Highly effective to kill ants and destroy ant colonies. Mix it with water and make an effective pest repellent.
If you don’t have cinnamon oil, ground some cinnamon cloves to make the solution. Make sure NOT to pour the solution too much on the lawn. You may end up killing your plants too.
- Boric Acid & Sugar Mix
It’s not hard to get boric acid and I admit it sounds a little troublesome. But that works like a charm without doing any harm to your plants. This is how it works.
You will put the solution mix nearby the lawn (NOT inside the lawn), the smell from the sugar will invite all the ants from their colonies.
All the ants will take the mix back to their colonies to feed the rest. And eventually, the Boric acid will simply kill them all.
Do not mix too much Boric acid. If you do so, the ants can’t take it back to the colonies before dying.
- Food-grade Diatomaceous Earth
Not just on ants, DE has been proven to be effective on any pest. They are widely available and you can order them online.
Sprinkle this powder in your lawn to slow the mobility of ants. Eventually, they will die of dehydration. There is a problem with the solution though.
Diatomaceous Earth will only kill those ants that come in contact with it directly, not the whole nest. To get rid of ant colonies in yard entirely with DE is not cost-effective too.
- Cayenne /Chili Pepper
To repel ants from entering your lawn in the first place, Cayenne pepper or chili works like magic. Mix it with water and make the repellent.
Now, surround the ants’ mound with the mix. It will mask the ant trails. And you can pour the mix in the holes as well. Do not let your pet digesting this solution!
- Wheat Cream
You know wheat cream expands when consumed, right? Well, it may sound silly but wheat cream can kill ants by exploding them! Yes! You heard it right!
They eat the wheat cream and the wheat expands inside their bodies. The result? They die exploding!
- Cornmeal
It does not kill the ants but prevents them from effectively. The good thing about applying the cornmeal method is that it is both pet and child safe.
Sprinkle the cornmeal on all entry points of ants. It will prevent them and they will eventually leave your lawn alone.
- Coffee Grounds
Many so-called experts will tell you it’s not proven yet, but don’t let them prevent you from applying this amazing method to solve the ant problem. Many have found great results already.
Just put the coffee grounds on the entry points just like what I described on applying cornmeal. This will deter the lawn ants from entering your home too.
- Use Chalk
Chalk has been used many years ago to prevent insects like ants. This will get rid of your lawn ants completely but it will prevent ants to enter your home.
Dry several lines on all the entry points of your home. Ants from your lawn won’t dare to cross those lines and enter your house.
- Sugar & Borax Mix
You know the deal already. The sugar smell will attract the ants to come out from the ant hills and the Borax will kill them. Add some peanut butter to make it more powerful with the water, sugar, and Borax mix.
Keep the mix nearby the yard. Some ants will come out, take back the mix to their colonies. All the ants will eat it and die! Here is how you can make a homemade ant killer using Borax yourself.
Sum Up
Any homemade solutions take time to deal with ants everywhere in yard. I hope you are no longer asking yourself how to get rid of ants in grass naturally. Try the one that seems easy and effective for you.
About Author
