Last Updated on March 28, 2024 by Kimberly Crawford
The worst thing ever that could happen to a garden is its disheveled look due to unknown insect attacks. A number of flies, mosquitoes, bugs that keeps on attacking our garden. Though being a predator, ants give refuge to honeydew-producing insects like whiteflies, aphids etc. that can simply ruin your garden.
To protect your garden from ants naturally, I would like you to sow top 12 plants that repel ants. Here is a list below:
1. Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum is a popular insect-repelling plant and can repel ants, Japanese beetles, fleas, spider mites, etc from your garden. The ingredient present in chrysanthemum makes them an effective natural insect repellent.
This plant produces pyrethrum, which kills jumping or flying insects. Even this pyrethrum is also available in indoor sprays, aerosol bombs, and garden insecticides. Remember that pyrethrum is carcinogenic for humans, so take care when you use this as a spray to keep those ants away.
Related: 15 Best Plants That Repel Roaches
2. Mint
We generally use mint in our daily life in teas or candies to make it even tastier. To repel ants from your garden, nothing can be tastier than mint. You can grow perennial mint from root cuttings or seeds from the established plant. Simply transplant the mint in a container and water it thoroughly.
The mint plant needs deep and light cover soil to grow. Mint is an aggressive plant, so plant them in a container before burying them in the ground. When the aromatic oil of the plant extracted and mixed with apple cider vinegar or witch hazel makes a great ant repellent.
Related: 17 Best Plants That Repel Wasps And Bees
3. Lavender
Lavender is yet another warm plant for your garden in order to keep the ants away. It is very appealing in its appearance and scary for ants and other garden insects. It has a strong scent and produces smelling oils.
Lavender can grow up to the height of your waist. The dry purple-color flowers are a primary ingredient in the potpourris and serve double duty as an ant repellent when you add them to your homemade potpourri mixtures.
Related: 20 Best Plants That Repel Snakes
4. Thyme
Thyme is one of the slow growing and sun-hugging herbs that ants do not care. However, if you plant them on the sidewalks, in the cracks or in the flowerbeds, they will spread and grow every year.
It can grow up to a height of 8 inches and have tiny purple or white flowers. However, it does not smell strong but can scare away ants from the garden in their own way.
Related: Natural Tick Repellent: 8 Plants That Repel Ticks
5. Garlic
Nothing can be scarier for ants other than garlic. It is one of the popular natural pest controllers used by every gardener. It is a member of the onion family and the researchers say that it is the strong smell of the garlic that scares the ants and other annoying visitors in the garden.
Simply plant the garlic in the flower borders or near your kitchen path. It will not just act as ant-repellent, but will be a supply for cooking as well.
Related: Natural Flea Repellents: 17 Plants That Repel Fleas
6. Rosemary
Rosemary is one of the popular plants in the herb garden, and helps to fight insects such as ants. You can plant rosemary near the entrance of your home and in flowerbeds or herb beds.
You need to plant the rosemary in pots and scatter them in the porches and patios. It grows up to 6 feet high in some warm climates and is easy to scare the ants. You can also put it in some cooking dishes too.
Related: 11 Plants That Repel Mosquitoes: Keep Those Pesky Biters Away!
7. Tansy
The oil that this plant produces helps to deter ants and insects. Tansy is one of the invasive perennial plants that propagate with the help of self-seeding and spreading rhizomes underneath.
You need to wear gloves to prevent the toxins from getting absorbed into your body. Tansy, in the earlier days, was used to line coffins for their anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. This is one of the effective items in the list of top 7 plants that repel ants.
Related: Top 7 Plants That Repel Spiders
8. Lemongrass
Well, it is one of the main sources of citronella so if it cannot repel ants and other insects, we don’t know what would.
It does not only mask the scent of edible plants for ants but it also completely desensitizes their ability to sense scent by blocking off their sense of smell. So plant the lemongrass strategically in your soil bed for best results.
9. Cloves
This herb is often used for highly aromatic savory dishes because of its rich, strong scent. This is the reason why ants hate this plant though.
Its scent could overpower the scent of the food they will feast on. For outdoor ant control, you can cultivate it tropical climates with balanced humidity. For indoor ant control, all you have to do is crush and sprinkle it on the affected areas.
10. Wormwood
Ants hate the wormwood because it is super bitter. Aside from this, it also has a minty scent with the aroma of sage. The confusing smell and bitter taste guarantee that ants would not want to come near your soil bed if you plant these on their edges.
11. Feverfew
They are used as decorative plants because they look like small daisies but ants hate them because of their rich citrus scent.
Planting feverfew in the edges of the soil bed or around the garden will help you in outdoor ant control For potted plants, sprinkling a few crushed feverfews around the pot would be a good idea.
12. Pennyroyal
It also elicits minty scents which ants hate. It is commonly used as a treatment for respiratory diseases and also aids in breathing problems.
Its scent is too strong for the lurking ants that is why it is advised that instead of just planting it to avoid ant infestation, you can also crush it and dilute it in water to be poured in the affected area.
Conclusion
This article tells how to keep your garden healthy and blooming. Various insects like ants can kill your favorite garden, so make sure to have some flowering plants or herbs in your garden to make it look pretty, useful and ant-proof. Browse this article and grow the plants of your choice and give us your feedback on how well it acts in your garden area.
FAQs
Can ants pose harm to my garden?
This is basically the reason why we are writing this down; for you to know that ants do pose harm to your garden.
Plant stems especially those of flowering or fruit bearing plants in your garden attract ants because they have sweet saps. They usually feed on the stems of these plants and eventually killing them if left unattended. Other than that, ant attack on plants also allows other garden pests to also niche on the soil bed.
How can I control the infestation of ants in my potted plants or garden?
There are always insecticides or insecticidal soap or detergent that will be diluted in water but these are not organic and they may pose a threat to you in general, in the long term.
Organic solutions are not that hard to attain. One very basic way is to know and grow plants that naturally repel ants.
Aside from adding oxygen producers in your vicinity, these plants also have the ability to repel other insects like mosquitoes, spiders, mites and even roaches.