The ants have flooded your garden and you are already losing patience? Instead of expensive chemical products, try a simple trick that Czech gardeners have been using generations. It is cheap, effective and surprisingly simple. You only need one ingredient you probably have at home.

Although ants play an important role in the ecosystem, they can be a real disaster in the garden. They populate beds, undermine the roots of plants and their paths lead directly to the gazebo, terrace or kitchen door. In the fight against them, many reach for chemicals that work, but can also harm useful insects or cultivated crops. Fortunately, there are a number of domestic methods – not only safe, but often surprisingly effective.

Milly instead of harmful poisons: the secret weapon of Czech gardeners

It may seem incredible, but ordinary millet poured into an anthill or spilled around the plants repels ants. Czech gardeners have been using this way for years, although no one knows exactly why it is so effective.

Some argue that ants repel the smell of millet, others that the swelling grains clog the corridors in the anthill. There is also a theory that millet harms ants after eating – it swells in their bodies. Whatever the truth, this method is cheap, safe for plants and does not require any preparation.

Homemade methods for ants: Kremlin, lemons and essential oils

Various domestic methods have also proved their worth in the fight against ants. For example, lemons peel contains limonene – a compound that acts toxic to insects by damaging their respiratory system. It is enough to spread fresh lemon peel in places where the ants occur and see how they start to avoid them.

Soda bicarbonate, salt and diaphragm: natural weapons against ants

Soda bicarbonate with sugar (acts as a poison), diaphragm (dehydrates insects) or even a baby powder that clogs the airways of ants. Mix the bicarbonate soda with the sugar in a 1: 1 ratio and place the mixture in small containers near the anthill or to the places where you observed increased ant activity.

Why avoid chemical products?

While chemical insecticides may be effective, they bring a lot of risks. They can contaminate soil, water and plants, thus endangering not only pests, but also useful insects, birds and even pets or children playing in the garden.

Grandma’s patent for ants in the garden and home. Just spill it