Natural Methods to Control Ants in the Garden

Soap Water Method

Fill a spray bottle with highly concentrated soap water, 3 parts soap and 1 part water. When ants appear, just spray them and they’ll be dead on contact.Sugar/Borax method
Ants love sugar. Put a mixture of 50:50 sugar and borax in covered bait stations and the ants will take the sugar/borax back to the nest to poison the queen. Do not spill it around the garden as borax (boron) will kill your garden plants if applied in sufficient quantities.

Pipe Tobacco Method

Purchase pipe tobacco from your local store.
Soak tobacco in warm water overnight.
Use gloves when handling.
Save the liquid and throw away the soggy tobacco.
Pour the liquid over the anthill. The Ants overdose on nicotine and die.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Method

You can destroy their nests by taking a stake and stabbing it down into their nest. Wiggle it around until you have a fair sized crater. Fill the crater with baking soda about half way up and pour vinegar over it. It is all-natural and will totally destroy the nest.

Corn Meal Method

Feed Ants corn meal. The Ants eat the corn meal and take it back to their nest to feast on. They can’t digest the corn meal and it eventually kills them. Also wheat flour and dried rice also work the same. Like corn meal, it expands in their stomach and explodes them.

Hot Water Method

Boil water for about 5 to 7 minutes. Once the water is boiled… simply take the hot water and pour it on the ants. After contact, the ants will die instantly.

Additional Ant Tips

Try a natural repellent such as ground or powdered chili, or used coffee grounds. Citrus peel (ground) works well, too. Ants hate the smell of vinegar. Make a solution with vinegar and water to spray around the yard. Find the ant mound and destroy it using boiling water. Diatomaceous earth is another killer – combine this with pyrethrum and you have a potent poison that is environmentally benign.