Ants can be quite annoying to growers as they steal seeds from seedlings, build bulky ant mounds and most importantly carry aphids onto the leaves of our horticultural plants.
To eliminate them from the garden, it is not necessary to use chemicals such as pesticides, it would be unecological and these treatments would end up poisoning even the vegetables. A good idea is to use mint macerate, a cheap and natural way to make your own ant repellent.
Mint is a plant that can be grown without difficulty in the garden (I recommend reading the article on how to grow mint ), in fact it is very infesting. For this reason the realization of the mash is at zero cost, and it is also very simple. The technique of organic farming in this case makes it possible to save money, since pesticides are very expensive.
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How to prepare mint macerate
Dosage . To macerate it is necessary 1 kg of mint leaves for 10 liters of water . If you want to use the dried leaves, use 100 to 150 grams of dried mint instead of a kilogram. The water is better if it comes from rain or spring, if you use mains water, I advise you to let it settle a little before adding the mint, so that it loses the chlorine.
Preparation of the mash . Steep mint is simply prepared the same way as other natural steeps, by soaking the leaves in water for a few days. It is necessary to mix everything every two days. The container where the maceration takes place must be as “inert” as possible: avoid macerating the mint in iron buckets, the ideal is ceramic or glass. The container must not be hermetically sealed because a renewal of air is necessary.
Preparation time . the macerate must be left to infuse for two weeks. The liquid turns black and smells very strong, so it is better not to do this at home, but outside.
Use against ants
Mint macerate is not welcomed by ants, so it is distributed with a simple watering can, going to spray the areas where the insects pass. We know that ants have royal roads, with our natural preparation we can close those that lead to our garden. We use the pure liquid without dilution.
Like all natural products, the macerate does not have instant effectiveness, it requires a little patience, repeating the treatment if necessary. Don’t expect bugs to disappear overnight.
In case of attack of aphids, it is good to spray the macerate, because it often creates a collaboration between aphids and ants, which is particularly detrimental to the health of the plants in the garden. One can in particular use the decoction of garlic or the macerate of nettle against aphids.