Plants and ants have evolved into complex mutualistic relationships, producing remarkable natural adaptations.
Ants provide shelter to a plant, protect it from herbivores, recycle its nutritive corpuscles, and recycle waste products back into nutrients for reuse by plants in return for food that comes directly from them and protection from herbivores.
Ant-plant symbioses appear resilient against forest fragmentation. According to phylogenetic analyses, partner replacement may occur often, and coextinction is unlikely.
Ants and Plants
Ants may be seen climbing the trunks and branches of plants to harvest honeydew, an adhesive sugary substance produced by pest insects such as aphids that have found their way onto them and begun sucking away sap, weakening them over time. They leave behind pearl bodies or food bodies, which attract ants as payment for providing bodyguard services and deterring any predators who might want to feast upon this free insect buffet.
Ants and myrmecophytes, or plants that form special attachments with ants, form complex relationships that vary dramatically in nature. Some mutualisms between the two species can be exploitative; other relationships have coevolved so much that ants provide nesting sites, food, and water sources while protecting host plants against herbivores.
Myrmecophytes such as those belonging to Adiantum or members of Rubiaceae provide ant nesting sites known as orange or ant houses, a feature common of jungle environments; Myrmephytum selenium is one such plant.
Cecropia obtusifolia in Hawaii has successfully adapted to the presence of ants by developing domatia at their bases, enabling the insects to access nitrogen-rich internal nutrients through these domatia. Studies show that myrmecophytes with domatia typically show more excellent fruit sets and reproductive success than those without them.
Environmental changes, such as climate-induced range shifts or habitat fragmentation, can disrupt ant-plant symbioses. Ants may replace their partners, disrupting interactions. Conversely, in other situations, the mutualism may continue, but its investment by the ants may reduce over time due to reduced herbivore pressure.
This depends on the level of specificity between ant-plant interactions, which in turn depends on how easily introduced species can displace one of the original partners. Thus, more specific interactions may be more resistant to competition with introduced species, while more general ones could lead to coextinction.
Ant-Killing Methods
Ants can be a menace in any garden, as they dig up plants, damage their roots, and spread pathogens among other plants. Luckily, there are multiple methods you can use to kill or repel ants: boiling water is one effective method; pour directly into any ant holes or nests inside or outside, either inside your home or as part of an entire colony’s invasion; cornstarch spread over them may suffocate them; garlic spray offers another natural alternative that interrupts their digestive systems when consumed by them ants!
Vinegar can be used in two natural ways to kill ants: spraying it directly on plants or into their nest is one way. The acid in vinegar interferes with their ability to absorb sugar, leading them to die of dehydration as their supply runs dry. You could also try spreading food-grade diatomaceous earth (found at most home improvement stores) over ant trails or hills; its active ingredients will kill off all insects while being harmless to mammals! This product makes a practical and nontoxic ant killer.
Coffee grounds and cinnamon can also serve as natural ant killers, providing adequate protection from those annoying ant colonies that attempt to drain your plant’s resources by taking advantage of water sources such as soil. You can sprinkle ground cinnamon around plants or place a few cinnamon sticks in pots; its scent should help deter them. The smell also works to deter thieves who attempt to exploit your water resources by taking water and nutrients directly from them!
A practical alternative method involves mixing sugar and boric acid to form a paste that ants will take back to their nest, disrupting their digestive systems and killing them. Boric acid can be purchased at most hardware and home improvement stores; for optimum results, however, food-grade varieties should be selected over pool maintenance varieties as these latter ones could pose health hazards should any pets or children accidentally consume them.
Ant-Protecting Methods
Methods exist for keeping ants away from indoor and outdoor plants, such as natural repellents such as orange peels and cayenne pepper, vinegar or water sprays, nematodes, or placing barriers around your garden or home. While none of these measures guarantee complete eradication of the ant population in either place, these will certainly prevent damage to flowers, herbs, and potted plants.
Diatomaceous earth (D.E.), also known as D.E., is one of the easiest and most effective natural ways to keep ants away from plants. Made from fossilized algae remains, diatomaceous earth can be safely used around plants and animals – sprinkle liberally around your plants or in an ant trap! You can find food-grade versions available at garden centers and hardware stores alike. However, be careful not to purchase the toxic pool maintenance version that could poison pets and children!
Garlic is another common natural ant repellent. Sprinkle some on the ground, mix it with hot water, and pour around plants to repel ants. Thyme, mint, and lemon balm also act as natural deterrents from insects.
Outdoor gardens should employ barriers of talcum powder, Teflon-like tapes, and coatings heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit that ants cannot cross; alternatively, tree trunks could be banded with Tanglefoot-type sticky substances to deter them.
Another solution could be formic acid, produced by some wood ants, to kill other insects and protect their nests from fungal infections. Scientists analyzed formic acid produced by wood ant bodies to ascertain its composition, finding compounds that warded off fungal infections; when tested on pieces of resin, formic acid quickly cleared away fungus, with more likely attacks occurring against trees with formic acid in its bark than without it – suggesting its ability to defend itself was enhanced due to presence of ants.
Ant-Suppressing Methods
Ants can severely damage plants by tunneling beneath them and disrupting root structures. While ants do not typically feed on flowers and vegetables, their burrows may obstruct water flow that provides nutrients to roots, thereby starving them of essential water and nutrition. Ant colonies can rob plants of oxygen necessary for healthy development by blocking air holes in their stems and branches. Ants tend to be more of a nuisance in home gardens than serious threats, yet gardeners should still protect their plants against injury from these bugs. Chemical insecticides may be effective, but their exposure can pose risks to pets and family members and produce contamination issues. All-natural repellents may offer gardeners a safer, less-toxic option.
If fire ants are an issue on your property, broadcast applications of bait-formulated insecticides (hydramethylnon, indoxacarb, or spinosad) will quickly eliminate mounds. Repeated applications usually result in complete control. Products combining fast- and slow-acting ingredients – like hydramethylnon with methoprene or abamectin with gamma-cyhalothrin – can also help target both surface nests.
These products may take more effort to use effectively since they come in liquid drenches, injectable aerosols, or granules that must be watered into an anthill mound. Their best results occur when ants are actively foraging for food when temperatures are warm.
An insecticide with prolonged residual activity, such as pyrethroids (bifenthrin, deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, or lambda-cyhalothrin), applied to grass will usually control ants that cross into plant beds. Applications sprayed as liquids or spread as granular products before watering may need to be repeated weekly for several weeks, while those applied using push-type fertilizer spreaders and watered-in can typically only be administered once per year.
Lemon Eucalyptus Oil is an effective natural way to repel ants. Available at most grocery and health food stores, diluted at 50-50 with water, it should be applied topically where you see infestations of ants – doing this will remove their pheromone trails as well as mask the scent of food that attracts them and dissuade their presence.
