Simple Ways To Eliminate Ants From Your Garden Without Harming Plants — No Chemicals Involved
Published July 10 2025, 1:45 p.m. ET
(L) Ants guarding the nest's entrance on the leaves. (R) A woman spraying insecticide on garden plants. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Jordan Lye, (R) Bluecinema)
Ants are a common occurrence in gardens and can be both beneficial and cause detriment to your flower beds. Some types of ants are useful for soil aeration, seed dispersal, and even recycling organic matter, according to Iowa State University. When an army of ants flocks to a plant, gardeners ought to be concerned about the damage the situation could potentially cause to the garden’s health. Controlling pests is barely a matter of concern today, with the rampant use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals to deter pests that also end up harming the plants. However, experts have weighed in on a few measures that could deter ants from your garden without destroying the greenery, per Real Simple.
A group of Common Red Ants, Myrmica rubra, on an Aspen leaf in woodland.