Insecticidal “mulled wine”: cinnamon against ants in the garden

People who are far from plant growing often consider ants to be cute, hard-working insects that bring many benefits to nature and cannot harm a person unless they settle in his kitchen. In fact, ants are not so harmless. Once they appear in the garden, they can cause a lot of trouble. Having discovered them near flowers and trees, it is necessary to take urgent measures to get rid of uninvited guests. The modern chemical industry is ready to provide insecticides that provide a quick effect. But not all plant growers are eager to use poisons to fight insects, which are dangerous for bees, pets, and humans themselves. Folk remedies are less effective, but harmless. These include herbs and spices. Cinnamon has helped many people solve their problem. It can be used against ants in the garden in several ways.

Application in the apartment

A person’s home attracts ants with its warmth, comfort, and abundance of food. Most often, pests settle in the kitchen, pantry, and bright corridors. To exterminate a population of insects, it is not enough to catch ants one by one, throw them out the window, or kill them. You need to find the nest and kill the queen. Since it is not always possible to do this, they resort to the scaring method. Cinnamon against ants in an apartment is used in several ways.

Ants always move along a studied trajectory, dragging food into the nest. If you watch them a little, you can find out the location of the anthill. You should stick cinnamon sticks there, add powder or prepare a solution and pour it into the cracks. The intense aroma will repel pests; they will leave the room within a few days.

Precautionary measures

Muracid belongs to drugs of class 3 danger to humans. The toxic chemical is dangerous for bees and fish; Muracid should not be allowed to enter water bodies.

The following precautions are recommended:

• Do not use food-grade utensils to prepare the working fluid.
• Soil treatment is carried out in a respirator, rubber gloves, safety glasses and closed work clothes.
• After work, you should wash your hands with soap and rinse your mouth with water.
• While working, it is prohibited to eat, drink, or smoke.
• Children and animals should not be present during processing.

The drug Muracid is dangerous for fish and bees, so treatments are not carried out near water bodies.

In case of accidental ingestion of the solution, the stomach is washed several times with warm water and crushed activated carbon, after which you should contact the clinic. If you are poisoned, you should not drink alcoholic beverages or eat fatty foods. Antidotes for ingestion of diazolin are atropine and cholinesterase reactivators (2-PAM chloride).

Use in the garden

Cinnamon against ants

Garden ants are also afraid of cinnamon. But since the smell is not so concentrated in the open air, you have to wait longer for the result.

Cinnamon protects trees from ants in the garden. Spicy sticks are tied to the trunks and the powder is sprinkled on the ground around them. The leaves are sprayed with the solution. Add cinnamon and laundry soap to the water and let it brew for several hours. For treating trees, they are used several times a week for pest control, and once every 2 weeks for prevention.

The spice is actively used in the garden. Sprinkle the powder on the paths, prepare a solution for spraying the plants, and pour it over the anthills.

If you need to get rid of a whole family of insects on a plot of land, you should mix cinnamon with sugar and sprinkle ants on the house. After some time, fermentation will begin, all food supplies will spoil, and the family will move to another place.

Why are ants dangerous in the garden?

Only novice plant growers can calmly look at ants crawling around garden plants. Experienced gardeners know that these insects can cause significant damage.

• If ants appear in the garden, the appearance of aphids cannot be avoided, which affects many fruit trees and flowers, and can completely destroy young plants. The fact is that ants feed on the sweet substance secreted by aphids during their life processes. For this reason, ants take care of aphids, transferring them to fresh leaves, hiding them in an anthill for the winter. Fighting aphids will not bring long-term results if you do not drive away the ants - they will breed new colonies of aphids.
• The ants themselves are also not averse to eating the sweet fruits of garden trees and their unopened buds. Some flowers also suffer from their love of sweets.
• By making paths in the trunks and using wood chips as building material, ants make the tree bark rotten. This greatly weakens the plants, making them vulnerable to various diseases.
• Holidays in the garden, especially with small children, can be marred by the presence of ants, which may covet your food or even bite you. Ant bites are not only painful, but also itchy. Scratching can cause long-lasting, non-healing ulcers on the skin. It happens that ant bites are accompanied by a severe allergic reaction, which is fraught with even more serious consequences.

Ants that have settled in the garden can also occupy the garden house, which is even more unpleasant.

Efficiency

Cinnamon against ants in the garden and in the apartment

Reviews on the use of aromatic folk remedies are in most cases positive.

There were ants in the apartment on the windowsill. They shoved cinnamon sticks into the cracks. The next day we still saw insects, but the next day they were gone. In almost 2 days I was kicked out of my own home using a simple harmless means.

To get rid of ants on an apple tree, sticks were tied. They save from the ant family, aphids. Then we periodically scattered cinnamon powder throughout the garden.

We have an anthill under the floor. It's just awful. The insects became so impudent that they began to bite us. We tried different safe methods, but didn’t want to use poison. Cinnamon powder helped.

You can buy the product at a specialized spice store or grocery store. Sticks retain the aroma much longer, but are more expensive and not always convenient to use. But if you have a coffee grinder, you can easily turn them into high-quality cinnamon powder yourself. The cost of products depends on the quality. On average, 50 g can be bought for 300 rubles. For comparison, powder in bags with the same volume costs half as much.

Cinnamon for ants: a remedy for fighting insects

A common problem faced by residents of private houses or apartments is the appearance of ants. They spoil food and form anthills in the garden, which leads to the death of shrubs and trees. Nature has protected the ants from destruction - the eggs are laid by the queen, who does not appear outside, but with the help of cinnamon you can cope with it.

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Tabletop anthill

Using cinnamon for ants

Getting to ant colonies inside the house is not easy, but you need to observe where the insects are crawling out from and determine the position of the anthill. Cinnamon for ants in an apartment is a safe for owners and pets, but short-lived method of killing annoying arthropods. In addition, using aromatic spices is a cheap option to save your home from problems.

Boric acid - instructions for use. Using boric acid to treat or control ants

The mechanism by which cinnamon works against ants is based on the fact that they cannot tolerate strong odors. The spice has a very pleasant, pronounced oriental aroma, so insects run away from it. If you place cinnamon sticks or powder around the apartment, you can get rid of pests for a long time. But after weathering and the spice loses its smell, insects can return.

You can often find ants and even entire colonies of them in the kitchen. They are attracted to water and food scraps that can be used for their intended purpose. Alas, even if the room is clean, insects can settle there, so to detect them you need to look at the route of their movement. The pungent smell repels ants and burns their bodies, so it’s worth placing cinnamon powder or sticks where they move.

The spice can be used as a preventive measure - it is scattered on cabinets, cracks and hard-to-reach places are treated. Stages of room processing:

• find paths or nests of insects;
• thoroughly treat areas of movement with cinnamon powder, sparing the amount;
• if a nest is found, add aromatic seasoning there;
• plug all the cracks with whole cinnamon sticks or push parts of the spice inside as deep as possible (using matches);
• after 3-4 days the insects will disappear;
• It’s better to buy a whole stick and pound it yourself in a mortar or grind it in a coffee grinder;
• Additionally, you can treat the places where ants move with a vinegar solution (mix equal parts of water and 9% vinegar);
• To prevent this, keep your kitchen clean and store all food items in sealed containers.

In the garden
It is a little more difficult than in an apartment to get rid of ants in the garden, country house or vegetable garden. The insects themselves do not harm the plants, but under their direct influence, aphids multiply, which leads to the death of currants, pears, raspberries, and apple trees. Young shrubs are especially susceptible to its infection. The usual method of scattering cinnamon along paths and in insect nests is not useful here, because outside the air quickly dissipates the aroma.

To destroy pests, there is a radical treatment method. To do this, mix cinnamon powder with plenty of sugar and water and pour it onto the anthill. To enhance the effect, you can additionally sprinkle parsley seeds and scatter citrus peels. Due to the fermentation of the solution and the strong aromas of spices, the ants will leave their homes and look for new areas to live.

It is practically useless to use cinnamon in a garden plot in which a large colony lives - it cannot be done without chemicals. If the colony is small, then you can pour the spice into the soil near the anthill and bed after using poisonous drugs. New groups of insects will not penetrate due to the strong specific smell of the spice. Another option is to add cinnamon powder to boiling water and pour this solution over the anthills.

In the bath

Due to high humidity, high temperature and the use of moss or other material between the logs in the bathhouse, ants often appear. It will be easier to deal with them if you use a proven spice with a strong aroma. To do this, you need to scatter the powder around the perimeter of the room, and push dry sticks into the cracks. If you heat the sauna with a log sprinkled with spices, the aroma of cinnamon will spread throughout the entire room, even into the most inaccessible corners. This will lead to the fact that insects will be forced to leave their homes.

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Source

How the drug works

As soon as the active substance diazinon enters the body of an ant, the following symptoms begin to occur in its body.

1. Chemical reactions occur in the insect's body that cause convulsions.
2. Diazinon affects the intestinal tract.
3. Paralysis of all organs occurs and the insect dies.

The poison is also transmitted to the entire colony through infected ants (including the queen). Therefore, after a day the colony is completely exterminated.

Over the next few months, the area treated with Muracid becomes a killing field for ants and, possibly, other pests. But the residual effect does not pose a threat to people and animals. The poison is dangerous only in concentrated form.

Tests also showed that the pesticide Muracid is absorbed by the roots of plants and does not reach the green parts and fruits. And since it is harmless to plants, while the aphids, which are bred by ants, also die.

But at the same time, it can pose a threat to bees (only the first three days after pollination). Therefore, it is best not to use it near flowering plants.

More information about the drug and methods of use here:

Boiling water will cook the entire colony

It is believed that you need to pour boiling water directly into the ant hole so that all the insects die under the influence of high temperature. But is this really so?

This method will not be able to rid you of pests, because by the time the boiling water reaches the queen and the rest of the colony, it will have already cooled down. And, as you know, ants are not afraid of water, because these insects build huge anthills in the middle of fields, forests and ponds, which are regularly washed by rain.

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Linseed oil

Vegetable oils are used as a natural defense against pests. In our latitudes they can be used as protection against ant invasion.

• Flaxseed oil can be used to protect wood from ants where chemical protection cannot be used.
• For example, in a hive. Some beekeepers use this method when ants infest the wood of the hive.

Other options are eucalyptus oil.

Cereals and oatmeal are the worst food for insects

There is nothing stupider than driving out ants with food. An oatmeal-based breakfast left on the table will only attract the attention of these insects. While you hope that the ants leave your home in disappointment, they will actually steal the leftover food and take it back to their anthill to feed the queen and future offspring.

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Remember: if you find these pests in your home, it is important to do a thorough wet cleaning throughout the entire house, not forgetting to clear shelves and surfaces of any food (crumbs, cereals).

Is dust harmful to humans?

In order to understand how harmful and dangerous Dust Clean House is if used incorrectly, first let's understand what it is and how it affects people.

It is a broad-spectrum insecticide with the scientific name DDT. Was very popular in the 60s.

This group of drugs is prohibited for use in European countries due to their high toxicity and ability to accumulate in the body of humans and animals.

Today's drugs called "Dust" have a different, softer composition. It contains substances of toxicity class 3-4. That is, low toxic.

However, it is very important not to neglect safety measures:

• Wear rubber gloves;
• A protective mask is required;
• It is better if there is a special scarf on the head;
• A protective gown is also recommended.

Processing is carried out in a room with open windows.

If there are children or pets in the room, treatment is prohibited. The aquarium must be sealed during processing, as the fish may die.

What to do in case of poisoning?

If, while scattering the drug around the house, you feel weak or dizzy. If you feel sick or start vomiting, you are most likely poisoned.

What should I do?

• Get out into the fresh air;
• Drink several glasses of water with soda (half a teaspoon of soda per glass of water) and induce vomiting;
• Be sure to drink activated carbon at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kg of weight;
• Call a doctor.

What does Clean House dust look like?

• Dust Clean House is sold in packages of 50 grams. This amount is enough to process 10 sq.m. apartment area. Therefore, in order to scatter the powder in an apartment of 50 sq.m. you will need 5 packs.
• Price – 30-40 rubles.
• Without smell.
• Powder color is gray.

In the photo you can see what the packaging looks like.

Compound

Dust has three active components.

• Cypermethrin (0.3%);
• Malathion (0.7%);
• Piperonyl butoxide (0.5%).

There is also a filler.

Operating principle

Cypermethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. It has a contact-intestinal effect. This means that insects die not only if they eat poison, but also if it gets on the body, it penetrates and kills the beetle. It is enough for a cockroach to touch the powder with its paws and this guarantees its death. In addition, upon contact with other insects, they transfer poison to each other and die.

Malathion, also known as karbofos, is an organophosphorus insecticide. Once in the insect's body, it is oxidized to the more toxic maloxon, and thereby kills the beetles.

The concentration of these two components is quite low, so a third component, piperonyl butoxide, is used. It enhances the effect of each poison included in the Clean House dust by 5 or more times.

Reviews

Many gardeners have already tried this insect repellent. And here are some of them who left reviews on the Internet:

Julianna. This is not the first year I have been using this insect killer. I think that the drug is justified and I recommend it to other gardeners.

Oleg. I encourage other gardeners to read what it says on the package. I once confused ant bait and poison. Therefore, instead of destroying the pests, I also attracted their neighbors. But I still don’t like the fact that the ampoule has to be opened with improvised means (scissors, knife, etc.), and then washed with soap and dishwashing liquid.

On forums, many gardeners recommend preparations whose active substance is the same as that of Muracid - DIAZINON. And some users do not support this opinion and believe that it is better to fight pests with folk remedies.

What is dust

Initially, dust was the name given to the substance dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), which was a powerful insecticide. Several decades after its invention and mass testing, it began to be abandoned due to the danger to humans and the presence of toxic substances in its composition.

In modern language, the concept of “dust” means a poisonous powder, the composition of which may vary. Some manufacturers add small amounts of DDT to their drugs, but its content is not dangerous to human health. You should be wary of uncertified drugs of Chinese origin. It is in them that a high concentration of DDT, toxic and poisonous to humans, is possible.

The certified dust contains the following components:

• karbofos;
• boric acid;
• pyrethrum;
• malathion;
• cypermethrin.

Another important component of such drugs is the synergist piperonyl butoxide (PPB). It is capable of increasing the duration of exposure to toxic substances. Talc, chalk, solvent and flavor are added as auxiliary ingredients.

Dust is used to kill parasites, ants and rodents. However, it is ineffective in the fight against bedbugs and cockroaches. When using, special attention should be paid to its dryness. The effectiveness of the drug directly depends on it; this is the only way the powder particles are attached to the ant’s body. Therefore, the most effective form of use is powder. Solutions are used less frequently because they are less effective.