Why are ants afraid of millet and how to use it correctly in the fight against these insects

03/30/2018 Category: AntsAuthor: Lara Lisina

Ants are not the most pleasant neighbors both in the house and in the garden; they have long been considered pests along with other annoying insects. To get rid of ants, people have invented many chemicals and folk methods. And one of them is the use of millet cereals. But can it be considered effective?

2 Why millet
3 How to work with millet
3.1 Dry millet
3.1.1 Video: millet against ants
Read also: What order does the ant belong to and what is it?

3.2 Soaked millet

4 Performance assessment

5 Is this folk method of getting rid of ants dangerous?

6 What can you take instead of millet

7 Nuances of indoor use

How ants harm the garden

At first glance, the interests of ants and humans overlap little in the garden: humans grow vegetables and fruits, ants build anthills and feed their offspring. However, it often happens that the homes of these insects are located in beds, flower gardens and under trees, which in itself is inconvenient for gardeners. But first of all, this harms the root system of plants, especially young shoots, and ants sometimes eat ripe berries and vegetables. The main danger to the garden is aphids, which suck the juice from the stems, buds and leaves of plants.

Ants breed aphids, which are dangerous for cultivated plants.

In addition, aphid secretions are an excellent breeding ground for many pathogenic fungi, such as black sooty mildew. But it is the ants who breed these tiny pests. Thus, ants cause damage to your area both directly and indirectly.

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Why millet

The very idea of fighting ants with millet may at first seem unexpected and very strange. After all, there is still no clear explanation of the mechanism of its effect. There are no authoritative scientific studies proving the harm of millet cereals to the ant organism. There are only a few different assumptions.

Harmful to digestion. One of the simplest and most obvious versions is that millet is harmful to the digestion of ants. Namely, it is assumed that the eaten millet swells in the intestines of the insect to sizes incompatible with life and almost tears it apart. It is not very clear whether for this the ant should eat the whole millet grain or just a part, which casts doubt on the version. Some believe that semolina, which is known to swell greatly when soaked, also gives a similar effect.
Harmful to ant passages. Another version says that ants mistake millet grains for their eggs (due to external resemblance) and carry them to the anthill. And there, under the influence of increased soil moisture, the grains swell and clog the passages. The ants can neither leave nor enter, and the queen and offspring locked inside die of hunger. Or they leave their home to build a new, more comfortable home.
Harm to the home. Another version, which is a variation on the previous theme, suggests that the grain softened in an anthill is not dangerous at all for passages. The thing is that mold quickly and easily develops on it, which then spreads throughout the anthill. Insects cannot cope with the fungus, and they have to leave their home and create a new one.
Harm to the psyche. There is another assumption that sounds very fantastic. Some believe that ants mistake millet grains for their eggs - but not growing ones, but dead ones. This terrifies the insects and forces them to leave their homes in search of a safer home.

Preventive measures on site

In order to achieve the goal quickly, when fighting ants, it is important to know in which places it is best to scatter the grains. They are scattered not only around the anthill, but also on ant trails.

It would also be a good idea to sprinkle millet on the soil in garden beds and flower beds. Particular attention should be paid to crops such as strawberries, currants, cucumbers, grapes, lettuce and fruit trees.

Ants are part of the ecosystem and if there are only a few of them on the garden plot they will not cause any harm, but another thing is the huge number of insects clinging to the beds and trees.

How to work with millet

If you decide to try to get rid of ants using millet, then no matter how it works, you need to attract the attention of insects to it. There are several proven methods.

Dry millet

The dry mixture consists of millet cereals with powdered sugar. To create it, take 100 grams of crushed sugar or ready-made powder per half kilo of millet and mix thoroughly. The resulting mixture is sprinkled on the anthill itself, on the ground around it, on ant paths and wherever you most often saw ants.

Millet groats are scattered on those beds where ants live

Video: millet against ants

Soaked millet

You can give the cereal a sweet taste and thereby attract insects to it in another way. In heated water, stir sugar, old jam, which you don’t mind, candied honey - quite a lot so that the water becomes sickly sweet. Then the cereal is soaked in it for no longer than a quarter of an hour.

Millet is placed in a sweet solution so that it covers the grain with a reserve

The water is drained and the cereal is laid out near the ants’ habitats.

Features of use

Millet against ants in a summer cottage is the best option for gardeners who do not want to use pesticides. The method of using cereals is simple. In addition, the cost of the product is affordable, it is much cheaper compared to special pest control products. The safety of cereals in relation to green spaces, people, and the earth is another argument in favor of millet.

Millet cereal refers to the peeled fruits of cultivated varieties of millet.

To remove ants from your garden plot, you need to eliminate the queen. Failure to carry out this operation is fraught with the deposition of new ovipositions and the appearance of worker ants.

Millet from ants in a summer cottage

They practice using millet and semolina against ants in the country. To do this, sprinkle the beds with semolina and millet cereal. The following areas are especially flavored:

ant paths;
berry bushes;
fruit trees;
roses.

Place special emphasis on ant nests, diligently dusting them.

Attention! The volume of bait required is calculated based on the size of the ant population. For a small anthill, 500 g of product is enough, for an impressive one – a couple of kilograms. If the ants do not decrease, the procedure will have to be repeated.

Efficiency mark

Since, as mentioned above, no scientific research has confirmed the harm of millet cereals to ants, this folk remedy cannot be considered unambiguously effective. Moreover, opinions on this matter differ greatly.

Some gardeners quite seriously consider millet to be a miraculous panacea against ants and actively advise everyone to join this means of fighting insects.

I read in the magazine “My Beautiful Dacha” Nina Alekseevna Sherstnikova (73 years old) very simple advice, literally: “Do you want to get rid of ants without chemicals? Go to the grocery store and buy millet, sprinkle it on the places where the ants have settled, and they will go away on their own.” I did not find the home of my ants and poured them around the paths and trees where there were the most of them. Today I looked, almost all the ants were offended and left.
Galina Yurievna
https://www.nn.ru/community/dom/dacha/?do=read&thread=2379070&topic_id=53466532

Some, however, clarify that to achieve the desired effect, the cereal should only be dry.

For me personally, millet helps me cope with these fussy and persistent creatures. I generously sprinkle this cereal in a continuous strip around the anthill, as well as across their well-trodden paths. There is one secret: you need to do this in dry weather (and if you are pouring from your hands, then your palms should not be wet either). I don’t know what this is connected with, but for some reason ants do not react to raw millet.
Lyudmila
https://forum.osadovod.ru/threads/kak-borotsja-s-muravjami.67/#post-512

Others confirm that millet cereal can indeed help get rid of ants, but notice that after some time the insects reappear on the site. That is, the effect is exclusively temporary.

I tried to sprinkle millet, this is the effect - they leave the place where it was poured, but organize themselves nearby, where there is no millet... 1 kg of millet showed the result at first, they bought another 5 kg... but they did not sprinkle these 5 kg, as mentioned above - they moved away from him
olya14146
https://www.nn.ru/popup.php?c=classForum&m=forumCutTree&s=1484&do=cutread&thread=2379070&topic_id=53500706

And finally, there are dissatisfied people who claim that in fact millet is absolutely ineffective and ants are not afraid of it, and other people’s rave reviews are nothing more than profanation.

I tried it. My ants don't care about millet. I have the impression that the entire anthill was giggling at me.
Taniatravinckina
https://sazhaemsad.ru/forum/kak-izbavitsya-ot-muravev-v-cvetnikah-i-na-gryadkah-t456–10.html#p10754

Many such gardeners are sure that millet cannot compete with chemical insecticides.

Millet didn’t work on mine either; nothing works on them at all. They only leave the “Great Warrior,” but not for long...
Fisherka
https://forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?p=759314&sid=13d32a458a669ec23ec98e0730080490#p759314

It is quite possible that the effectiveness of millet cereals in a particular garden plot depends on some unknown external factors. In addition, it remains unclear which millet varieties are suitable for baiting insects. So it’s still not worth recommending it as a universal remedy for ants.

Is this folk method of getting rid of ants dangerous?

Both supporters and opponents of millet cereals agree that if it is dangerous, it is only for ants. Since no chemical additives are added to millet - only sugar - it itself is absolutely safe for both people and animals. The only exceptions are those pets who have an individual intolerance to millet, digestive diseases, or are forced to follow a low-carbohydrate diet. If your pet belongs to one of these categories, you should place the millet in places inaccessible to it.

However, unwashed millet is harmful for birds: it negatively affects their digestion due to the toxins and oxidation products that accumulate in it. If you keep a bird in a country house that has access to the area, it is better to refrain from using millet against ants. The same applies to poultry: you should either give up millet or not let your feathered pet out of the cage while the fight against ants is going on.

Security measures

When working with millet, there is no talk of any safety measures. And how can cereals consumed daily by children in kindergartens be dangerous? In addition, if you use it on a personal plot, it will not cause any harm to the earth, birds, bees or other representatives of the animal world.

Millet can drive away or destroy ants, but only if it interests these insects. Ants do not like millet, this is a fact, but the reasons for such open hostility are still unknown. Still, it is better to combine this folk method with other chemical or physical options.

What can you take instead of millet?

In addition to millet, supporters of folk remedies often suggest using other food products against ants.

It is proposed to use semolina in the same way as millet - sweeten it and place it in places where ants are active. It is assumed that it will also greatly swell in the insect’s stomach and it will die from indigestion. To cause intestinal problems in ants, soda and yeast mixed with powdered sugar are also used.
Unrefined sunflower oil, garlic and lemon are not liked by ants because of their pungent odors; they are believed to repel insects. Garlic cloves and lemon peels are placed in those places that need to be rid of ants. Oil is used to lubricate ant paths, as well as dishes and furniture that need to be protected from parasites.
Black pepper, red hot pepper, mustard powder and cinnamon are scattered along the ant paths. Supposedly, these spices are unpleasant due to their strong odors, as well as their ability to cause digestive irritation.
Coffee grounds are also sometimes considered an ant repellent. It is most often used in the garden to protect flower beds, berry beds and fruit trees. Dried, sleeping coffee is scattered on the beds and around the trunks.

Effective baits

To prevent a rapid increase in the number of individuals in an anthill, preventive measures must be taken. To do this, all insect movement routes are studied. Then these paths are sprinkled with cereal.

In addition, it is important to scatter the product over the surface of the beds. In this case, special attention is paid to plantings of strawberries, garden strawberries, sorrel, lettuce and cucumbers. In the garden you need to sprinkle the area around the currant and gooseberry bushes, and also take time to walk around all the fruit trees. If rows of insects are noticeable on the bark, paths of small grains are also made around the crown.

Most often, millet is used raw, but it is slightly prepared before use. You can mix 1 kg of cereal with 200 g of powdered sugar. This composition is scattered directly around the anthill or directly on it. The second option involves soaking the cereal in warm water. After 15-20 minutes, granulated sugar, jam, preserves or honey are added to the liquid. Everything is thoroughly mixed and laid out along the insect paths. Or you can immediately soak the millet in prepared sugar syrup or in any fermented jam.

Boric acid not only helps in pest control, but also greatly enhances the effect of millet bait. For 1 kg of cereal, it is enough to take 5 g of the drug. It is allowed to replace millet with semolina. It has the same effect.

The weakness of the method of controlling insects using cereals is the short period of exposure. Cases of pests returning to abandoned homes have been recorded 2-3 weeks after the use of millet. If such a situation occurs, the processing will have to be repeated. At the same time, it is important to combine grain baits with other means, but more aggressive and permanent.

Gardeners often plant mint, lemon balm or tomato bushes around the ant mound. The foliage of these plants has a pungent aroma that insects cannot tolerate. Such proximity forces them to leave their home again, but this time forever.

If it is not possible to plant aromatic plants around the anthill, you can again treat the soil with cereal, but with the addition of any gentle chemical. Ant is perfect for this purpose. The drug is mixed with grain in the proportion specified in the instructions, and the bait is spread around the garden. The advantage of this option is the death of the queen, to whom the worker ants will bring poisoned cereal.