The key todeterring ants naturallywith plants relies primarily on scent.
Here are 14 aromatic plants to grow around the foundation of your home and outbuildings to help deter ants.
Mints are easy to grow and make a nice walkable, fragrant ground cover but they do spread rapidly.
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Both the odor and oil of mints are repellant to ants.
It also boosts the efficacy of other natural insecticides such as pyrethrins.
Catnip has a heavy, musty odor with slightly hairy stems and leaves; both features that ants avoid.
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There are a number of varieties of sage but garden sage is the most strongly scented with volatile oils.
Sage leaves contain the natural chemicals thujone and camphor which are toxic to ants.
This perennial also attracts snails and slugs that feed on ants.
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This potent herb is a genus of fast-growing trees and shrubs native to tropical climates.
It works well in flower beds, pots, and as acompanion plantin the vegetable garden.
Leaves emit a sharp bitter odor that repels ants and other insects.
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Garlic is an annual, planted every year, and can be grown in pots.
A number of varieties and cultivars are available including citrus-scented thymes.
Thyme’s flowers attract ladybugs which help control ant populations by consuming aphids.
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Controlling aphids in your garden and on houseplants eliminates a major food source for ants.
Marigold
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Marigolds deter ants in two ways.
Marigolds are annual flowers and a favorite all-around companion plant for many gardeners.
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They are also grown as summer blooming, bedding plants and thrive well in pots.
These are traditional autumn flowers grown both as annual and perennial holiday decorations.
Scents most offensive are sharp, pungent odors like pine and camphor and musty scents like sage and catnip.
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Peonies emit a nectar especially attractive to ants.
Other flowers that draw ants include roses, clematis and penstamon.
Many of the same plants that repel ants also repel spiders which avoid strongly scented plants.
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Mint is especially effective for repelling both.
The number of ants on Earth has a mass greater than all birds and mammals combined.
NPR
Ants Have an Exceptionally High-Def Sense of Smell.
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