Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:25 pm
Ants are not infrequently a nuisance for gardeners. Especially when they colonize vegetable plants, the fun stops!
Your cucumber plant is suddenly covered with ants?
Do not worry! Rescue is near!
Just read the following article. In it, you’ll learn what to do about the pesky ants on your cucumber plant and why ants are besieging your vegetables.
Let’s go!
Contents
Ants on cucumber, what to do?
Ants and aphids form a symbiosis, where there are aphids, an ant nest with lots of hungry ants is not far.
This is a major annoyance for many amateur gardeners. Suddenly they have an ant invasion in the greenhouse or raised bed.
In the following section, I’ve compiled the best immediate measures to help you get your ant infestation under control.
Water abundantly
To get rid of ants on your cucumber plant quickly, water your vegetable plants generously.
Ants do not like wetness and humidity. Damp plants and soil are avoided by them as much as possible.
Relocate ant nests with a flower pot
If you find many ants on your cucumbers, take a flower pot and fill it with newspaper, wood wool and soil.
Trace the ants’ nest and put the flowerpot upside down over the nest.
Wait for some time and exercise patience. The ants will gradually move completely into the flower pot.
Once they have moved into the pot, move the flower pot at least 30 meters away from the place where the nest was first located so that the ants do not return.
Scattering and watering agents against ants
There are a number of biological sprinkles and watering agents available in stores that you can apply to your cucumber plant to repel ants.
Why do ants get on cucumber plants?
Aphids
Where there are ants, there are usually aphids. If your cucumber plant/zucchini plant is infested with aphids, the ant will benefit.
Honeydew
Ants feed on the so-called “honeydew” of aphids. The honeydew is a sticky mass that the aphids secrete.
To be precise, it is the aphids’ sugary droppings that are at the top of ants’ diet.
Aphids suck the sugary sap from the cucumber/zucchini plant and excrete it again.
Ants are bodyguards
The aphids benefit enormously from the presence of the ants, as they protect the aphids from their predators (e.g. ladybugs) – a perfect symbiosis!
Ants relocate with pot
Fighting aphids
If you fight the aphids, you will also get rid of the ants.
After all, the main reason ants are hanging out on your cucumber plant is aphids.
In my new article: Fighting aphids easily, I explain step-by-step how you can get rid of aphids from your cucumber plant with home remedies and without chemicals.
5 remedies against ants on cucumber plants
In this section I present you 5 effective remedies against ants on cucumber plants.
I ask you to try first of all the gentle repellents to keep ants away from your vegetables.
If they are not effective, you have no choice but to kill the ants.
Please remember that ants are beneficial insects!
- scents against ants
If you want to gently drive ants away from your cucumbers, work with scents.
Locate the nest and the paths and use the scents of:
Lavender
Lemon peel
clove
Cinnamon
Sprinkle the spices/fragrances on the ant trails and nest.
The ants will avoid the sprinkled areas and move voluntarily.
- vinegar against ants
Vinegar in diluted or pure form will drive away ants in an instant.
Fill a spray bottle with vinegar (apple vinegar, table vinegar, vinegar essence).
I recommend you use the diluted version, use vinegar to treat vegetables in your garden.
Spray the leaves, plant stems and fruits with the vinegar solution.
Repeat the process if the smell of vinegar is gone and there are still ants crawling around on your plants.
For walkways and nests, you can also use vinegar undiluted against ants.
- beer-honey-mixture against ants
Ants love sugar. You can take advantage of this.
Drain a bottle of beer and add a tablespoon of honey.
Pour the brew into a bowl that has steep and smooth sides.
Place the bowl next to your cucumber/zucchini plant.
The ants, attracted by the sweet scent, will climb into the bowl and drown.
- baking soda against ants
If everything does not help, then you have to bring out stronger guns.
Sprinkle the contents of a bag of baking soda on the ants’ nest and their paths.
The ants will absorb the baking soda and die.
- boiling water against ants
It reads barbaric, but it is extremely effective: hot water against ants.
It must be applied early in the morning or late in the evening, when all the ants are gathered in their burrow.
Put the boiling water directly on the ants’ nest.
Please be careful that your cucumber plant does not come into contact with the hot water.
Are there home remedies against ants in the greenhouse?
Yes, there are home remedies against ants in the greenhouse.
Infusions, water and algal lime are traditional means to drive away ants. In the following section, I will introduce you to these remedies in more detail.
Broths and dips against ants
To get rid of ants from your greenhouse, you can make life difficult for the insects by using broths and dips.
Broth against ants
The following herbs are effective against ants:
- Thyme
- Chervil
- Lavender
- Marjoram
“To make a broth, soak fresh or dried plant material in rainwater for 24 hours and then boil it for 20-30 minutes. After cooling, strain and the broth can be stored in a jar. For use, depending on the recipe, it is diluted 1:10 to 1:20 times for pest control, disease prevention or foliar fertilization.”
The following yews are effective against ants:
Wormwood
Tansy
“Jauche” is always made with cold water and can be used fresh, fermenting and biting, or mature and fermented, which is usually the case. The mixture should stand covered permeable to air preferably shone by the sun and must be stirred daily. After 2-3 days, fresh slurry can be used for pest control at a dilution of 1:50. Fermented liquid manure must be stirred 2 times daily and after 10-14 days (longer in cool weather) can be used as a liquid fertilizer and for compost at a dilution of 1:20. Fermented liquid manure is mature when it stops foaming”
Give the infusions and liquid manures directly over the plant or spray your cucumber plant/zucchini plant with it.
The infusions and dips have such a strong smell that the ants, who are sensitive to odors, quickly move away.
Algal lime against ants
Algal lime works excellently against ants because it is alkaline. Ants avoid alkaline substances.
Sprinkle the algal lime directly on your cucumber plant. You can also sprinkle it on the ground, soil, walkways and nests.
The ants will quickly run away. The algae lime from Natureflow* is the test winner.
Keep in mind that after a downpour, if you use the lime outdoors, the algal lime must be spread again.
Fact sheet “Ant
Ants ( lat. Lasius spp.) are herbivores. They are by no means pests, even if they are a thorn in your side.
Ants are beneficial insects that clean up dead plant parts and dead animals. They are the law enforcement agency of the garden and forest!
Ants aerate the soil by digging it up and do preliminary work for earthworms.
They also eat bugs and insect larvae that can damage your plants.
Furthermore, ants support the plant world in its spreading, because they distribute the seeds.