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Ants are tiny frustrating insects that
belong to the family Formicidae and order
Hymenoptera. There are about 12,000 varieties
of ant species that exists as estimated
until now. However, only few species are
seen commonly around our house namely fire
ants, black ants, honey pot ants, army ants,
leaf cutter ants, driver ants, silver ants,
weaver ants, pharaoh ants, sugar ants and
carpenter ants. They are said to be social
insects
as they live in colonies. The colonies of
ants consist of worker ants, soldier ants
and a queen ant. Presence of such an ant
source (anthill) near our house will be
a menace since it is difficult to eradicate
their whole population along with the queen
ant which is fertile. Control of ants is
a hectic job and moreover, use of synthetic
pesticides for the treatment
was also proven to be inefficient. Therefore,
the choice of natural remedies can be productive
in getting rid of ants without disturbing
the environment. An exception in the case
of organic type of control is that the process
of control is slow unlike artificial pesticides.
The control measures include the use of
Neem
oil spray at the routes of ants and
also in the anthill. Neem oil spray is a
non-toxic insecticide that terminates the
ants by altering its hormonal secretion.
The neem vital constituent responsible for
the hormone alteration of insects is Azadirachtin.
Spraying of neem oil over the plant leaves
keeps the leafcutter ants away from feeding.
Likewise, depending on the types of ants
spraying is done corresponding to their
sources.
All kinds of neem
oil products cannot be used for the
treatment of ants. Sometimes even neem oil
is less effective in controlling
ants, and it is due to the quality as well
as concentration of the neem oil. Pure Neem
oil obtained by the cold pressed method
will be apt for the treatment. Ants are
likely to feed on wastes produced by aphids,
and thus it involves the control of aphids
in order to control ants. In such case,
Neem oil application turns out to be positive
as it is proven to eradicate all types of
aphids proficiently.
Procedure to use Neem
oil spray:
Mix a tablespoon of neem oil along with
two tablespoons of coconut based soap oil.
Dilute the mixture in half litre of water
and fill it in a spray bottle. Finally spray
over the ant's source. The coconut based
soap oil is comparatively a best ant repellent,
and thus it is used in the spray.
Author: Adam Teaser - neem
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