These Garden Plants Attract Ants – and Which Plants Keep Them Away

You scatter granules, put out traps and pour vinegar water around – yet the ants continue their determined march through flowerbeds and across patio slabs. The reason is often not the wrong bait but the planting scheme: some plants are like an open buffet to ants.

Why ants suddenly appear everywhere in the garden

Ants are not automatically a sign of an “unkempt” garden. Quite the opposite: wherever plenty is growing and flowering, they will usually find abundant food and safe places to nest. They only become troublesome when they settle in large numbers, undermine the lawn or make their way indoors through the house.

The key is understanding their food supply. Ants are constantly looking for sugar, protein and fat. Many popular garden plants provide exactly this, either directly or indirectly.

Anyone planting certain species often unwittingly creates an all-inclusive feeding spot for ants – complete with supplies throughout the season.

The hidden ant magnets in flowerbeds

1. Aphids are the main culprit – and what roses have to do with them

The garden’s biggest ant magnet is not actually a plant, but a tiny insect: the aphid. Aphids feed on sap from shoots and leaves, then excrete a sugary liquid known as honeydew. Ants are particularly keen on it.

They effectively “milk” aphids, even protecting them from predators such as ladybirds, which allows the pests to multiply more readily. Certain plants are especially prone to aphid infestations, making them a direct invitation for ants:

• Roses: A front-garden classic, but highly vulnerable to aphid colonies on new shoots and buds.
• Young fruit trees: The soft, fresh growth on apple, plum, cherry and peach trees is particularly likely to be affected.
• Delicate perennials and annual flowers: For example, delphiniums, dahlias and nasturtiums.

Anyone who loves roses and young fruit trees can therefore easily bring an ant trail straight into the flowerbed. It is not because ants are so interested in the plants themselves, but because this is where their “livestock” lives.

2. Fruit trees as a source of sugar

Fruit trees appeal to ants for two reasons: aphids on the one hand, and sweet plant sap and overripe fruit on the other.

The following are particularly noticeable:

• Apple trees: Tiny splits in the skin or damaged areas release sweet juice – a feast for ants.
• Plum and damson trees: Ripe or split fruit drips, while fallen fruit often remains on the ground – all of it rich in sugar.
• Pear trees: Much the same happens as with apples, especially with varieties that ripen heavily.

Leaving fallen fruit beneath a tree for any length of time greatly intensifies the effect. There, ants find not only sugar but also other insects and protein sources.

3. Berry bushes: picturesque, but with a side effect

Growing berries in your own garden is a delight – for children, birds and ants alike. Busy ant activity is especially common around the following bushes:

• Raspberries: Soft, sweet fruit that quickly becomes mushy and falls off.
• Redcurrants: Dropped berries and harvest remnants create patches full of fruit sugar.
• Gooseberries: Ripe, burst fruit is highly attractive to ants.

Old fruit debris, mulch and slightly damp soil provide ants with ideal living conditions: shelter, food and enough room for a large nest.

When ants in the garden genuinely become a problem

A few ants in a flowerbed are entirely normal and can even be useful. They clear away dead insects and aerate the soil. Action is only worthwhile in certain circumstances:

• When ants severely undermine the lawn, causing it to sink.
• When underground tunnels make patio slabs or paths unstable.
• When ants enter the house via the façade or patio doors.
• When they “tend” aphids so intensively that plants become visibly weakened.

In these situations, tackling only the ants achieves little. Anyone who ignores the available food is always treating the symptoms rather than the cause.

Plants that ants clearly avoid

Fortunately, there are also plants that ants dislike. Some are perfect for a herb garden or along patio edges, while also being useful in the kitchen.

Certain herbs disrupt ants’ delicate scent trails with their essential oils, confusing their navigation system.

1. Strongly scented herbs as a natural barrier

Plants with particularly powerful aromas are good options:

• Thyme: Contains substances that have a distinctly deterrent effect on ants.
• Mint: Its intense scent masks the attractants produced by other plants.
• Lavender: Loved by many insects, but generally avoided by ants.

Positioning these herbs strategically at key points – along the patio edge or beside paths, for instance – can break up ant trails. Planted among roses in a bed, they create a kind of scented protective belt.

2. Wormwood, tansy and more: bitter rather than sweet

Beyond culinary herbs, there are wild and medicinal plants whose scent also keeps ants at a distance. Tansy is one example: it has a distinctive smell and deters many insects. Plants of this type work well at the back of flowerbeds or as a border along fences.

How to manage ants in the garden with plants

With a little planning, it is possible to direct the ant population in the garden rather than eliminate it completely with chemicals. A mix of attractive and deterrent zones works particularly well.

• Create an attractive area: Leave a quiet corner some distance from the house with a fruit tree, berries and little disturbance. Ants can “work” there.
• Make areas near the house less appealing: Plant strongly scented herbs close to the patio, paths and entrances.
• Keep aphids under control: Check roses and young fruit trees regularly, and respond promptly to heavy infestations by spraying with water or encouraging beneficial insects.
• Remove fallen fruit: Tidy beneath fruit trees regularly and do not leave rotting fruit on the ground.

Giving ants an acceptable area where they can find food and shelter often prevents them from looking for new routes into the house in the first place.

Practical tips for ant trails around the house and patio

If ants have already made their way as far as the house, a few simple day-to-day measures can help alongside suitable plants:

• Check and seal cracks and joints around doors, windows and patio seals.
• Clear away food remnants outdoors promptly and wipe up sticky drink spills straight away.
• Do not keep kitchen waste uncovered next to the patio.
• In summer, avoid placing ground-level bird feeders directly beside the house.

Combined with strongly scented herbs around the patio edge, these steps can stop ants from establishing a permanent “city-centre location” inside the house.

How much harm do ants really do to my plants?

Many gardeners worry as soon as they notice larger ant mounds. In most cases, however, ants do not attack plants directly. The real issue is the aphid colonies they support. Aphids drain the plants’ sap, distort leaves and slow growth.

So if it seems that “ants are destroying the roses”, what you are actually seeing is the effect of a combination: numerous aphids protected and encouraged by ants. Once aphid numbers fall, the location becomes far less appealing to ants.

A realistic approach to ants in the garden

No garden will be entirely free of ants – nor would that be sensible. They are part of the natural balance, breaking down organic matter and serving as food for other animals. What matters is where they appear and how numerous they become.

When choosing plants, it helps to keep in mind which species attract ants and plan accordingly: position fruit, berries and rose-filled displays a little farther from the house, then incorporate strongly scented herbs between them and around the edges. Add a watchful eye for aphids, and the next ant colony is more likely to settle at the back of the garden than march through your kitchen.