Keeping your garden free from ants isn’t always easy, and rather than spraying harmful chemicals around your delicate plants to deter pests, there is a better and easier solution. A chrysanthemum plant in your garden can help repel ants and other pests naturally.
Chrysanthemums are well-known for giving off a very fragrant odor. This is partly what makes them so enticing because, besides their beautiful flowers, which are very visually appealing, they can freshen up a room with their deeply aromatic scent. In fact, it is partly this natural aroma that helps deter ants and other pests from hanging around for too long in your garden.
At the base of the flower, you’ll find a natural chemical known as pyrethrum, which is a pesticide that naturally occurs in chrysanthemum plants. This has a very strong smell, and it kills ants. It is also often added to natural pesticides. Many of them use pyrethrum as their main ingredient to repel pests.
How pyrethrum found in chrysanthemums keeps ants away
Though using a plant to deter insects might seem less threatening than purchasing a chemically laden insecticide, the pyrethrum found in chrysanthemum plants works in a very elaborate way. It kills ants by attacking their nervous system. When ants feed on it or sometimes when they even merely touch it by walking along it, it revs up their nervous system. The nervous system in a highly excited state causes paralysis, which leads to death.
Pyrethrum doesn’t just kill ants, either. It can also be deadly for mosquitoes, fleas, flies, roaches, moths, and several other garden and home pests. Beyond keeping pests out of your garden, having a chrysanthemum plant in your home can deter ants and other insects from entering your home and kill them when they do. Since chrysanthemums contain natural insecticides and are deadly for insects, they should be kept out of the reach of children and pets in and out of the home.
