Finding mounds of dirt in my lawn is usually down to ants digging out a new home. Now I know that ants can do some pretty severe damage to structures, and I’m left wondering what they’re doing to my lawn. So, are ants in the lawn bad? Do I need to be as worried about fire ants as I am about carpenter ants? Let’s take a look.
Are Ants in the Lawn Bad? (The Short Answer)
Having ants in the lawn has its pros and cons. The benefits of ants are that they control other pests, help to aerate the soil, provide free fertilizer, and seed the lawn. The downside of ants in the lawn is they can suffocate your grass, weaken your lawn’s root system, disturb the uniform appearance of the yard, damage the grass, and spread weeds.
Are There Any Benefits of Ants for a Lawn?
So, are ants in the lawn good or bad? Well, I wouldn’t suggest letting an army of fire ants take over your lawn because that could make spending time in your yard a very painful experience. But other ant species might be good for your lawn. So let’s dive in and find out the benefits of ants in your lawn.
Ants Control Other Pests
Now, I know that ants in your lawn are a form of pests, but they actually help control other pests that are worse for your lawn. Some ants eat insects that eat your lawn and other plants or bite you and your pets. For example, ants eat fleas, termites, ticks, chinch bugs, caterpillars, and grubs. So the ants in your lawn could actually be saving you from an even worse invader.
Ants Help to Aerate Soil
If you were to look at an underground ant colony, you’d see little chambers and a lot of tunnels that look like a maze. These tunnels are great for your soil. By moving the soil around and creating tunnels, ants help your lawn get more water and nutrients down to the roots.
Ants Fertilize Soil
One of the most amusing things I find about watching ants move around is how they carry their food on their backs. They’re always carrying something that looks impossibly large for their tiny bodies. Well, this method of transporting food helps not only feed them and their colony but to fertilize your soil, too.
As the ants bring their food underground, they drop and discard organic matter like plants and animal parts in the soil, working as free fertilizer for your lawn. You can think of the little worker ants moving around your yard as your personal fertilizers.
Ants Seed Your Lawn
One of the organic materials that ants like to carry around and eat is seeds. And when these seeds are part of your already existing lawn, then this is great for lawn propagation. Ants eat the seed’s outer shell and then drop the remains, which then fall into the soil and sprout.
Will Ants Damage a Lawn?
I’ll admit there were more benefits than I was expecting. Now let’s find out the downside to having ants in the lawn. Let’s take a look.
Ants Smother Your Lawn
Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. So, while ants do help to aerate the soil, there is the chance that they could aerate it too much. If you have a large colony of ants in your lawn, the tunnels can dry out the soil and kill your lawn. I once had a colony of ants in my lawn that I didn’t really mind at first until I started noticing my lawn turning yellow.
Ants Weaken Grass Roots
Ants live underground, and so does your lawn’s root system. If you have a big ant colony on your hands, the tunnels can become a problem for the lawn’s roots. When the tunnels become too extensive, they can harm and weaken your lawn’s root system.
Anthills Look Ugly
This one doesn’t really hurt your lawn, but it does hurt the look of it. So, if you’re like me and like having a good-looking yard, then having a bunch of anthills dotting your lawn can be unsightly. I usually don’t mind if there’s an anthill here or there, but when a colony gets out of hand, then it really becomes a problem.
Ants Make Holes in Your Yard
While ants are hard at work growing and feeding their colony, their home is getting bigger and bigger. One big problem I have noticed with this is that they actually start to make a hole in the lawn. As they are aerating the lawn, they are actually making voids or pockets in the lawn’s soil.
Usually, if I feel my lawn mower wheels drop into a hole, it’s due to the fact that ants have made a new nest. Nine times out of ten it’s always fire ants. Just my luck.
Ants Damage Your Grass
Well, not all ants directly damage your lawn, but leafcutter ants can definitely do some harm to your lawn and garden. You might be familiar with them if you live in a warm climate like down in Florida. Leafcutter ants remove grass leaves and buds and bring them down to their nest, where they build a fungus garden.
I don’t know about you, but that really doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.
Ants Plant Weeds in Your Lawn
Ants taking grass seeds down into the soil sounds like a pretty good idea. But whether your lawn actually ever goes to seed is another question. I know that I cut my lawn regularly, so I never get seed heads on my lawn.
So, the only seeds that might really be available for ants are seeds from any weeds that have managed to skip my attention. The idea that ants are seeding your lawn may really be a case that they are planting weeds.
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