Rosemary Oil As an Insecticide for Ants

Stop the ant invasion, just not with rosemary.

Rosemary oil is important in the organic garden to keep plants healthy and free from disease, but it's not known to kill ants. If you love the smell of rosemary oil and want to sprinkle some about your room in addition to trying a more direct ant control method, there's no harm to it.

Significance

The idea behind rosemary oil for ant control is that ants smell the strong rosemary odor and dislike it, so they leave your house in favor of a less stinky shelter. But they don't actually die, so it's not an "insecticide."

Considerations

While some companies use rosemary oil as an ingredient in natural ant sprays, it's not a main ant control product. Rosemary oil does drive away mosquitoes. For ant control in particular, Earth Easy recommends dried mint, cucumber, cayenne pepper or citrus oil.

Insecticide

If you actually want to kill the ants, find a commercial ant spray or try a home insecticide from. Earth Easy suggests mixing 1 liter of water, 1 tsp. of Borax and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl and soaking cotton balls in this mix. Place the soaked cotton balls around the house and store the master solution; the ants will carry the mix back to the colony and die.

References

• Earth Easy: Natural Insect Pest Control
• Colorado State University: Some Insect/Disease Control Products Allowed for Use in Certified Organic Production
• Apartment Therapy: Household Pest Control
• Living With Bugs: Botanical Insecticides