I’m a gardening expert and there’s a 50p plant which will help banish spiders and ants from your house
WARMER weather is great - until it leads to ants and other creepy crawlies entering your home.
To help deter the insect intruders, a gardening expert has revealed a handy hack that prevents an attack without the need for nasty chemicals.
When spring arrives ants emerge from their dormant state in the search for food. Unfortunately, this is found in most British homes.
Evie Lane, Gardening Expert from , told Fabulous: “Some ant repellents are not to be used around children and pets, which is why natural deterrents may be a better option if you have spotted a few ants inside the home.
“Many don’t know that a lot of fragrant plants can do a great job of deterring creepy crawlies too.”
She advised that mint plants can be key to preventing an invasion - and they smell great too.
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Primrose states that placing mint around entryways and the perimeter of your home will deter ants from entering your home.
Ants can also come underneath skirting boards or narrow holes in the walls.
You can prevent them from doing so by plucking a few mint leaves and adding to a spray bottle topped with 100ml water and leave to absorb.
Spraying this mint-infused water around your skirting boards will cause any ants hiding in the walls to retreat rapidly.
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And mint isn’t the only plant that can help keep creepy crawlies at bay.
Here are five plants that naturally deter unwanted guests including spiders…
1. Basil
The aromatic oils in basil are known to repel not only ants, but other bugs such as spiders, summer houseflies and mosquitos.
It can also be used to make a DIY bug-repellant spray if mixed with witch hazel – simply spray the mix onto a surface and give it a wipe down.
The herb can be grown in any area of your home, as long as it gets access to direct sunlight for four to five hours per day.
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2. Lavender
The traditional purple perennial is an outdoor garden staple, but can also be grown indoors in areas that see plenty of light.
Its pleasant smell means it is commonly used as an essential oil but lavender is also great at deterring bugs.
If you’ve got lavender in your garden, take a cutting and tie a bunch together and hang it in each room of your house.
Not only will it smell beautifully fragrant, your insect roommates will be nowhere in sight.
3. Rosemary
Rosemary is faintly scented for the human nose but releases an intense odour to ants.
Make sure you’re growing it indoors though - rosemary is less cold tolerant so will thrive in a standalone pot in a warmer environment.
4. Chrysanthemum
Bright blooms of chrysanthemums contain pyrethrum, an ingredient frequently used in natural insect repellents.
The chemical repels ants, ticks, fleas, spider mites, cockroaches and even bed bugs.
Not only do chrysanthemums produce their own insect repellent, but they’ll also brighten up your home too.
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5. Eucalyptus
The scent of eucalyptus is the driving factor that keeps insects out of your home.
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Add sprigs of eucalyptus around your bathroom, kitchen and living room.
You can also mix a few leaves with witch hazel and water and spray any areas that ants can gather.