Do Ants Eat Seeds in the Garden?

Yummy Plants and Seeds for Ants. Some ants prefer to eat plants and seeds in their daily lives. They like to eat corn and plant material, like grass and leaves. Ants also eat seeds, grains, and any plant that grows food on it.

How do I keep ants from eating my seeds?

Since your seeds are being raised in containers you can easily stop them by getting your hands on some petroleum jelly and smearing it around the edges of the container. This will form a physical barrier that the ants will not be able to cross. This is a great way to keep ants out of your pets' food bowls also.

Are ants eating my seedlings?

Ants become a garden pest when they eat living plants–usually seedlings, weak, or dying plants–and cultivate colonies of insect pests such as aphids, scale, and mealybugs (these bugs excrete a sugary substance called honeydew which ants eat–ants will farm these insects to ensure their own food supply).