We’ve pulled together a list of ways to get rid of ants (naturally). These are ways that can help banish them from your home once and for all. Whether they are crawling around in your kitchen windowsill, sneaking in through a crack by a door, you name it, these methods can help!
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Prevent Ants from Coming Into Your Home
If you find that you have problems with ants, the first step is to make sure all your counters are wiped down, and free from crumbs. Make sure food is sealed and put away, as these can draw ants inside the house.
Fill in any cracks leading into the house from the outside. This will prevent the ants from getting in, in the first place.
Regardless of prevention strategies, ants might find a way in, and if they do, below are some other ways to get rid of ants without chemicals.
Tackle Your Ant Problem With These Natural Remedies
Boil Water and Dish Soap: Fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of dish soap, and spray on any visible ants in your home. it kills on contact.
You can go one step further and go outside and see if you can find the ant hill. If you find it, then boil one half a gallon of water, and add in a drop of dish soap. Pour the boiling water down the ant hill. This will kill the colony and solve your problem.
Borax and Sugar: This is similar to the brand Terro, a liquid to kill ants. To replicate this, take equal parts borax and sugar and add a little water to make a paste. Put the paste on a small piece of stiff cardboard and place it near the area the ants are coming into the house. They will eat the mixture and take it back to their colony.
This will kill the ands, but it may take a few times of repeating this procedure. It isn’t an instant remedy. Every few days make a new paste and set it back out.
If you have patience this will keep them away for good.
Vinegar, Water and Essential Oil Spray: Mix 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar, 1/4 cup warm water, and 15-20 drops of peppermint or tea tree essential oil, or 2 drops of clove oil. Shake well and spray around the area where the ants are coming in. Repeat this spray every day until ants are no longer coming in. Shake well before each use.
Baking Soda and Powdered Sugar: Mix 1 part baking soda and 1 part powdered sugar and place in a jar with lid or shallow dish. Place near the area of where the ants are coming in. The ants can see the difference from the powdered sugar to the baking soda. The sugar attracts the ants, and the baking soda kills them. It reacts with the acid in their digestive track and they’ll “explode.” I know that is a bit gross, but it will keep them out of your home. Depending on how big the colony is, this can be a little bit of a slow process. But it will work and in time fully get rid of your ants.
Coffee Grounds: Take coffee grounds and place them along the area where they ants are coming in, they will steer clear. They don’t like it, and will move away from the area. This is effective in keeping ants from coming into your home, but it does not kill them.
Chalk: This one might sound silly but and won’t walk across chalk! It disrupts their pheromone trail, which is a scent marking so ants know where other members of their colony are. Take chalk and draw lines in front of doors, windows, pantry, or wherever they are coming in.
Fresh Garlic: Ants despise garlic. Simply peel a few pieces of garlic and place right at the area where the ants are coming in and watch them run away.
I hope these natural ways to get rid of ants help you out with your problem. Do you have a method to getting rid of plants in your home?
Comments & Reviews
Mina says
Hello
Thank you for the great comments. Much appreciated the info
Can I check with you on the last sentence in your post, regarding ways to get rid of the plants in the house?
Does it mean that plants could be the mean of having the ants coming into the house, or you are just talking about a different post?