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Prevent these critters from entering your house by keeping windows and doors closed when you see them. Create a wall of pepper around the area where ants are entering. Much like vinegar and cinnamon, the insects can't stand the strong smell.
Natural Remedies for the Ant Invasion
It’s imperative to keep borax away from pets and children as it may be harmful. That said, ants may carry bacteria, making them potential transmitters of disease or infection. For example, a small 2019 animal study showed that Monomorium ants can carry pathogenic bacteria, which can be dangerous to people. Tamara is a highly experienced homes and interiors journalist, with a career spanning 22 years. During winter, ants are known to go into a ‘hibernation stage’ where they prefer the cosy life inside their nests. While it is not a true hibernation, it is a resting phase that readies them for the chaos and liveliness of summer.
Baking Soda and Powdered Sugar
We also set catfood bowls in a larger plastic lid with diatomaceous earth on lid. The Windex is good to spray on your ankles if you get flea bites or mosquito bites as it stops the itching. You can use peppermint essential oil (20 drops per 2 cups of water) and spray around window sills and door thresholds as a deterrent. “While house and carpenter ants generally form a primary colony outdoors, they’ll sometimes build satellite colonies inside a home to serve as a conduit for resources,” Gangloff-Kaufmann says. “And both species prefer damp areas.” That means showers, windows, and damp spots in the basement need extra attention. Ants hate the smell of citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes, and oranges, so they're an excellent natural repellant.
Common Ants
You do not want to use the chemical indoors, the fumes are potentially hazardous. The concentrated liquid is sprayed around the perimeter of the home to create a barrier. Spraying it around and in the opening of anthills will kill the colony. Food-grade diatomaceous earth isn’t a common staple in most homes. However, the fossilized marine phytoplankton remains are an effective ant repellant. You can get rid of ants permanently using either natural or chemical methods, and I’m going to lay out all the options below.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Ants
To stop ants from making homes in your plants, surround the soil with citrus rinds from lemons or oranges. Oil extracted from the lemon eucalyptus tree is another natural insect repellent. It contains citronella, which is used in candles to repel mosquitoes and has been shown to repel certain types of ants. Like most essential oils, keep tea tree oil out of reach of pets. When cleaning your kitchen, pay special attention to wiping over organized countertops, floors, and kitchen bins. Also, "If you have pets, always clean away uneaten food and never leave water bowls unattended for extended periods," adds Jonathan.
How To Prevent Ants From Entering Your Home
As a much-loved essential oil peppermint is a welcome deterrent to also make a house smell good at the same time but ants dislike the smell of peppermint. "I stumbled upon this solution while searching for a solution that not only worked but also smelled great," says Ivo. Though this method won’t kill the ants or destroy a colony, they will help make sure you don’t get any more uninvited guests. Having ants invade your home can be a real nuisance, but luckily there are easy, natural, and cheap solutions to not only kill ants when you spot them but to keep them from coming back. Sprinkling salt, pepper, or cinnamon is probably the cheapest way to keep ants out of your home, and chances are you already have at least one of these items in your kitchen.
Peppermint Oil
Most ants will take some of your boric acid-laced bait back to the nest, so you’re getting at the root of the issue without having to go searching for the colony. There are many home remedies for ants inside your home that you can turn to instead of calling an exterminator. Fire ants can be a particularly tricky type of ant to get rid of because you need to kill the queen to destroy the colony.
Sprinkle Pepper, Salt, or Cinnamon
Lay down talcum powder — A layer of talcum powder in ant entryways is another safe deterrent, and it will also break down the pheromone trail. In addition, the powder gets absorbed through their skin, clogging up their airways and will banish them for good. The boiling water won’t be enough to kill off the entire colony. For this reason, make sure to treat every ant hole you see within your home’s proximity. Do not ingest lemon eucalyptus oil and keep it out of reach of children and pets. You may be able to find peppermint oils at your local grocery chain or health food store.
But some species, such as the rock ant (Temnothorax albipennis), have evolved an ingenious way to protect the queen and her larvae from poisoned food. Heavy rains can also cause ant nests to flood and force them to relocate to nearby buildings, such as your house. Whichever type of sealant you use, apply to cracks and gaps per the manufacturer's instructions, and make sure you're not leaving any holes exposed.
If you want to avoid synthetic chemicals of any kind, there are a variety of natural controls you can try for eliminating or repelling ants. Amanda Rose Newton is a pest specialist and horticulture expert, reviewing pest control and gardening content for The Spruce's Cleaning and Gardening Review Board. Her passion for pest control and sustainable gardening allows her to review plant and pest content for best practices and accuracy. She is a board-certified entomologist and volunteers for USAIDs Farmer to Farmer program.
Ants are tiny after all, so they'll be able to fit through any kind of gap. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Alternatively, try an insecticide that will be carried back to the nest, such as Vitax Nippon Ant Killer Liquid. You'll probably be able to identify an ant hill or pile in your yard or near your home's foundation.
Cut off any vines or vegetation that touches or leans onto the exterior walls of your house and windows that can make it easier for ants to enter your home. You can also use boric acid as an ingredient in do-it-yourself (DIY) ant traps. Mix the powder with something sweet that will attract ants, such as maple syrup or corn syrup. Spread on a flat, disposable surface like cardboard and place in areas where you see ants. Brewed coffee grounds have been found to repel household ants. Keep peppermint oil out of reach of pets, especially cats, which can become very ill if exposed.
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So rather than using toxic chemical repellents, just place a lemon balm plant in your home to keep bugs away. Compost bins and heaps are great for many reasons, including recycling food waste and helping nourish the garden, but they do also attract insects. This is not a bad thing and should be encouraged but make sure your compost heap is far enough away from your house so they don't come roaming indoors. The name of this substance might make it sound serious and harmful but diatomaceous earth is a type of silica that works by drawing out oils in insects and so drying them out. It can be an irritant for humans so avoid breathing it in. Ants are social insects, which means that when one enters your home, others will soon follow.
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