Here’s how to get rid of ants at home
Let’s face it, ants in your house can be a big nuisance. It’s not only frustrating to have ants running around, but a colony of ants can actually cause a lot of damage as well. It is pretty unhygienic to have ants inside your home. Some ant varieties like Fire and Harvester can even bite humans. Carpenter ants, on the other hand, are known to damage building materials. Ants inside the house certainly contaminate the food. They carry bacteria which they can transfer to food or an open wound. Ants have a diverse family; they are around 12,000 different varieties of ants. We all hate how ants enter our houses, especially in summers. They live in our house like they own it; well there are some ways that may help to get rid of the ants; one of them is to keep your house absolutely clean. We suggest some amazing home remedies that you’d need right now to ensure there are no ants in your house. Here’s how to get rid of ants.
Natural ways to eliminate ants
1 Diatomaceous earth (silicon dioxide)
Diatomaceous earth is a type of silica. It comprises fossilized remains of aquatic organisms called diatoms.
Diatomaceous earth isn’t a poison. It kills ants and other bugs by absorbing the oils in their skeletons, which dries them out. Since it’s an irritant, avoid breathing in diatomaceous earth or getting it on your skin.
You can purchase food-grade diatomaceous earth online. To use it as an ant killer, follow package directions, or sprinkle the powder anywhere you see ants.
2 Glass cleaner and liquid detergent
Combining spray-on glass cleaner with liquid detergent or dish soap can help deter ants from entering your home. It does this by removing the scented pheromone trail they leave behind when they walk.
Mix together and spray on areas where ants seem to congregate or originate from. Wipe down the area after spraying, leaving a light residue.
While there are no studies to support this remedy, anecdotal evidence suggests it’s enough to keep ants away.
3 Hand soap
If the scent of glass cleaner bothers you, using hand soap may be enough to remove ants. Soapy water of any kind removes the scent of ant pheromones. Use it on ant trails and points of entry in your home.
Without pheromone trails to follow, ants are unable to communicate with each other.
4 Pepper
Since ants seem to find the smell of pepper irritating, you can try black or red (cayenne) pepper as an ant deterrent.
This remedy to ant infestation is completely natural and safe. Anecdotal evidence suggests that sprinkling pepper around baseboards and behind appliances may help keep ants at bay.
5 Peppermint
Peppermint is a natural insect repellent that may be very effective at repelling ants and other bugs, such as mosquitoes.
Mix 10 to 20 drops of peppermint essential oil with 2 cups of water. Spray the mixture around the baseboards and windows of your home. Let dry.
Like most essential oils, keep peppermint oil out of reach of pets, especially cats, who can become very ill if exposed.
You can likely find peppermint essential oil at your local grocery store. It’s also available online
6 Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil repels and kills ants. Mix 5 to 10 drops of tea tree oil with 2 cups of water and use as a spray. You can also saturate cotton balls and place them around your home where you’ve seen ants.
If the scent is too strong, try making a mixture that combines tea tree oil with peppermint oil and water.
Like most essential oils, keep tea tree oil out of reach of pets, especially cats, who can become very ill if exposed.
You can find tea tree oil at your local grocery store or online.
7 Lemon eucalyptus oil
Oil extracted from the lemon eucalyptus tree is another natural bug repellent. It contains citronella, which is used in candles to repel flying bugs, such as mosquitoes. Anecdotal evidence indicates it’s also effective at repelling ants.
Don’t ingest lemon eucalyptus oil. Keep it out of reach of children and pets.
To use, saturate cotton balls with the undiluted oil. Place in areas where ants have been seen. Change weekly.
8 Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
OLE isn’t the same substance as lemon eucalyptus oil. OLE comes from the gum eucalyptus tree, which is native to Australia. It contains a chemical called PMD, which has been found to be an effective insect repellent.
PMD is classified as a bio-pesticide by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is considered safe to use. Some people report OLE is able to kill and repel ants. People also use it to repel mosquitoes.
9 Chalk
One of the home remedies to get rid of ants is to use chalk. Chalk contains calcium carbonate, which helps in keeping ants away. Spray some powdered chalk in the areas that are the entry points of ants or draw a line of chalk at the entrance.
In order to keep ants of your house, draw chalk lines so that these bugs don’t enter. While it not clear as to why this line stops the ants from coming inside, but it is surely effective.
Make sure you make the line in a way that is out of reach of any child in the house.
10 Oranges
Oranges are same as lemons; they keep the ants away from visiting your house. Make a paste of one cup warm water and a few orange peel, which will help in getting rid of ants.
Spread this paste around entry points of ants and wipe it afterwards. You can also place orange peels on the kitchen slab or wherever you think these ants may enter from.
It acts as natural deterrent for ants that may not only keep them but also keep them away. So, bring the orange rinds to some use and ensure no ants visit your house anymore.
11 Salt
Spreading salt near nooks and corners from where ants enter the house will help keeping ants away.
Table salt is one of the best and the cheapest ways to get rid of ants naturally. Use ordinary table salt not health boosting rock salt. All you need to do is to boil water and add a large amount of salt to it, stirring it until dissolves.
Pour into a spray bottle and spray where you think ants tend to enter from.
12 Cinnamon
Put cinnamon and cloves on the entrance of the house and the areas from where you think the ants can enter. This a good method to also keep your house smelling fresh and earthy.
Cinnamon is often regarded as an effective DIY ant control option. It is believed that cinnamon acts as a natural repellent as ants can’t stand strong smell.
For more effective results, you can add some essential oil to the cinnamon powder, so that is busts with stronger smell, keeping the ants away
If nothing works
If natural options aren’t enough, you can use pesticides and commercially prepared products to eradicate ants.
Bait traps that contain pesticides in an enclosed form may be preferable for some people over sprays. Bait traps work by attracting ants to them. The ants eat the bait and bring some of it back to their nests, killing off other ants.
Ants also eat ■■■■ ants and absorb the pesticide that way. Some bait traps contain boric acid or borax. Others contain hydramethylnon, a chemical compound that’s dangerous for children, pets, and growing food, such as tomato plants.
You can find ant traps at many hardware and gardening stores as well as online. Check the ingredients if you’re avoiding toxins before you buy.
There are also nontoxic commercial repellant sprays that are all-natural and work on ant control.
Raid is a chemical spray that can be very effective on ants. It’s long-lasting, but does contain imiprothrin and cypermethrin, two chemical compounds that shouldn’t be inhaled or ingested.
If all else fails, hiring an exterminator can help. Look for one who’s committed to using the least toxic products possible. Let them know if you have children, pets, or other concerns, such as a respiratory health condition.
Some professional exterminators use words like green, organic, or eco-friendly in their titles. That’s not enough to ensure that they’re truly green. Ask them what substances they typically use in ant treatments and which ones they avoid before you hire them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1 Will ants go away on their own?
Unless you see just a handful of ants foraging for food — randomly milling around your countertops — they’re generally going somewhere, and coming from somewhere. …
Typically if you clean up the spill, the ants will go away on their own (until next time)
2 Why do I have tiny ants in my house?
Ants are part of nature’s cleaning crew: they efficiently find and remove food left around the house.
The problem is, sometimes humans don’t want their help. … Ants occasionally come inside in search of water, particularly during dry periods. In this case you may see them in bathrooms or other humid parts of the house.
3 What attracts ants in the house?
Ants are attracted to most types of human food, but they are especially fond of sweet foods. Many types of ants are drawn to jelly, syrup, honey, candy, and other rich sources of sugar.
4 Does cold air keep ants away?
Ants don’t respond to cold any better than humans do. … Ants themselves have built-in bodily responses to the weather as it gets colder.
They become sluggish as their own body temperatures drop. To combat this, they seek out and create places where the temperature is warmer