8 best home treatments for ants
Posted July 15, 2023 by: Admin
Say goodbye to those bothersome ants that invade your house and garden by utilizing ten effective and straightforward home remedies. These remedies will not only repel the ants but also eliminate them, providing you with a pest-free environment. However, be cautious and avoid one particular remedy that is best left untouched. With these simple solutions at your disposal, you can reclaim your home and garden from the clutches of these pesky intruders. Embrace a peaceful and ant-free living space with the help of these tried-and-true methods.
Are ants a pest?
Fortunately, ants present no direct danger to humans. However, if left unchecked, they can damage structures, spread bacteria and, in extreme cases, trigger allergic reactions. It’s therefore advisable to tackle an ant problem quickly if you discover one in your home.
Natural methods for eliminating ants
Luckily, there are safe, environmentally-friendly ways to exterminate ants when they invade your home. You can get rid of these foraging insects using natural remedies made from ingredients commonly found in your pantry or supermarket. The following ten products have been proven effective against ants. In addition, at the end of the list, we’ll clarify a common misconception about another household ingredient that is often thought to be useful in the fight against ants, but is in fact ineffective.
White vinegar
The recipe for success against ants? Three parts vinegar to one part water. Spray under doors, in the yard or even around your picnic blanket. The pungent liquid helps disguise ants’ scent trails, disrupting their tracking abilities. Next time you mop the floor, pour a little vinegar into the bucket for good measure.
Borax
Borax, a mineral used in many cleaning products, is deadly to ants, as it disrupts their digestive system. Create a syrupy paste with borax, powdered sugar and water. Put the mixture in shallow containers with narrow openings, the size of an ant, and place them near anthills or wherever you see ants. Attracted workers take the sweet substance back to the nest to share with their friends.
Pepper
Let’s be clear: pepper doesn’t kill ants, but its strong smell does scare them away. Pour the ground version of black or cayenne pepper over the ants’ scent trails. You can also mix pepper and water in a spray bottle and sprinkle it over the entry points to your home.
Cinnamon
The best spice for getting rid of ants in the kitchen? Cinnamon. Natural and non-toxic, cinnamon not only kills ants, but its strong scent also makes it a repellent of choice.
Fresh mint
Ants don’t like the smell of fresh mint, so we recommend planting it in vegetable and flower beds.
Citrus
Harness the power of tangy citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruits to keep ants at bay. The natural acids present in these fruits work wonders by masking the scent trails of ants, at least temporarily. Squeeze lemons into a spray bottle or create a pureed mixture of orange peel and water to rub on window sills and door jambs. These methods will discourage the tiny insects from crossing over into your living spaces.
Coffee Grounds
A tried-and-true method for repelling ants is to sprinkle coffee grounds around the stems of both indoor and outdoor plants and flowers. Some claim that it is the smell of coffee that repels ants, while others believe that ants dislike the texture of the grounds beneath their feet. Regardless of the reason, this method has proven to be effective in keeping ants away.
Sugar
If you find yourself unable to defeat ants entirely, why not divert their attention instead? Create a sugar trail leading from your house to your outdoor compost pile. By providing ants with a dedicated feeding area, they can indulge to their heart’s content without invading your home again.
