If you have spotted a bunch of ants in your kitchen lately, you may be dealing with an ant infestation in your home. Ants are common house-invaders that enter homes during a change in the climate – quite frequently during rains!
Other than the fact that ants bite, these tiny critters are extremely annoying and frustrating to get rid of. Ants come in different types such as black ants, carpenter ants, pharaoh ants, red ants, sugar ants, flying ants, etc.
In order to get rid of an ant invasion, we have listed 20 ways to remove ants from your house naturally.
What causes ants to invade a home?
The following reasons listed below are some of the causes for ants to be spotted in yards, houses, etc.
- Attracted by sweets
- Change in climate
- Unhygienic living conditions
- Lidless containers
- Dirty pantry
- Overgrown garden/lawns
- Water leakage
- Unclean trashcans
22 Home remedies for getting rid of Ants from your Home
Below is a list of remedies that are both natural and lethal to ants. Depending on your choice of remedy you can either repel or exterminate ants altogether:
1. Mopping the Floors
When we eat, often times, small food scraps get spilled onto the ground. Sometimes these food particles are so small that our eyes are unable to see them. But our little critter friends can immediately sense the presence of food in the vicinity, and within a few minutes have your home surrounded.
The best way to deal with leftover food is by removing the food scraps by using a mop to clean the floor after a meal or at the very least, once a day.
2. Vinegar
Vinegar is a natural solution that can get rid of ants fast and effectively. Mix water into a bowl of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to make a solution and spray it all over the pantry, closet, cupboards, window panes, etc. to ensure ants have no place to make their home.
Using vinegar to get rid of ants hidden in your lawn or garden by keeping small cups filled with vinegar is a good way to prevent encroachment.
3. Sealants
Silicone sealants are used to fix walls with holes and surface cracks. Doing this ensures that ants have no place to call home and are forcefully driven away from their existing colonies. Silicone sealants are generally applied on windows and doors to make sure there are no tiny gaps for ants to come through.
The best way to ensure ants don’t make your home their colony is by keeping track of all the cracks in your home and sealing them air tight.
4. Box Trap
Create a homemade box trap by taking a medium sized cardboard box or a matchbox and placing 2 to 3 holes for the ants to come in. Now place sugar syrup to lure the ants in to take the bait and approach the box.
After placing the box for over 4 to 5 hours, you can find all the ants sticking to the box due to the sugar syrup acting as bait. You can now dispose of the box with the ants; this can be done as many times till the infestation is brought under control.
5. Garlic Cloves
Ants despise the smell of garlic and cloves act as a natural repellent for ants to stay away from the area. The best places to keep the cloves is towards the entrance of a home, lawn, window sills, kitchen sinks, cupboards, narrow spaces in the wall, etc.
Gradually, the colonies of ants will disperse and give you back control of your home.
6. Grounded Coffee
Coffee grounds are an effective way to repel ants from your property. All you need is to fill up your wall cracks and other noted areas where ants are known to gather with coffee grounds.
By doing this tactic, the ants are warded off from their usual path and tend to quickly move away from your home, effectively ridding your home from their presence.
7. Spices
Another great tactic to keep your home free of ants is to utilize the aid of household spices. Spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, chili powder are all great to draw a border around the main areas of sugar ant sightings.
Once the spices have been spread out, the ants will never think twice to set foot in your home again.
8. Cucumber peelings
If you have a heavy infestation of ants that can only be eliminated by killing them from the source, then cucumber peeling is your answer. Cucumber peels are natural and harmless to humans but can kill a large colony of ants within hours of application.
9. Bleach
One of the best home remedies for getting rid of ants is by using bleach in your cleaning solution. Use a hand cloth dipped in a bleach solution and simply wipe the surface of your kitchen shelves and tiled walls and other hardwood locations in your home.
This will help lessen the population of ants within your premises all in a matter of few days.
10. Petroleum Jelly
A rather easy way to drive the ants out of your property is by spreading petroleum jelly all over surface areas. This sticky substance ensures that ants are repelled by the strong odor that emanates from the jelly.
Petroleum jelly’s strong vapors ensure that the ants come out of hiding even in from the most hard-to-reach places.
11. Copper
Ants detest copper! Apply a trail of copper around entrances and other places such as ant holes, creaks in the walls, etc. Copper ensures that it can be cleaned easily the next day as well as keep ants away for good.
It’s a good idea to mix copper with water and pour into drains and other hard to reach damp places to ensure that ants are eliminated.
12. Perfumes
If you have any old perfumes that you no longer have any use for then they can be a perfect remedy for preventing ant encroachment. Simply spray the perfume on any of the detected ant holes to ensure that they leave your home for good.
Again, this is a good method only for unused or old perfumes as they can get expensive to use as a repellent.
13. Keep your jars tightly sealed
The finest home remedies for getting rid of ants are quite often ones that prevent them from entering your home in the first place. When you open your food packets and forget to close them, ants are quickly summoned to the location.
To ensure that you don’t signal their sensors, the best way is to keep your food within tightly closed lids and to ensure all sweets are tightly preserved in containers.
14. Flour
A quick and easy solution to eradicate sugar ants from your kitchen shelves is by applying flour. This is a cost-effective solution as flour is available readily in your pantry. Simply spread the flour across all intrusion areas of ants and watch them flee from these zones.
15. Alcohol Spray
Here’s another spray solution for you to consider. Take a teaspoon of dish soap and a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol. Mix both of them together with a few drops of water into a bottle spray. Shake well and spray over all the affected ant areas.
This method should ensure that ants can be easily snuffed out from their hiding spots.
16. Plant free Area
If you are someone who likes to keep plants indoors, it breaks your heart to see your plants heavily infested with ants. The solution could be moving your plants out of your room and into the open. Ants love plants and warm damp places such as the muddy locations within the pot.
These locations become a breeding ground for anthills to erupt. To create ant free areas, you may want to relocate your plants to more outdoor friendly locations.
17. Camphor Oil
For a more dedicated approach to killing ants in a natural way, simply obtain camphor oil. Using a mixture of camphor oil, you can place the solution along with rubbing alcohol or plain water mixed together to serve as an instant ant killer.
This is one of the deadliest home remedies for getting rid of ants in an effortless way and ensuring your home is free from these critters.
18. Talcum Powder
Mixing talcum and salt is an effective way to get rid of house ants. All you need is a bottle of talcum powder and a sprinkle of salt to create this deadly mix. It’s always a good idea to wear a mask when applying this mixture to ant infested areas as certain individuals tend to be allergic to talc.
19. Borax
Borax kills the ants outright so if you are looking for a method for getting rid of ants without killing them, then you may have to use the other more natural ways to keep them away.
The best way to use borax is by mixing it with sweetened food and placing them over infested areas. This will lure the ants to take the food back to their colony and proceed to exterminate all the ants within a few days.
20. Lemon Juice
If you would like a natural ant repellent spray, then try spraying lemon juice. To create this mixture, squeeze half a lemon into a bowl, mix 3 parts water, and apply the solution in a bottle sprayer.
Now go around the house spraying the solution where you deem fit – that is where you find loads of ants! The lemon juice acts as an anti-ant perimeter to your home and keeps all ants away.
21. Baking Soda
Sodium bicarbonate or baking soda is a widely used baking ingredient that is ideal for getting rid of ants. For an effective strategy to combat intrusion of ants, mix a few teaspoons of baking soda in a bowl with some powdered sugar. Next place this mixture in areas where ants are prone to frequent. After about 8 hours, the bowl should be filled with dead ants.
22. Bay Leaves
If you would like to use a repelling tactic to keep ants away from your home, try using a few bay leaves. Bay leaves are flavorful and have a strong smell; this can aid in fending off ants trying to get inside your home. Place the leaves near windows and entrances for maximum control.
Precautions to take for ant controlling measures
You can also keep out ants and prevent them from your premises by following these pointers:
- Keep containers closed
- Scrub floors occasionally
- Ensure gutters work optimally
- Tidy up pantries
- Trim unkempt gardens
- Eliminate moist areas
- Clean pet bowls