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Changes in weather, including heavy rains or drought, can drive ants indoors looking for more hospitable areas in which to live. They can enter through any small opening in the home, and if you see one, more will soon follow. Scatter all-purpose flour liberally at door thresholds, on window sills and across foundations. Or use a sifter to apply a dusting of flour directly along their path to disrupt their pheromone trail. If left unchecked, they can destroy structures, spread bacteria, and even cause allergic reactions in extreme cases. So it’s best to get rid of them if you have an ant problem in your house.
How to Get Rid of Ants from Your Home Using Natural Remedies
If you are lucky, the ants will move out on their own once you remove the source of attraction. If you’re looking up how to get rid of ants, odds are you’ve spotted these unwelcome critters around your home. Ants are resilient and persistent pests — where there’s one there’s often hundreds, and it’s surprisingly tricky to eradicate all of them. It’s important that you deal with ants as soon as possible though; these pests reproduce quickly, and a few ants can soon turn into an infestation. While these insects are by no means hygienic to have around the home, they can also cause structural damage in extreme circumstances, so they must be addressed.
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DIY Ant Spray
In the indoor world, there are only a few species that come into people’s homes. The best part is that your home is likely already stocked with a few of these natural materials to start working and diminish the problem before you have to phone a professional. But think twice before you grab a can of bug spray and start crop-dusting your kitchen countertops. Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry's most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40+ years of experience and 20+ years of writing experience.
animal & rodent control
Boric acid is a type of poison that can kill certain types of worker ants, according to a 2023 animal study. Black or red (cayenne) pepper is a natural ant deterrent, as the insects may find the smell irritating. It’s often used as a cleaning product, emulsifier, or insect repellant. Keep reading to learn about how to kill and repel ants safely.
If These Methods Don't Work
Katie looks after everything homes-related, from kitchen appliances to gardening tools. She also covers smart home products too, so is the best point of contact for any household advice! She has tested and reviewed appliances for over 6 years, so she knows what to look for when finding the best. Her favorite thing to test has to be air purifiers, as the information provided and the difference between performances is extensive.
DIY methods rarely work because ants mostly live in protected spaces (such as underground or in walls). You might kill a few worker ants, but probably won’t harm the colony. If your ant problem has got out of hand, contact a pest control professional rather than attempting to deploy a bug bomb or similar insect spray yourself.
Borax
It offers a non-toxic and natural option for eliminating ants and any other crawling insects. Along with cleaning laundry, Borax — also known as sodium borate — is a natural mineral that will kill any ants that ingest it. The first step in stopping an infestation is to determine where the ants are invading from—perhaps a poorly sealed window, a crack in the baseboard, or a gap in the doorframe. When you see ants, don’t squish them; let them lead you to their entry and exit point.
Sprinkle some used coffee grounds on a disposable surface such as cardboard, and place in areas prone to ants. These can be used indoors or outdoors, and can also make for a great soil nutrient from the minerals. Mix glass cleaner and dish soap — Combine glass cleaning spray with dish soap in a clean spray bottle. Spray directly onto surfaces or areas where the ants congregate before wiping down to just leave a light residue. Typically, ants leave a scented pheromone trail behind when they walk, which then leads other ants to follow. By removing this scent, you're deterring ants from coming into the home.
Luckily, ants are attracted to many different foods — particularly things that are high in protein and grease — so they are easy to bait. If natural options aren’t enough, you can use pesticides and commercially prepared products to eradicate ants. Figuring out how ants are entering your home can help you eliminate an ant infestation and prevent a future one.
You can put some of the dust into a medicine dropper and drop it into cracks close to their territory, or mix two tablespoons of DE to a quart of water to use it as a spray. This is one of the best home remedies for ants outside or inside. Bait traps that contain pesticides in an enclosed form may be preferable for some people over sprays.
If you look closely enough, you can tell an ant by its slim middle and curved antennae. You can, however, weaponize cornmeal in your fight against ants by mixing it with boric acid, a cousin to Borax that’s available online and at home improvement stores. Mix nine parts cornmeal with one part boric acid, adding a generous helping of soybean oil or peanut butter to create a paste. Place the homemade bait near gaps and crevices, anywhere ants are on the march. Pepper Moran is a pest control expert with over five years experience in educating homeowners on affordable and earth-friendly ways to protect their homes from pests.
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You can also coat cotton balls with cinnamon powder or cinnamon oil and place them near ant-prone areas. A white vinegar and water solution is a common method to wipe out ants for good. Depending on how much you can bear the smell, mix at least one part vinegar and three parts water.
However, if you find any damaged or wet wood, it could be a sign of a carpenter ant infestation, and you should call an exterminator. “And both species prefer damp areas.” That means showers, windows, and damp spots in the basement need extra attention. The most straightforward and most proactive of all home remedies for ants inside is to eliminate their water and food sources, so they don’t want to be in your home in the first place. Make sure you keep your kitchen counter free of crumbs and clean up spills right away. It’s also good to keep any edible items you want to leave out of the cupboards sealed in airtight containers.
When using any chemical agents, read the label and follow the manufacturer's directions carefully. Keep the pesticides out of the reach of children and pets and dispose of any unused chemicals following the guidelines of your municipality. Professor Michael Potter suggests looking for baits that contain fipronil, imidacloprid, indoxacarb, thiamethoxam, or dinotefuran. For carpenter ants, Potter recommends drilling small holes in the affected areas and inserting boric acid powder into the holes with a syringe or puffer. As a bonus, not only will you drive the ants away, but your home will smell nice.
While wiping out a colony of ants can sometimes seem like an endless loop, taking action and following up with preventative measures is much easier than you might think. Removing ants from the outdoors versus indoors is going to be a completely different story. You might not necessarily need to remove ants from your yard at all.
Keeping your home clean and removing possible places for ants to enter and hide can prevent future infestations. Some professional exterminators use green, organic, or eco-friendly words in their titles. If you’re concerned about chemicals, ask the exterminator what substances they typically use in ant treatments before you hire them. 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.
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