Tuesday, 09 October 2018
With the wet summer months approaching, it is highly likely that ants will find refuge somewhere in your home.
We have compiled some tips to get rid of ants naturally.
House ants
House ants leave a chemical pheromone trail wherever they move. If you kill them, other ants will follow the trail and arrive in the same places. For this reason, it is necessary to kill the entire colony.
Homemade bait for house ants
Borax will kill house ants, and powdered sugar can be used to attract them. To make a homemade bait:
Thoroughly mix one part borax with 3 parts powdered sugar.
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- Fill tiny containers (such as bottle caps) with this mixture and place them where you suspect ants are entering your house.
- If you see trails of ants, place small containers of the mixture directly in their path. This prevents most of them from traveling all around your house if they have easy access to this sugary concoction.
If you have pets or kids who might get into this powdery mixture, try this instead:
- Mix one cup warm water with ½ cup sugar and 3 tablespoons borax.
- Soak it up with cotton balls and place them in shallow dishes near ant trails.
It is important to resist the urge to kill all the ants you see. They will carry the bait back to the nest, unable to differentiate between the borax and sugar, and the borax particles will eventually kill the entire colony. The more bait carried back to the colony, the less ants you will have.
Other ways to get rid of ants naturally
- Spray vinegar near baseboards, in any cracks, and on countertops where they may be walking. You can allow vinegar to dry on surfaces or wipe with a clean cloth – this eliminates their chemical trail and will deter some of the stragglers. Repeat several times a day.
- Some ants like protein and grease. Mix a spoonful of peanut butter with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of borax. Using a plastic straw, tap the end into the mixture repeatedly until the straw is full of the mixture. Cut the straw into 3cm pieces and place them next to ant trails.
- Put a few drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball and place in areas ants are crawling around.
- Sprinkle cinnamon (being careful not to get it on items that will stain) near entry points.
- Some ants dislike baby powder. Sprinkle around perimeter of house or indoors where ants are entering your house.
- Rub a little Vaseline near the areas they are entering the house.
For more great tips visit: https://www.diynatural.com/how-to-get-rid-of-ants-naturally/.
