The summer months can often mean an influx of unwelcome guests. No, we're not talking about visiting relatives...we're talking about ants. And if you're not into chemical sprays (which rarely seem to work anyway), it might be time to try a homemade approach. Here are 8 ways to get rid of ants using common items available right in your cupboards.
In my old apartment, I lived below a frat guy who never had time to clean his place. I didn't really discover this until I had to ask him for a flashlight one day. When he opened his door, an empty bag of potato chips rolled across the floor like a tumbleweed. He was living in a wild west of his own bachelorhood.
The big problem came when he moved out. The ants that had been feeding in his apartment, now without a food source, started to crawl in through the odd crack in the ceiling, the tops of the windows...really anywhere they could. So, I had an ant problem. Chemical sprays seemed to work for a little while, but were a temporary fix. It would kill the immediate invasion of ants, but not the second and third fronts. I also didn't like the idea of my house carrying the scent of eu de Raid (or the idea of my pets or guests breathing in the fumes).
I kept a list of the different natural methods I used to
get rid of ants, all culled from internet message boards and advice-giving friends. Here's what worked...and what didn't:
- Mint leaves. Did you know that an ant can carry up to 50 times its own weight? Oh yeah, they can totally carry crushed mint leaves too. The thinking here is that the ants object to the mint's scent compounds...but maybe mine wanted to make mojitos in their little ant colony? I don't know.
- Cayenne pepper. The capsaicin in cayenne pepper is an irritant to ants, making them stay away. So, I sprinkled cayenne pepper around a particularly active spot near the floorboards. This worked for a day, but then Roscoe (my cat) tried to "clean up" the pepper. I had to stop this little experiment.
- Baby powder. The cornstarch in baby powder (I generally don't buy the kind that contain talc) is another irritant to ants. Like the cayenne pepper, I sprinkled it around a particularly active area and waited. The ants did appear to go away, but at least two guests had thought I had spilled flour and tried to helpfully sweep it up.
- Cornmeal. This is going to sound a bit gruesome: Cornmeal makes ants explode. They take the grains home, eat them and then presumably drink some water. The grains expand inside the ant, and then boom, tiny fireworks. Did I see this happen? No. There was remarkably less cornmeal by the end of the first day, but the ants kept returning to bring home more cornmeal. I had effectively made an ant feeding trough. Forget this idea.
- Cinnamon. The ants walked around any area that had been dusted with cinnamon, but didn't avoid the area entirely. (My house did smell lovely, though.) Many people swear by this one, so I'm wondering if they're using a really strong, fresh batch of ground cinnamon. But for me, no dice.
- Bay leaves. Like the issue I ran into with cinnamon, the ants walked around any area that had a crushed bay leaf near it, but ultimately did not avoid the area entirely. Again, I'm wondering if fresh bay leaves would be more effective (since they do smell stronger, and ants allegedly hate their scent) than dried.
-
Vodka. A 3-to-1 ratio of vodka to water, poured into a spray bottle, was recommended to me by a friend. I sprayed this all over the kitchen. While it did kill the ants, the kitchen also smelled of vodka, giving guests the wrong impression.
- Dish liquid and water mix. This is, hands-down, the most effective way to get rid of ants. I used about two tablespoons' worth diluted in a pint of water. Transfer the solution into a spray bottle. Spritz near windows, doors and cracks, but don't wipe it away. This apparently destroys the scent trail that alerts more ants to come on down. Then, spray any roaming ants with this solution to, well, kill them (and okay, then wipe the ants away). It works surprisingly fast.
Want more tips for getting rid of household pests? Check out...
The Daily Fix: Get Rid of Aphids Naturally
The Daily Fix: Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Mosquito Prevention: The 10 Most Bizarre Tips
Have an outdoor ant problem? Watch this video on how to use citrus oil to take back your garden...
Judi Roaman: We Talk Endlessly About the Next President,…
Reader comments (Page 1 of 4)
my mom used to use just plain red peper flakes to get rid of ants. works great!!!!
ReplyI was told to use used coffee grounds. spread them around the windows and/or the outside of the house where you think they are coming in. It sounded strange but I tried it. AND it works!!! So try that instead of throwing the coffee grounds out. It doesnt hurt to try it.
That white powder, borax I think, that kills roaches, terrorizes ants
use plain household vinegar to kill ants!! I keep a gallon jug to pour on ant hills outside and it works everytime! pour it near the doors as well to keep them out - pouring it directly on ants will kill them in moments.
I tried something similar to the cornmeal idea. I was told Oatmeal and/or Grits would do the same thing. Did Not Work! They quickly even stopped taking it and I had to clean up the mess!
ReplyI have used pure vinegar in a spray bottle with great success. The vinegar scent disappears as it dries and the ants stay away for a longtime.
ReplyI spray with white vinegar. Works great.
OK, forget being enviramentally correct. Get a bottle of something with boric acid[liquid or powder] mix a tiny amount[half teaspoon] to 1 teaspoon jelly and with your finger dab several fingers of the mixture along their entry path. Within 2-3 weeks they will be gone and will not be back the next spring. No matter how clean I kept every thing they always found a little crumb to snack on. These little guys are such hard workers. It's almost a shame to have to kill them.
ReplyThe borax/jelly mixture is the way to go. A pest control guy told me this many years ago and it works like a charm. Just used it a few weeks ago and the ants were gone in a few hours. Don't let your pets/kids get to it, just to be safe. Also, we had a big ant hill outside in the garden, couldn't kill them no matter how much poison we used. Finally put the firepit on top and had a nice little fire one night. They are GONE.
Boric Acid is about the only thing that will kill roaches too.
Tried and proven. But a 5 lb bag of sugar. Open it and place in your neighbors yard. Within 1 day, voila, no more ants. Think about it.
ReplyJoeD. Many a truth is said in jest! Make protected feeding sites of refined sugar near the ant hills and keep them well fed: The second generation will be reduced by about 1/4, the third generation by about 1/2 and there will be no fourth generation. Refined sugar destroys the reporductive system of all creatures, even people. Your herbal arsenal will work for a while, but the dormant ants will be back--with the refined sugar, there are no dormant ants to come back. This can take awhile, but effect is permanent.
A mixture of a couple ounces of vinegar mixed with about 8 ounces water sprayed on the ant trails works great on black carpenter ants.
ReplyBay leaves work wonders to get rid of ants! I own a a herb store and I sell out of bay leaves all the time during the summer months!
ReplyAs everyone living in Florida knows, sooner or later you encounter a Palmetto Bug (aka Australian Cockroach). These things are HUGE....an inch or two, or bigger. Back in the 70's and 80's they made a spray that worked great...one short burst and the "bug that ate Australia" was on his back and looking toward heaven. Of course, the EPA. stepped in an made the company change the formula.....NOW the stuff approved by the "watchdog" group, still has nasty chemicals in it, but instead of "one killer burst" to do away with said varmint.....you pretty much have to drown him with the "new and improved and safe for the environment" brand...trouble is, it's also safe for the pest. Unless he can't swim......AND THEY CAN !!!!!!
Replyjust burn 'em with a lighter
This is a scary thought but sprinkle NutraSweet or Equal where you want to kill ants. The chemical base of NutraSweet and Equal is actually a deadly neurotoxin that will quickly kill most insects. Monsanto, the makers of the chemical used in NutraSweet and Equal used to be a chemical company specializing in the production of deadly neurotoxins and other lovely potions designed to kill. It was the accidental discovery that one neurotoxin in particular was incredibly sweet when used in very small doses. This was the basis for the development of Aspartame the principal sweetener used in many low calorie sweeteners out there today. Think about this the next time you put some in your coffee!
ReplyMonsanto is still very much in the poison business. If not directly (roundup etc), then through GM seeds. They also have a tendancy to kill family owned farms that don't buy their product :-\
That is not true. Aspartame was developed in the late 60's or early 70's as an artificial sweetner. It does not kill ants.
THE BEST ANT KILLER IS TO MIX BORAXO POWDER SOAP AND GRANULATED SUGER-- 50/50 AND SPRINKEL IT WHERE ANTS APPEAR IT WILL KILL THEM ALL, INCLUDING THE BABIES.
ReplyTAKE A LARGE SODA STRAW AND PINCH ONE END CLOSED, FILL IT WITH THIS MIXTURE AND PLACE IN THE CABINET UNDER SINKS AND ETC. OUT OF THE WAY FROM PETS AND KIDS--- WORKS GREAT!!!!!