There’s nothing like walking into your kitchen in the morning, blue-eyed and ready for your morning cup of coffee before finding that your home has been invaded. Walking one by one in a seemingly endless stream, these tiny insects are one of life’s biggest pests and getting rid of them can be a huge pain. In fact, even many chemical ant killers often prove ineffective when it comes to getting rid of ants, so finding the right ant deterrent can be a truly daunting task!
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Don’t be afraid! Natural Living Ideas is here to offer you ten natural home remedies that we have tested and determined to effectively eliminate these irritating insects without filling your home, garden or yard with disgusting ant repellent chemicals.
- Baking Soda
Baking soda is one of our favorite natural household products, as it is also one of the most useful natural ingredients for many of life’s little grievances. But while baking soda is great for humans, it wreaks havoc on ants by disrupting their natural body chemistry. Create your own natural ant bait by mixing equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar. Pour the mixture into a shallow container (plastic or metal lids work great) and place it near the line of marching insects to attract them to your homemade bait. The ants will take it back to their nest, eat it and quickly decrease in number, saving your pantry and your sanity!
You can also strategically position this natural ant bait in areas where ants might enter or your home, such as window sills or in the corners of your pantry and cupboards where food is stored to prevent future invasions.
Learn more about why we love baking soda in 24 Uses of Baking Soda and why you need it in your home!
- Borax
Borax works just like baking soda. Mix this traditional household detergent with water, sugar and peanut butter to make a paste. Poke a few holes in a plastic container, fill it with your borax mixture, close the lid and place your homemade trap near ants or anywhere else these pesky critters might be interested.
Just remember that borax is toxic to animals other than ants. Be sure to keep your traps away from pets or other small animals to prevent them from eating the mixture because of its delicious peanut butter aroma.
Need to buy borax for your natural ant killer? This is considered the best brand.
- chalk
Ants will not cross a chalk line. While this may sound silly, it’s a fact! The powdery substance disrupts the insects’ pheromone trails – the scent marks an ant uses to communicate with other members of its colony. As such, drawing a line of fresh chalk or pouring a line of chalk powder between the ants’ entry points and the desired food source (your pantry, cabinets, kitchen scraps, etc.) will prevent them from reaching their destination. - Soap & Water
For a quick solution that will eliminate the ants currently in your home and keep their brethren away long enough for you to mix up a more permanent solution, a simple soap and water mixture will do the trick. Simply fill a spray bottle with warm water, add a good amount of liquid dishwashing detergent, shake and spray. The soap coats the bodies of the ants and suffocates them while washing out their pathway so that the rest of the colony can’t find the delicious snack it had previously led to. - Vinegar
Another one of our favorite and most useful natural household products, vinegar is also a great natural remedy for repelling ant invasion. Like chalk, vinegar destroys the pheromone traces of ants. You actually observe this effect by spraying a mixture of vinegar and water in a circle around a group of marching ants. Cut off from their scent marks, the row of ants will separate almost immediately and the insects will begin to wander aimlessly, well and truly lost without their scent trail to direct them.
Because they disrupt their pheromones, ants also hate the smell of vinegar. Spray around doors and windows or any other area where ants might enter your home to keep them out. Of course, the mixture will evaporate over time and must be reapplied daily to be effective. Still, it’s a great natural and totally non-toxic solution to the ant problem, and even better if you like the smell of vinegar! (Tip: add essential oils to the vinegar to cover the scent and enhance the anti-pest properties of your spray. Here’s a great recipe to try).
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