Safe Ant Repellent

Plants like bay leaves are safe ant repellents.

No one likes to wake up to find a line of ants marching through the kitchen. You can safely repel ants from your home using familiar plants from your pantry or garden.

Repellents

Plants that repel ants without danger to animals or humans include bay leaves, eucalyptus leaves and catnip. These plants will not kill ants, but they will deter them from coming into your home. All of them work well in their dried and powdered forms.

Function

You can use whole bay leaves in your pantry to repel ants. Place them on the shelves or inside containers on top of rice or flour to keep your food safe. You can sprinkle a combination of dried bay leaves, eucalyptus leaves and catnip around the exterior of your home to keep ants from coming inside.

Considerations

If you worry about bay leaves adding unwanted flavor to food in your kitchen, place a piece of wax paper between the leaf and the food in the container. If you place whole bay leaves in your pantry, keep them out of the reach of small children because they can be a choking hazard if swallowed whole.

References

• "The Herbalist in the Kitchen"; Gary Allen; 2007
• "Let's Get Natural With Herbs"; Debra Rayburn; 2007