How to Stop Ants in a House
Ants help the environment by eating spilled food, animal carcasses and rotting wood. While this is helpful to the environment, it's not helpful when they do it in your home. Stop ants from infesting your house using natural products that are safe for the environment, your family and pets. Having a few ants in your yard is a good thing, but even a few ants in your home can create a mess and lead to damage. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Bucket
- White vinegar
- Water
- Cleaning cloths
- Airtight containers
- Trash containers with lids
- Aluminum pie pans
- Lemons
- Spray bottle
- Cotton balls
- Peppermint oil
Instructions
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Fill a one-gallon bucket halfway with warm water and the remainder of the way with white vinegar. Clean the inside and outside of cabinets, countertops, garbage pails and floors using the diluted vinegar and clean cloths. Allow the vinegar solution to air dry. Rinsing is not necessary. Vinegar washes away scent trails left by ants and the odor of the vinegar repels them.
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Check your pantry and cupboards for open boxes or bags of food. Place food in airtight containers so ants aren't attracted to it. Use trash bins with secure lids when disposing of food remnants from cooking and eating.
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Lemons are used in cleaning agents, degreasers and insect repellents. Spray doorways, along baseboards and in the back of cabinets with a lemon mixture made from the juice and rind of four lemons, plus one half gallon of water. The lemon spray will repel ants, make your home smell nice and is non-toxic to children and pets.
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Place a few drops of peppermint oil on some cotton balls. Set the cotton balls in window sills, behind heavy furniture and behind hard-to-move appliances. Peppermint is a natural ant repellent.
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Tips & Warnings
Create boundaries with flour. Sprinkle the flour along doorways and anywhere else ants are coming into the home. Ants don't like flour so they won't cross through it.
Boric acid works well for deterring ants in your home but can be toxic for pets and children. Use with caution or in areas where children and pets are not present.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ants image by Irina Surikova from Fotolia.com lemons image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
