How to Kill Ants With Coffee

You've probably encountered an ant or two in your home at one point or another. Ants love welcoming themselves into your home to eat up unavoidable crumbs, especially during the spring and summer. If you're looking for a natural way to eliminate these pesky intruders, try using coffee grounds. Note that while coffee grounds might be useful in repelling ants, coffee will not actually kill them.

You can take a few preventive measures to keep ants from coming inside. One of the best ways is to clean up crumbs and spills from your floor. Crumbs happen to everyone, but these tiny morsels are a buffet to ants, so it's best to sweep your floors often, so your home doesn't become a target. You'll also want to clean counters and surfaces with cleaning spray, especially in the kitchen, to remove any lingering crumbs or spills.

Another way to prevent ants from trickling in is by making the food in your cupboards inaccessible. If you tend to have lots of snacks or cereal boxes in your cupboard, invest in airtight food containers to keep your food safe and properly sealed.

If you've recently had an ant infestation in your home, wipe up the scent of their path into your home with dish soap and water to remove their pheromone trails. It's also a good habit to take out your trash and recycling every night, so ants don't "catch a whiff" and come on in. Give your trash and recycling bins a good cleaning often to remove any lingering odors or spills.

Besides cleaning, seal cracks or crevices around your house. If you have plants or trees that butt up against your home, trim them often, so ants do not use them as a bridge into your home.

If you're looking for a natural way to get rid of ants that doesn't kill them, coffee grounds can be effective. Some say ants dislike the strong smell of coffee grounds, while others believe ants do not like walking on them or posit that the grounds can damage ants' exoskeletons. Whatever the reason, this age-old trick is a popular home remedy to keep ants away and may be worth trying, although there are no studies that actually analyze how ants react to coffee grounds.

It's best to use freshly brewed coffee grounds since the smell is more potent to deter ants. If ants are coming in through window sills or doorways, sprinkle coffee grounds there to prevent more ants. If you're worried about the coffee grounds staining the surfaces, place the coffee grounds on index cards or napkins and set them near the critters' point of entry.

Since coffee grounds lose their scent quickly, replace them every few days or once they've dried to keep the ants at bay.