The warmer temperatures of Spring and Summer not only bring endless days in the backyard playing in the sprinklers, but a few unwanted pests in your yard. One of the biggest pests many people deal with regularly are ants. While pesticides, pest control companies and chemicals can help with this issue, we prefer using one of these Cheap Homemade Ant Repellents. Each one has a different way of getting rid ants entirely or at least controlling the problem when they manage to sneak their way into your home. Depending on your ant problem and your individual needs some of these may not work well for your home while others may be perfect.
Cheap Homemade Ant Repellents
Cinnamon or Cinnamon Essential Oils: Whether you sprinkle ground cinnamon on the path of ants in your kitchen or line your windows and doors with cinnamon essential oils ants tend to turn around from this and not cross the barrier. Dab a q-tip in the essential oils and spread it around windowsills, door frames and any location you see them forming a line to get into your home.
Borax & Sugar Paste: Mix together a paste of equal parts borax and sugar with just enough water to form paste and spread on a plate or piece of paper near where you have seen them in your home. The sugar attracts them while the borax will kill them. If they take the paste back to their colony to share, you may effectively kill the problem at its source. This can take a few weeks to work depending on how large a colony you are dealing with.
Cornmeal: Cornmeal sprinkled near the ant mound or in the area you see them entering your home will gradually be carried back to their colony and eaten. The cornmeal will expand inside them and kill them before they are able to digest it. If the brutality of it doesn't bother you, this can be an inexpensive method, but it does not work quickly.
Vinegar: Spray white or apple cider vinegar onto areas you have seen ants appear and you will notice they do not come back to the area. Vinegar is known to be a natural insecticide and works great and very inexpensive. As long as you don't mind your house smelling like a pickle this is a great method.
Diatomaceous Earth: DE has teeny tiny razor-like edges on each particle and they make tiny abrasions on an insect’s insect when they come into contact. An insect’s exoskeleton cannot heal from this and they die from dehydration or a loss of moisture. Spread DE on windowsills, across all entryways and around the entire base of the house.
Garlic: A few strategically placed garlic cloves around your house will prevent the ants from coming in. They are repelled by the scent and will avoid areas these are located. Watch for entry points and place a clove of garlic there instead.
Chalk or Talcum Powder: Draw a line of chalk or talcum powder in the area of their mound or entry point to your home and the ants will not cross the line. Something in the chalk is a natural repellent.
While all of these cheap homemade ant repellents do work to some degree, they still may not rid you completely of an ant problem. The best ways to help prevent an indoor ant issue is to be diligent in how you store your food. Proper air tight containers for all foods go a long way toward keeping an ant issue at bay. Cereals, sugars, mixes and any opened container of snack foods should be stored well in a sealed container. Another important factor is to make sure your kitchen sink is clean and emptied each night. We all love leaving the dirty dishes until the next day, but the food particles remaining on your dishes are like a neon sign to the ants to come help themselves. Put dishes in the dishwasher or wash up before bedtime to help get rid of the kitchen ant problem without a repellent needed.
Do you have any other suggestions on how to deter ants?