Like any pest ants come into your home in search of food. Ants have a sweet tooth, so to speak, and will investigate your home to find sugary foods. Once a scout ant has found a delicious food source he’ll tell his mates and before you know it you’ll have lines of ants marching through your house.
Getting rid of a few ants doesn’t have to involve chemical gels, sprays and traps that could potentially be harmful to children and pets. There are plenty of tried and trusted home remedies that will sort out an ant problem once and for all. Should you have left it too late and the invasion is more than a few ants, then you may be wise to call the professionals for help and guidance.
The list of possible home remedies for getting rid of ants is by no means exhaustive, but here’s the top five that people opt for.
- Vinegar – ants hate the smell of vinegar, so spray work tops and surfaces with a mixture of 50/50 vinegar and water and they should go elsewhere for their food. However, if you don’t like the smell of vinegar either you may wish to try another home remedy which is gentler on your nose!
- Talcum power is better smelling than vinegar but works just as effectively on ground areas. Sprinkle a line of talc by thresholds and around window ledges to stop them in their tracks. However, it’s not possible to dust entire work tops and surfaces with talc, so another method will be preferable for ants that are already climbing on areas where foods are prepared and stored.
- Lemon juice and rind is an effective way of getting rid of ants in all areas of the home. Squirt lemon juice directly into know entry points and place shavings of lemon rind along the ant’s pathways. If you buy prepared lemon juice ensure it doesn’t have any added sugar or sugar substitutes added otherwise you’ll be defeating the object!
- Chalk is a great way to deter ants both inside and outside the home. Draw a line using chalk along known walkways inside; ants don’t like the calcium carbonate in the chalk so will march off in disgust. In the garden ground chalk can be sprinkled around entry points such as window sills and thresholds.
- Flour, the type used for baking, is ideal for using in larders and kitchens. Again sprinkle a line of flour around the back and sides of shelving or wherever you see ants and they won’t cross the line.
There’s plenty of non-toxic ways for getting rid of ants. They may freak you out, but ants don’t carry any harmful germs or bacteria into your home.
