Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

Small colonies of ants appearing indoors or out in the garden are always inconvenient for homeowners. As ants begin to become a nuisance, you can try some easy-to-follow things to keep them out of your home or get rid of them completely.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Repelling ants

1. 

   Find the entrance of the ant colony. Ants enter your home for two main reasons: to find food to bring to the nest and to seek shelter in cold weather. Ants can enter your home through a variety of paths, so check for gaps around windows, doors, lights, and other passages that ants can pass through. If you see a row of ants crawling in your house, follow them to see which way in.
   • If you find ant entrances, focus on repelling them. This way, you can reduce the likelihood of the ants coming back home through these paths.

2. 

   
   
   Seal the entrances of the ant colonies. Once you've identified the spots where ants can crawl into your home, stop and seal them. Consider using silicone sealant to seal the holes. You can even use some ant repellant (borax, cinnamon, coffee grounds, bay leaf) sprinkled in the gap, then continue sealing with glue.
   • Latex and acrylic glues are not very effective at blocking ant entrances, as they can chisel through these materials.

3. 

   
   
   Create a barrier. Consider building fences around your home or garden to keep ants out. Spread coffee grounds around the floor, around the garden, and along areas where you notice rows of ants marching or gathering.
   • Consider growing peppermint or chili around your home or garden. These plants are thought to help prevent ants from entering.
   • You can also sprinkle food-grade diatomite soil around your home or garden. Sprinkle diatomite soil near the floor or in the garden, trying to sprinkle it in a circle around the ant nests and antennae you've spotted.
   • Diatomite soil has the effect of breaking down ants' exoskeletons and dehydrating them. This substance is not toxic to humans, but you should be careful not to inhale dust particles.
   • You can also use commercial insecticides outside your home, but don't forget that insecticides are often dangerous for people and pets and sometimes harmful to the environment.

4. 

   
   
   "Eliminate" the ant's path. Ants leave scent-marked trails for other ants to follow, so when you see the ant lines in your house, remove their scent with soapy water. Simply make a mixture of soap and water, then immerse the sponge in the solution and wipe away ant trails and surrounding areas. This way, the ants will no longer have a path marked with smell to follow each other into your home.
   • You can use vinegar to remove ant-smelling trails. Just spray white vinegar on places you know where ants are often congregated and wipe the surfaces you've seen before.

5. 

   Use herbs and spices to repel ants. Cloves are an extremely effective herb in repelling ants. You can place cloves in many different places in your house to fight the annoying ants. Leave the cloves in any place you've ever seen crawling ants (cabinet tops, baseboards, etc.). In addition to cloves, a number of other herbs and spices can also be placed around the house or planted in the garden to keep ants away:
   • Cayenne pepper
   • Laurel leaves
   • Mint
   • Cinnamon
   • Garlic

6. 

   Repel ants with natural ingredients. In addition to spices and herbs, there are a number of foods and other natural ingredients that are also believed to repel ants. Try sprinkling different ingredients around entrances, places you've spotted ants, or sprinkling them in your garden. Some popular natural ingredients include:
   • Coffee grounds
   • Cornstarch
   • Lemon juice
   • Cream of wheat breakfast powder
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Part 2 of 3: Destroying ants

1. 

   
   
   The poisoning of ants with borax (borax). Borax is a chemical cleaning agent that is toxic to ants, but not toxic to humans. To destroy the ants completely, you can place borax bait so that the ants can gather and return to the nest. Mix one part corn syrup (or any sticky sweetener) with one part borax and spread the mixture on a piece of cardboard. Place the cover in places where ants often gather. The ants will bring this sweet poison to their nest and gradually they will be wiped out.
   • The bait should be placed at night because ants often go for food during this time.
   • You can also make ant baits with borax and pureed sugar. Mix 1 part borax with 3 parts ground sugar. Pour this mixture into small containers (water bottle caps, spoons, etc.) and place them around any places you suspect are ant entrances.
   • If you have a small child or a pet that can take the bait, mix 1 cup of warm water with ½ cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of borax. Dip a cotton ball in the mixture, place it in shallow dishes, and place it near ant entrances you know.

2. 

   
   
   Set up commercially available ant traps. Commercial ant traps are as effective at killing ants as borax traps, but are usually quicker (albeit slow-acting) and can focus on ant's particularly favorite food. For example, there are ant baits made of sugar, fat, and protein, depending on the species of ant to be treated.
   • If you don't know which bait to use, you can try one at a time.
   • If you find that the ants are not eating their prey, you may need to change the bait or place it somewhere else with more active ants.
   • When using ant baits, you need to keep all other food out of the area. Other foods will limit the ants' effectiveness.
   • When the ants start to eat bait, just let them beat the dishes and bring them back to the nest. After a while, you should see a drop in ant populations.

3. 

   
   
   
   
   Pour boiling water on the mound. If you can track the way the ants go back to the nest or the colony, consider pouring boiling salt water into the nest's mouth. You may have to pour the water multiple times, but this will definitely remove large numbers of ants. advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Prevent ants

1. 

   
   
   Keep the sink clean. Crumbs are a great feast for ants, so don't leave dirty dishes and other cooking utensils in the sink for too long. After washing your dishes, you need to clean the sink to make sure there are no traces of food left.
   • Consider using a small amount of bleach or vinegar poured down the drain hole in the sink to remove any food crumbs that might attract ants.

2. 

   
   
   Wipe the surfaces with bleach. Bleach, similar to vinegar, works to erase ant pheromone traces and help reduce the number of ants wandering around in your home. Clean surfaces such as cabinets, fridge tops, drawers and other areas to contain ants.

3. 

   Clean the kitchen floor. Kitchen floors are ideal for ants to find food crumbs and bring them back to the nest. You should sweep and mop the floor regularly (if not every night) with warm water and bleach to keep ants from crawling down your feet. Just a little spilled food or drink can attract the ants to come and retrieve the nest.

4. 

   Vacuum the dining area. In addition to sweeping and mopping floors, you should also vacuum the dining area. It could be the living room, dining room or basement. You need to get rid of any crumbs that will attract ants to come into your home and eat.

5. 

   Take out the trash regularly. Any drops of food or fruit juice in the trash can immediately attract ants into your home. Make sure to take out your trash every day, and make sure you use a trash bag that is durable, hard to puncture and that doesn't spill out.

6. 

   Store food in sealed containers. Ants will rummage through your home for food anywhere, so storing food in sealed containers is extremely important. Sticky sweet foods like honey, molasses and syrup should be stored in the refrigerator.
   • Store baking ingredients (sugar, flour, etc.) and cereals in boxes or bags.

7. 

   Replace rotten wood objects. Check around the house for pieces of wood, roofing, or door frames that may have started rotting. The rotten wood is where ants like to nest and thereby invade the house. If you see an area where this occurs, you should consider replacing these materials to help keep ants out. advertisement

Advice

• Use bleach or white vinegar to clean kitchen surfaces to prevent ant infestation.
• Many ants are very active at night, so consider setting up ants at night.

Warning

• As always, you should be cautious about using pesticides and / or chemicals if you have children or pets.