Are you looking for a few safe, effective and simple ways to keep ants out of your house – and not have to spray or lay down questionable chemical products that can be scary to use around pets and children?
Even though ants are tiny and mostly harmless, they can become quite a nuisance when they make their way into your home. Especially when they start showing up in places where they can wreak havoc – like in the pantry or kitchen.
Ants often find their way indoors looking solely for food. And unfortunately, what can start out as just a couple of random ants crawling along your kitchen floor can soon become an entire army of ants in the blink of an eye. And one thing is for sure with ants – they aren’t going to go away on their own!
Although there is a wide selection of ant-killing commercial products available today, using them can be a bit worrisome. Many can be toxic to children, pets and even adults if they come in contact with them. And if that wasn’t enough, they can be quite costly too.
The good news? There are a few simple ways of helping to deter ants from taking over your home that are 100% natural. And even better, many of these natural deterrents involve using items that you likely already have on hand in your home. And best of all – they work!
With stopping ants without worry in mind – here is a look at 6 of the best of the best natural remedies for keeping ants from getting indoors.
6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Before trying any of the 6 methods below to eliminate your ant issue, the first key to success is to identify where they are getting in from. This way, you will know exactly where to go after them. Ants will typically follow the same trail or route to and from their colony. Once you find the trail, see where it leads.
Next, identify what is drawing the ants inside your home and remove the food or item if possible. Once you remove the source the ants are after, you might just luck out and the ants will go away on their own. If not, then it’s time to try one of the following tricks!
Please note, with any of the following methods, it’s always best to test sprays or items in a hidden spot to make sure they don’t damage surfaces as some may cause staining or discoloring with certain surfaces and fabrics.
#1 Distilled White Vinegar – 6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Vinegar is great for not only killing ants on the spot but also for removing their scent trail. Ants rely on pheromones in order to find food. As they go, they leave a scent trail for other ants to follow. Using distilled white vinegar mixed with water simply removes the trail.
Just mix one part vinegar with three parts water and put it in a spray bottle. You can also do a stronger mix of 50/50 if you don’t mind the vinegar smell.
Spray the mixture wherever you spot ants. You can also spray around window sills, along baseboards, and at the base of entry points. Repeat spraying at least once a week for best results.
#2 Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth – 6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is made up of crushed fossilized algae and diatoms. It is an inexpensive, all natural, and effective way to eliminate ants as well as other pests like slugs, earwigs, ticks, fleas, beetles, and ticks.
Sprinkle DE around the perimeter of your home or across the trail of ants. It will eliminate the ants that come into contact with the powder within 24 hours. Affiliate Product Link: HARRIS Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade
It’s important to use food-grade DE. Do not use DE labeled for pool maintenance. Also note that even though DE is food-grade and all-natural, it’s still best to wear a mask and gloves when applying the powder. Avoid inhaling the powder as it can irritate lungs and nasal passages.
#3 Cinnamon – 6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Cinnamon works incredibly well to keep ants out due to their dislike of the scent. You can use whole cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon and place them around ant trails or near entry points.
You can also coat cotton balls in cinnamon and place them around your home as well. Be sure to replace them once the scent starts to diminish. See our article: 5 Great Ways To Use Cinnamon In Flowerbeds And Gardens – Protect, Heal & Power Your Plants!
#4 Spent Coffee Grounds – 6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Another method that will work temporarily is to spread spent coffee grounds around the area where the ants have been getting into. The scent of the moist coffee grounds will deter the ants from crossing the path.
This method only works when the grounds are wet though. As the grounds dry, their scent and potency will weaken.
#5 Baby Powder – 6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Baby powder is made up of talcum powder. If you sprinkle it around the places where ants are entering your home, they will turn the other way.
While talcum powder won’t eliminate the ants unless it is sprinkled directly on them, the scent will deter them. Reapply the baby powder weekly to keep the scent fresh and strong.
#6 Essential Oils – 6 Simple & Safe Ways To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
Using strong-scented essential oils like peppermint, spearmint, and citronella is a great way to ward off all sorts of insects and pests within your home, including ants.
Due to the strong odor of the peppermint oil, most pests like ants and spiders will find elsewhere to find their food source. The oil sprays will not kill the ants but it will cause them to steer clear.
Mix 10 to 12 drops of your favorite essential oil into a spray bottle with 2 cups of water. Shake and spray the mixture around the entry points in your home or where an ant trail is located. Repeat spraying weekly.
You can also soak cotton balls in essential oils until they are fully saturated. Place the cotton balls around your home and near their trails. The ants will avoid the strong scent. Replace the cotton balls with freshly soaked ones when the scent fades. Affiliate Product Link: Handcraft Blends Peppermint Essential Oil
A Few Additional Tips To Keep Ants Out Of Your House
In addition to using the tips above for current ant infestations, there are a few things you can do to help prevent them from entering in the first place.
First, be sure to store all food in containers and avoid keeping food out in the open. Clean up any spills, especially with sweet, sticky products like honey and sports drinks. Also, avoid leaving pet food out, especially moist foods for extended periods of time.
Seal any cracks, seals, and holes around window frames, in screens, and around door frames. While you might not be able to eliminate all small openings, using caulk or replacing broken lumber can go a long way in keeping not only ants out of your home but other small insects as well.
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This Is My Garden is a garden website created by gardeners, for gardeners. Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books and speaking for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. They publish three articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along!