Ants escaping with a piece of chocolate
Looking to learn how to get rid of ant’s naturally?
Anyone who has had an experience with an army of ants in their house will agree with me that these little tiny ants can be such a big nuisance.
Also, it can be quite frustrating having a colony of ants running around your counter tops like they own it.
At this point, you won’t be feeling very hospitable.
Also, generally it’s pretty unhygienic having ants in your home. This is because besides causing damage around the home, they could be a channel to some pretty awful diseases if left uncontrolled.
More to that, we actually have some ant varieties that bite humans.
While on the other hand, we have another category that damages materials around the home and contaminates foods.
These insects tend to transfer bacteria to the food when they come in to contact with them.
However, you should not panic about this entire situation. There are a couple of remedies that could help to get rid of the ants.
May it be inside your home, outside or even in your greenhouse.
A List of the Common Ants
Ants will rarely come alone, if you see one, there is most likely a colony of other hiding somewhere in your home, they could come in through anywhere.
Those minuscule cracks you think are too small, under the doors or even cracks on the walls.
That being the case, below is a list of the common ants that you will be most likely be dealing with in your home.
Fire Ants
⦁ The Ghost ants: these ants have very pale legs and the abdomen, therefore, they can be quite hard to see.
All in all, the rest of the body is dark and when crushed they give a rancid smell.
They will come in hunting for some sweet snacks in your kitchen or you will find them in the flower pots.
⦁ Carpenter ants: they could be either black or brown in color.
The only good thing is that you will rarely find them in any human homes but you are likely to see them coming out of door frames.
They nest in decaying wood and if you see them in your home that’s a bad sign. They will damage your wood and make it weaken over time.
⦁ Rover ants: these ants could either be dark brown or blonde. You will in most cases find them congregated on either your honey or sugar jar.
⦁ Fire ants: these are small red ants that you will find in the grass or the driveway. They have a sharp and fiery sting when they bite you.
These ants build mounds outside to stay during the hot weather. All in all, you will occasionally find them indoor looking for water and food.
⦁ Odorous house ants: they are small and dark brown in color.
You will find them inside homes often on the kitchen counter tops.
They come inside to seek shelter during the rainy season or to look for food. When crushed they have an odd smell hence their name.
They will also feed on anything sugary or other dead insects.
⦁ The Argentine ants: commonly known as the sugar ants. they are medium sized as well as dark brown in color.
They make their nests outside but they will occasionally come indoors to chase after the crumbs on the counter tops in the kitchen and any sugar sources.
They will mostly come in during the spring season as they will be looking for somewhere to move their home.
How to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen
⦁ Lemons
Well, in case you didn’t know, ants do not like the smell of lemon juice. and that being the case, using lemon juice in your kitchen counter tops will keep the ants away.
All you have to do is either squeeze a lemon or even place the lemon peels at the position where the ants go in through.
Also, you could consider washing the kitchen floor with water that has a little lemon juice added to it.
One thing with ants is that sour things or bitter will keep them away. On the other hand, sugar ant’s best friend.
This means that you should not keep anything sweet open as it will attract ants in your kitchen.
So, ensure that your kitchen slab is clean at all times and remember to place the lemon peels right there.
⦁ Chalk
Chalk contains the calcium carbonate which is a great property for keeping the ants away.
In that case, if you are looking for the best way to keep away ants in your kitchen, chalk will do the trick.
There are a couple of ways that you can use to administer the chalk treatment.
In that, you can spray some powered chalk in the affected areas or the entry point of the ants.
Also, you can draw a line at the entry points. It’s not quite clear why drawing the line with chalk helps to keep the ants away but one thing I know is that this method is fully effective.
Calcium carbonate present in chalk is a great property for keeping ants away
⦁ Pepper
One thing I know about ants is the fact that they are fond of sugar.
However, they really hate pepper, maybe with a passion.
Therefore, when you sprinkle some pepper in the areas that the ants get into your house through, you will keep them away.
You could try out black pepper or cayenne pepper.
Also, you could make a solution of water and pepper then spray it near the areas where the ants get into your kitchen.
Although pepper will not kill the ants, it will ensure that the ants never return to your kitchen again.
Also, before you spray pepper on a given area, ensure that you spray it first.
⦁ Salt
I must admit that salt happens to be the cheapest and best ways to get rid of ants in your kitchen.
In that case, spreading some salt on the areas where the ants get in through will help to eliminate them completely.
Edible Table Salt
However, you need to note that you should use table salt and not the rock salt for health boosting.
The whole process is as simple as boiling some water and adding a large amount of salt to it then stirring until it dissolves.
With your solution, you can transfer it to a spray bottle then spray the affected areas.
⦁ White Vinegar
You will be surprised how much ants cannot bear the smell of vinegar.
In that case, although white vinegar will not kill the ants, it will definitely keep them away from your kitchen.
All you have to do is to prepare a solution of water and the white vinegar in equal amounts. in addition, put in some essential oil then shake the mixture well.
You should store this solution and sprinkle it at the position from which the ants enter your kitchen.
Make sure to you spray the solution daily in order to get ultimate results.
Spray the solution on doorways, the windowsills or anywhere else where the ants could come in through.
⦁ Cinnamon
Generally, cinnamon is used in the house to keep it smelling fresh and somewhat earthy.
However, this spice could also used as DIY pest control for ants in your kitchen.
Cinnamon proves to be an effective natural repellent for the ants as they can barely stand the strong scent produced by the cinnamon.
You need to put the cinnamon plus probably some cloves on the entry point of the ants in your house.
All in all, to get ultimate results you can add some essential oil to the cinnamon powder.
The essential oil helps to make the smell more intense hence keeping away the ants easily.
⦁ Peppermint
This happens to be a common repellent for insects which helps you to get rid of them effectively.
Ants dread the smell produced by the peppermint plant and for that reason, they will always try to avoid areas with peppermint.
Therefore, with peppermint sprinkles of your kitchen counter tops, the strong fragrant will ensure that ants are kept away from entering your home.
To prepare this pest control, all you have to do is to prepare at least 10 drops of the peppermint essential oil then mix it up with some water.
Then, you should sprinkle this mixture where you find the ants, especially at the entry points.
This should be done at least twice a day for ultimate results. In other cases, if you have dried peppermint, you could also add it into the mixture.
⦁ Oranges
Just like the lemons, oranges could also be a great way to keep of ants in your kitchen.
All you have to do is make a paste of a few orange peels and some warm water.
You should then spread this paste at all entry points of ants in your kitchen then wipe it afterward.
This will ensure that ants stay away from your home.
In other cases, you can also place some orange peels on the kitchen slab or even any position where ants are fond of visiting.
Oranges are a natural deterrent for ants therefore, it will not only keep the ants away but also kill them.
⦁ Baking Soda and Powdered Sugar
Baking soda and some powdered will always be the ideal way to lure ants to the toxic mixture.
You can also add one or two drops of your favorite essential oil to make the mixture stronger.
With the baking soda, it will interfere with the ant’s digestive ability hence making them explode and actually perish.
So in short, this pest control mixture will kill any ants in your kitchen.
Place this mixture on all entry points for the ants and just watch and see the baking soda work its magic.
The sugar content in this mixture is irresistible for the ants.
You can also add some water to the mixture but note that too much water will make the pest control mixture ineffective.
Baking Soda interferes with the digestive ability of ants
⦁ Boric Acid
Boric acid could be very toxic to ants when consumed and in that case it a good pick for eliminating ants both at home and in the garden.
All you have to do in the preparation stage is to mix the boric acid with some honey or sugar, peanut butter, and maple syrup to create the ideal bait.
The honey and maple syrup is definitely irresistible for the ants and that being the case, they will consume greedily.
Or even take some extra to their colony. Eventually, the entire ant colony will be poisoned and you will be surprised how you wipe out the entire clan of their kind overnight.
How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally Outside
Ants can be so annoying most of the times.
They will swarm the garden tea party in minutes, the backyard BBQ, family picnic and whatever leftovers they will find.
While cleaning up what could be attracting them, to your garden is a half battle won, they are still likely to come back again looking for more.
Therefore, the other half should be focused on using a natural ant repellent that will put them off or rather kill them for good.
Below are some of the best ways to get rid of ants naturally outside.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
Photo Credits: SprocketRocket –
⦁ Diatomaceous Earth
The food grade diatomaceous earth is a natural ant repellent that works in a non-toxic way to eliminate ants in your garden.
The good thing with diatomaceous earth is that it works in a human-friendly way while disrupting the ant trails and preventing any future ant problems in your garden.
You will love the fact that this pest control helps eliminate ants without contaminating your edibles in the garden as well as flowers and ornamental s.
To administer diatomaceous earth, all you have to do is dust it on the plants and the ant hills.
This will get rid of the ants from your garden completely.
⦁ Cucumber Peel’s
This is a must try especially in your garden and you will be surprised how fast ants will leave your garden.
This is because ants are averse to the taste of cucumber.
The best for this use is the bitter tasting cucumbers although the normal ones still work equally well.
All in all, this one needs commitment as you will have to replace the stale peels with fresh ones’ every time.
also, you need to perform this procedure consistently until the ants disappear for good.
⦁ Liquid Dish Soap
This particular liquid dish soap will surprise you how good it can be at getting rid of the ants in your home.
It works by suffocating the ants hence rupturing their cells and eventually making them die.
All you have to do is mix some water with baking soda and a teaspoon of the liquid dish soap.
Mix the contents well then you spread the solution on all entry points for the ants.
Also, you can use in your garden to spray the ant’s trails and they will probably never return again.
⦁ Molasses
Well, molasses is the ideal way to get rid of ants in your garden organically and safely.
Though molasses alone will not eliminate the ants in your garden, it helps to mask off the insecticidal properties of dry yeast or borax.
Also, adding some orange oil to the mixture will help with softening the ant’s bodies.
In that case, this will help with rapid removal and killing of the ants.
⦁ Peppermint
Again, ants hate the smell of peppermint as it disrupts its ability to communicate using the scent markings.
That being the case, growing some peppermint in your garden or even all around your house is a great way to repel the ants.
Peppermint will not kill the ants but it will surely keep them off your home.
If gardening is really not your thing, you need not to worry.
You can still mix precisely 10 drops of the peppermint essential oil with water.
You can then spray it around your garden, porch, and even the windowsills.
For instant removal, ensure that you also spray some directly on the ant lines.
⦁ Baby Powder
Ants are like the most unwelcome guest in our home and they keep on coming back if not taken care of.
If you leave the ants unchecked they will, without doubt, take over your garden beds.
Therefore, they will most likely kill the beneficial insects in the garden hence inviting some dangerous pests like the aphids.
In any case, ants will detest baby powder so if you eat to keep off pests in your home you can use as a barrier in your garden.
Just sprinkle it around and wait for the magic to happen.
⦁ Coffee Grounds
I must admit that ants could be such a pesky problem in your garden.
Coffee ground will definitely not kill the ants but you will love how they can repel so many ant species.
In that case, if you ever feel like ants are being a threat to the plants, pest and people in your home, use some hot coffee ground directly on the anthill.
Ants that will come in to contact with the hot liquid will die instantly.
Coffee grounds will keep insects away
If you have noticed some ants being a bother in your garden you can sprinkle some used coffee grounds around the garden.
It can either be on individual plants or even groupings. Ants rely a lot on the scent trails and with the chunky smell of coffee in your garden it will block the paths and trails.
Also, you can use this method to intercept the ant trails that lead in your house from outside.
⦁ Cinnamon
Cinnamon will without a doubt get rid of ants in your garden.
All you have to do is sprinkle some cinnamon on the ant trails in your garden as well as other places where you feel the ants are interfering with.
Ants dread the smell of cinnamon and they will definitely start avoiding the areas where you have sprinkled the cinnamon.
Cinnamon could also be used for a couple of more things in your garden.
⦁ Clove Oil
This is one thing that you should never miss in your homemade insecticides.
This is because cloves contain eugenol which is an essential oil that will definitely kill the ants in your garden on the first contact.
However, if you don’t have the clove oil, you could still use some dried clove leaves as they are equally effective.
The clove oil emits a strong odor that is repulsive for the ants.
This will not only eliminate the ants but will also keep away other insects like flies and moths from your garden.
Clove oil is one of the best nontoxic ant killers for pests outside.
⦁ Cornmeal
I know you are probably wondering how cornmeal will put way the ants yet ants love it so much.
Well, you are right. Ants love cornmeal so much but their digestive system is not adapted to digesting it.
That being the case, ants will most likely burst open after consuming the cornmeal.
Not all the ants will die immediately but those who don’t go on starvation until they eventually die.
I will not say that cornmeal will wipe out an entire ant colony like poison.
However, cornmeal is the go-to chemical free and safe option for both your garden outside and in various rooms inside the house.
⦁ Aspartame
You have tried almost all the natural home remedies in your home to get rid of ants in your garden and nothing is working?
Don’t panic yet and go for that chemical insecticide. All you have to do is empty the aspartame packets on your garden or on the ant hills.
At first, the ants will go running and trying to grab every little crystal of what they will think is ‘sugar’.
They will be probably wondering; how generous of you?
Only for them to disappear mysteriously the following day.
In case you didn’t know, the aspartame works more like a neurotoxin for the ants.
Therefore, the aspartame causes the malfunctioning of the ants senses hence promoting starvation of the ants to death.
⦁ The Cream of Wheat
Cream of wheat is one thing that ants are easily attracted to.
So, they will consume it quickly only to go perish afterward.
This is because the ant’s guts a fragile and once they consume the cream of wheat they are likely to expand and shock the digestive system.
In that case, they will have difficulties digesting and assimilating the food.
Consequently, if the cream of wheat causes the stomachs of the ants to expand and blast they will definitely perish.
How to Get Rid of Ants in a Bathroom
If you’ve had prior experience with ants in the past you will agree with me that they can be such frustrating pests.
This is especially if the ants are inside your home and in the bathroom area specifically.
That’s because at this point they can be really hard to eliminate since you are likely to have a hard time finding where its nest is.
Although the pesticides are a quick solution to this problem they can be quite toxic to the environment, kids and pets.
Therefore, you need to find a safer solution to deal with the ants before they take over your entire bathroom.
Such unwanted visitors in your house could be so gross and make you look untidy.
I could tell you that getting rid of ants in the bathroom will be a walk in the park but I’ll just be lying to you.
So, Yes! It will take some time and effort for sure but with the right remedies for eliminating ants, you may get rid of them permanently.
Keep reading and I will show some of the best ways to eliminate ants in your bathroom.
⦁ Find The Cause of Ants
You have your new guest in your house. So what next?
Before you prepare for the battle its vital that you try to figure out where these ants could be coming from.
Now and then you’ll find that you have a colony of ants in your bathroom that has actually made a home and are comfortable in a corner.
So, its time you know that these ants are not here for a quick visit.
So you have to get rid of them or just have to share your premises with them. But I bet no one wants to share their bathroom with some little ants.
in that case, you need to first inspect your bathroom from corner to corner and see if you can identify their colony.
You can also watch the ants and see where they lead. If it’s your lucky day and you find their source, the cause of the problem will now be obvious. But that’s not all.
There are a couple of more things that you need to do before you actually eliminate the ants completely.
⦁ Try to Identify the Ant Species
Ants are not all the same and for that reason, identifying the species invading your house will help you curb them more easily.
If you are no insect expert, at this point it will take more of guesswork.
However, most of the common ants that invade the bathroom are the pharaoh ants or the carpenter ants.
The carpenter ants will always go after wood and moisture.
So if you have those in your bathroom you could be having a moisture issue in your house.
On the other hand, the pharaoh ants will go after warm spots for their nests.
These are a huge nuisance as their colonies can grow so big in a very short period.
⦁ Set Ant Traps
No matter how many times you kill ants in your bathroom they are likely to keep on coming back every time.
The worst thing is that these little insects are so tiny that they could hide just about anywhere.
For that reason, with ait traps, you could easily eliminate the ants in your bathroom.
For the ait traps, you could try using food to attract the ants.
You could use some lemon peels, orange peels, diatomaceous earth among other natural remedies.
The whole idea of this is to make sure that they transfer the toxic food to the entire colony.
Probably kill even the queen and wipe out the entire colony.
Most of these ant traps should be child resistant so you don’t have to worry about kids or pets ingesting it.
Just make sure you don’t use any poisonous chemicals to humans as they will have adverse effects on the environment.
⦁ Keep Your Toilet Clean
Generally, when you see ants in your house, they are probably just looking for food.
It may sound gross but even the substances in your toilet like urine and others are still considered as food for the ants.
Therefore, look out for ants on the edges of your toilet as this may be what is attracting them to your home.
In that case, you need to up your toilet cleaning game and keep the area around your bathroom clean at all times.
That being the case, there might be the need to do a quick wipe with disinfectant every day.
⦁ Replace any Broken Tiles
Tiles that are broken or cracked in the bathroom are the ideal living places for the ants.
This is because the cracked tiles help them to hide away from danger and out of sight. Often with the floor tiles.
In that case. If you notice that you have some ants in your bathroom its necessary to replace any broken tiles whether you saw the ants in the cracks or not.
This is a precaution that will, in the end, help to curb the colony from expanding.
⦁ Ensure that Your Drainage is Good
Ants like moisture and they are always attracted to it.
And as we all know, the bathroom is on a place in the house that’s a harbor for moisture.
Therefore, you should ensure that you don’t leave any stagnant water in your bathroom whatsoever.
If there is an issue with your shower drainage make sure you have it fixed as soon as possible.
⦁ Seal the Cracks in Your Bathroom
Once you have the ants’ situation in your bathroom under control it’s a good idea that has the cracks sealed.
This will help to prevent the same occurrence in the future.
Identify the entry points of the ants and make sure that they are completely sealed.
Check the floor, the walls or elsewhere for signs of any cracks and have them covered. Give the ants no second chance to invade your bathroom.
How to Get Rid of Ants in a Greenhouse Naturally
Everyone has issues with ants all over the world. Your greenhouse is no exception.
However, you will have to find a natural way to deal with your ant issues without having to affect your harvest.
As we all know, using pesticides might carry some long term side effect to your yield.
Ants in a Greenhouse
If you are looking for a smart and natural way to deal with your ant issues, then this is the right place.
Stick around and I will take you through various methods you can use. Instead of using pesticides, you can use natural homemade repellents. Here is a list of options:
⦁ Citrus oil
This is one of the best ways to deal with ants. Citrus oil is very toxic to ants. This also includes using orange or lemon oil.
The best part about this solution is that it doesn’t have any effect on your garden.
Many natural insecticides usually contain citrus oil to some level, but the only difference is that you are using your own naturally made pesticides.
Also, you don’t have to use any additional preservatives.
Take about a ¾ cup full of orange essential oils, 1 gallon of water, and 1 tablespoon of dish soap and 1 tablespoon of molasses.
Mix the above ingredients and then spray the mixture t the area infested with ants.
Also, spray this cocktail around your home if it’s close to the greenhouse.
It will help eradicate the problem completely.
If you don’t have orange oil, simply boil the rinds of about 6 oranges in hot water until soft.
Meaning you will have to boil it for around 15 minutes. Next, you can place the rinds in a fruit blender or food processor together with the liquid that you used to boil.
The result will be a slurry mixture that you can use to replace the orange oil.
⦁ Borax Bait
You can use borax to actually bait the ants and eliminate them.
Borax is actually toxic to ants and it will kill them in an instant.
Combine about ½ tablespoon of borax with an equal amount of honey and any other sugar substitute.
Mix them up in a bottle then open it up. Put the containers on the sides of your garden.
After a while, ants will start to crawl into the bottle.
They will actually take the bait to their queen in with the thought that it is food. Eventually, the entire colony will die.
Alternatively, you can also use three cups of water and four tablespoons of borax on top of 1 cup of sugar.
Place the mixture on a piece of bread and then you can slice the bread into tiny small pieces.
Afterward, place the pieces all over your garden so that the ants can find them. This will also lead to the death of the entire colony.
⦁ Find out what attracted them to the garden
Without a doubt, ants are in love with loose and sandy soil.
They often establish their colony around the root system which is actually taking advantage of the natural tunnels that are made by roots.
The most famous thing about ants is their sweet tooth tendency (well, sweet mandible if that’s a thing).
They will instantly swarm in areas littered with aphids, apples, cherries among others.
More to that, for obvious reasons, ants actually look for areas with low levels of traffic.
That is to say, if you have anything that can be termed as sweet for ants, then your greenhouse is actually the jackpot to the ant world.
If you are able to identify where the nest of these ants is, then take quick action and eradicate them before they actually overwhelm your farm.
Also, find a way to keep your greenhouse clean so that there’s nothing that could actually attract the ants.
⦁ Water is a very good weapon
There are several obvious solutions to eradicating ants from your farm but most of them might have some toxicity level.
This will eventually lead to adverse effects on your plants. I suggest you to only use such solutions as a last resort.
In the meantime, you have a very powerful weapon with you that could help you ‘fight the good war” water.
Ants detest excessive amounts of water, which actually makes them more prevalent during the dry seasons.
And also when your greenhouse is unirrigated for long periods.
If you actually see more ants during the wet seasons, it’s only because the water has forced the bottom dwellers to surface and save their lives, just like worms during the rainy season.
Water is actually a good way to deal with even the most stubborn, hard to reach colonies.
Soak the hills with water which will eventually collapse the tunnels inside. Ensuring the hill is soaked with water prevents the ants from making new tunnels.
⦁ Last resort
While you can make a non-toxic solution of white vinegar and water in equal parts, vinegar can have a nasty effect on vegetation since it’s very acidic.
In case you want to use this as an option, then make sure to spray the mixture away from your soil and plants.
Instead, you can sprinkle spices such as cinnamon and any dry ingredient such as mint around your garden and it will get rid of the ants.
Hating ants is a very normal feeling but trying to get rid of them using toxic repellents is not the way.
Try any of the above solutions in case you want to maintain your yield and the health of your greenhouse.
⦁ Grow plants that will repel ants
You can add plants that will produce a naturally distinctive odor ant can’t stand.
Most of these plants are used as houseplants but they can actually help repel ants away from your greenhouse.
Herbs, for instance, lavender, peppermint, and fennel will help you keep the ants out of your garden area.
Plant one or more of these herbs around your garden.
You can also cut fresh sprigs of sage and place it around your garden. The smell is pleasant to humans but ants can’t tolerate it.
Clove of garlic with a bit of water will create a strong-smelling solution that will repel ants.
Spray the mixture around your garden. However, this smell is actually very strong to even humans.
Therefore, I suggest that you can only use this as a last resort.
