Table Of Content

However, depending on the kinds of ants you're dealing with, that advice may only go so far. What's more, the type of sweetener you use can make all the difference. When using sweeteners to get rid of ants, many suggestions recommend diluting whatever you have on hand in a tablespoon of milk or some kind of sweet liquid. That mixture should then be placed in a bowl on the lawn to attract as many ants as possible.
Using Natural Pesticides
20 Safe Ways to Kill Ants in Your Home Without Toxic Chemicals - Healthline
20 Safe Ways to Kill Ants in Your Home Without Toxic Chemicals.
Posted: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 22:46:10 GMT [source]
Other ants prefer proteins in which case peanut butter is your go-to (more on this later). The worker ants carry the poison back to the nest where it is ingested by other members of the colony including the queen. This method effectively eliminates the entire ant colony rather than only the ants that come into contact with the poison. Ants get into your house through doors, windows, gaps in the foundation, and through utility lines among other spaces.
Keeping a Clean House
Little black ants are 1/16-inch long with two-segmented abdomens. They can be dark brown to black, but usually very dark black. Katie looks after everything homes-related, from kitchen appliances to gardening tools.
Watch Articles
OLE comes from the gum eucalyptus tree, which is native to Australia. It contains a chemical called p- Menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), which is an effective insect repellent. Do not ingest lemon eucalyptus oil and keep it out of reach of children and pets. Oil extracted from the lemon eucalyptus tree is another natural insect repellent.
How to keep ants out of your home during Houston's drought - Houston Chronicle
How to keep ants out of your home during Houston's drought.
Posted: Sun, 20 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Sprinkle the small pellets on your lawn and around the perimeter of your property. We recommend using a broadcast spreader to distribute bait evenly. All you need to do is squeeze generous amounts of gel near scent trails and let ants go to town. In some cases, the entire colony will be dead within 48 hours. Insert the gel into cracks and crevices where it will be eaten by workers and later shared with the rest of the colony. Plus, these tips will help you to keep all pests away from your home.
Featured Articles
But just because baking soda doesn’t repel and kill ants doesn’t mean it isn’t useful in other ways. The same can’t be said of carpenter ants, which chew through rotten or damp wood, potentially damaging windows, doors, or even structural framing in the process. You can also use boric acid as an ingredient in do-it-yourself (DIY) ant traps. Mix the powder with something sweet that will attract ants, such as maple syrup or corn syrup. Spread on a flat, disposable surface like cardboard and place in areas where you see ants. If you notice ant holes near your home, pour boiling water into them.
Diatomaceous Earth — Diatomaceous Earth, or DE, is a white powdery substance which is formed from the fossilised remains of aquatic organisms, known as diatoms. This natural powder is effective at killing a number of pests, including spiders and roaches — it works by depleting the exoskeleton, eventually dehydrating the host. The ant simply needs to come into contact with the substance for it to stick to the body and take effect. There are all kinds of traps and chemicals to get the job done, but natural methods can achieve the same goal without the environmental repercussions.
Cut off sources of food
You might kill a few worker ants, but probably won’t harm the colony. If your ant problem has got out of hand, contact a pest control professional rather than attempting to deploy a bug bomb or similar insect spray yourself. Ants usually come indoors in search of food or nesting habitat. Even small amounts of food, like pet food crumbs, can attract hordes of industrious ants.
Eliminate Damp Spots and Rotted Wood
It may take a while for the ant colony to die, especially if it is large. Some species distribute themselves among several nests which makes them much harder to eradicate. Once that happens, hundreds of others can follow the trail to the food source. Paul Hope is a senior multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports and a trained chef.

Here are 7 easy and natural methods for getting rid of ants in your home or yard. Various store-bought products can do the trick, but for harmless ant varieties, chemical baits and sprays can be more detrimental than the ants themselves. Try these cheap, natural ant remedies to rid your home of the tiny pests. It’s important to seal any cracks in your house where ants may be entering.
This will also prevent them from nesting inside wall cavities. If you’ve seen ants marching in a line, try wiping down the surface with vinegar or bleach to disrupt the chemical trail. Heavy rains can also cause ant nests to flood and force them to relocate to nearby buildings, such as your house.
You might be tempted to apply a bug barrier spray around the foundation of your home to discourage entry, but Hansen doesn’t recommend it. For starters, the spray wears off and addresses only one potential source of entry for ants. They come uninvited, get into everything, and are in no hurry to leave. But they’re also fairly easy to get rid of, or better still, avoid altogether. If all else fails, professional exterminators can remove ants from your home. Some professional exterminators use green, organic, or eco-friendly words in their titles.
If you (or a professional) do use insecticides, avoid using them outdoors and look for ones specifically designed for ants. Most insecticides are broad spectrum chemicals that can kill other types of insects. This includes insects beneficial in your home and garden, such as ladybirds, mantises and parasitoid wasps. Consider the way some ants march in a line towards that drop of honey on your kitchen bench. When worker ants of some species find a tasty piece of food, they respond by placing a tiny droplet of pheromone on the ground.