Do you have ants in your house or garden and would like to get rid of them? We have collected for you the best home remedies against ants as well as some practical tips.
Ants are certainly not dangerous, but they are rather annoying when they lurk in the kitchen or dig up the terrace slabs in the garden. The temptation is then great to resort to a chemical against ants to quickly solve the problem of crawling insects.
But it is not always necessary to resort to chemicals. There are in fact some home remedies for ants, which are perfect for chasing away the animals. Here you will find the best remedies and tips for ants in the house and yard.
Home remedies against ants: Effective and natural
To combat ants it is not necessary to use special products or chemicals which are not always very safe anyway. Sensitive people may particularly react to sprays. Here are the 8 best home remedies for ants:
1. Vinegar
Ants don’t like strong smells because the intense scent disrupts their sense of direction. This is precisely what can be used to drive away crawling insects. Vinegar works particularly well. We all know it has an intense smell.
Mix the vinegar with a little water and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Then wet the ant paths with this product. If necessary, repeat the operation several times, as the smell evaporates after a while.
2. Spices
Cinnamon, chili powder or cloves are also good home remedies for ants. Here too, the scent of the spices is decisive. The most intense smell is cinnamon oil, which also works well. But most of the time, the effect disappears more quickly than with vinegar.
You can spread the odor products against ants in front of the ants’ entrance to your house and on their roads. You will see: The ants don’t like that at all.
3. Aromatic plants
Fragrant plants like lavender, thyme and marjoram – or their essential oils – are also hated by ants. The North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture recommends planting these herbs in the garden or arranging the plant parts strategically to deter ants.
Some gardeners also recommend placing loose mint tea leaves or the tea bag on the ant routes. Fresh mint would also have proven itself in the garden, on the terrace and balcony.
4. Lemon
Lemon juice is also quite effective against ants, as is lemon peel. Indeed, ants don’t like the smell of lemon at all, but for us humans, it is rather pleasant, unlike vinegar for example.
You can either rub the peels on the ground and thus break the ant routes with essential oils, or preventively wipe table legs, window sills and the like with a little lemon juice. You can also put juice and lemons directly on the affected areas.
5. Coffee
Your old coffee grounds can also find a useful use as an ant repellent. Indeed, its strong odor disorients the little creatures by masking the odorous traces on the ant routes.
Spread the coffee along roads, at burrow openings and at entrances to your home. In the garden, coffee also serves as fertilizer – very practical!
6. Tea tree oil
Speaking of scent: Tea tree oil is also powerful against ant infestation. The problem with this home remedy for ants is that it takes some getting used to for humans.
If the smell doesn’t scare you, you can dilute tea tree oil with a little water and pour it drop by drop onto the ants’ routes and openings through which they access the house.
7. Grease & Vaseline
Is Vaseline effective as a home remedy for ants? Yes, fatty cream is avoided by ants and constitutes an insurmountable obstacle for these animals. It is therefore ideally suited to breaking the paths of ants and others.
Apply Vaseline or other grease in a wide stripe to an ant trail. The strip should be wide enough so that ants cannot get around it.
8. Chalk & lime
Chalk and lime are avoided by ants, as they are sensitive to alkaline powders. So simply draw a chalk line in front of your entrances – you will see that the ants will not cross it.
Chalk or lime powder can also be used on the entire surface, for example on the lawn in front of the anthill entrances or ant routes. Only drawback: this home remedy must be renewed quite quickly.
By the way, baby powder can also be used to keep ants out.
Preventing ants: what you need to know
Fighting or chasing away ants is good, but to prevent the scourge from returning to your home, you should also take these preventive measures:
- Pack your food carefully: When ants find a food source, they leave a pheromone trail for their ants – ant trails are formed. So pack your food in airtight containers.
- Put away dirty dishes: Plates and cups that sit on the table for days are easy prey for crawling insects. This also applies to pet food bowls.
- Take care of waste: it is preferable if your trash cans can be closed with a lid. Additionally, you should take out the trash regularly. This also helps prevent unpleasant odors.
- Seal Gaps: Joints, cracks and openings in windows or doors are open doors for ants.
