Remove Ants from Your Home or Business
The sight of an ant to a homeowner should be a scary scene. Seriously. Of course one ant is not an issue, but where there is one ant, there could be thousands that you don’t see. And that’s when then the situation can go south quickly.
Ants are always on the search for food or bring food back to its colony. It’s their sole mission in life and they are good at it. That’s why we most often see ants in our kitchens. When it’s really hot and dry they are looking for water and the rest of the time they’re looking for food – the kitchen has both. They really like sweet, sticky and sugary substances. They hunt these food sources out and then tell all of their friends when they find it. The increased number of ants coming for your food necessitates that they make easy path ways into your home and to the food source. If an ant issue like this goes undetected, it can balloon into a huge extermination problem.
Use Natural Home Remedy
Lemon juice
There is something about the acidity of a pure lemon juice that causes the ants to lose their sense of tracking, thus they are not able to go back to their nests or even bring back their food.
White vinegar
White vinegar can work great wonders since they can easily get rid of ants and the trail they make. Just spread the white vinegar in the area where ants are common. This may include kitchen cabinets, corners, shelves, and the like. You can also wipe down everything with the use of this.
Cinnamon powder
Sprinkle cinnamon powder on the trail of ants and they will not come back again. Cinnamon powder can also be cleaned up easily after it has done its purpose.
Salt
Mixed table salt and boiling water and spray it in corners where ants are found.
Peppermint
Applying peppermint has its double purpose. It can effectively get rid of ants while providing the area with a beautiful aroma. You could use a combination of liquid soap and peppermint and spray it on the ants.
Dried mint leaves
Crush up the mint leaves and spread it in areas where the ants are common. If dried mint leaves are not available, you can replace them with mint tea bags.
Borax
Borax combined with a sugar solution can be applied in the kitchen cabinets, closets, and corners. You can also use borax without the sugar solution and it will effectively kill the ants.
Boiling water and dish soap
Soap mixed with water and spray directly on the ants can immediately eliminate them. You could also look around outside and find their anthill, then pour a kettle of boiling water on it to immediately solve the problem.
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth works perfectly to eliminate ants. Make sure to use the food-grade and not the swimming pool DE. Sprinkle it around your home or business perimeter, and inside where ants are commonly seen. Do not wet the diatomaceous earth or it will not work.
Chalk
It is fascinating to see why just drawing a line where the ants are passing and they suddenly become disoriented. As much as they want to cross the line you drew, it seems that it is keeping them at bay. Chalks that are meant for ant control can easily suffocate ants and would lead to their demise. There are also powder chalks that are available at home improvement stores, which is also easy to use.
Cornmeal
Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on ant trails every day and outdoors where they are seen. If you also find their anthill, you could sprinkle cornmeal on the nest. Cornmeal may not be as popular as the other home control, but it sure works and it is cheap too.
How to Get Rid of Ants
Make sure that there is no readily available food source. Since ants are attracted to food, they will find a way to get to their food source. Here are some ways to stop them from entering our kitchens.
- • Clear away food and liquid spillages as soon as it happens.
- • Do not leave scraps of food on plates or bowls. Scrape them into the trash or into a compost.
- • Do not have dirty dishes stay overnight.
- • Garbage bins should have tightly sealed lids.
- • Both trash and compost should be taken out regularly.
- • All saved food should be wrapped tightly or stored in proper containers.
- • Clear away pet food immediately after the pet consumed its food.
- • Trash, recycle bins, and compost heaps should not be near a building or home. Put it a few feet from your house.
If you have found a huge trail of ants in your home it is best that you call an ant control company. Feel free to call your local Preventive Pest Control branch to get a free consultation on how our preventive packages will protect your home.