Isn’t annoying when ants take over your kitchen and beat you to your favorite food or when they show up unexpectedly in random nooks and corners? Take care of your ant problems with these tried and tested home remedies that are relatively harmless and cost-efficient.
Vinegar
Sometimes it’s not enough that you wipe down surfaces with a wet cloth. Use dish soap or liquid detergent to remove the scent trails that ants leave or create a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and water. This doubles as a cleaning solution and an ant repellant.
Cooking Spices
Check your arsenal of cooking spices for cinnamon or pepper. They’re non-toxic and can be sprinkled in the area where you’ve seen ants. Bay leaves and mint are also effective with warding them off due to the strong scent.
Petroleum Jelly
Every household should have petroleum jelly on hand as part of their first aid kit. But it can also be used to seal the cracks where ants pass through, according to Forbes. If they crawl up your chairs and dining table, you can also grease the legs of the furniture to keep them at bay.
Borax
Ask a hardware store near you for borax and mix it with equal parts water and sugar. Place the mixture in a small container where the ants can easily access it. Just make sure it’s out of reach from pets and children. The borax won’t instantly kill the ants, but it will damage their digestive system over time.
Roach and Ant Killer Chalk
You can buy chalk specifically for roach and ants in local supermarkets. Draw a line at their entry points or the areas where they frequent to keep them away. Although it isn’t clear why it’s effective, people suspect it’s because calcium carbonate acts as a barrier.
Identify what attracts them in your home and try to eliminate that. Clean as you go and limit leaving your leftover food in the open. As an extra measure, transfer items into an airtight container or put them in the refrigerator.
