How to Get Rid of Ants

Pest Control
Ant In Plant

Ants can be a problem in your garden and house. They attack your plants and can easily sneak into your house. It's understandable you want to prevent this. There are several effective ways to get rid of ants on your property.

In order to successfully get rid of ants it's important to understand how they live and how they thrive. Ants live in colonies and each ant belongs to a specialized class. One class within the colony is worker (also forager, gatherer). They make up about 10% of the colony and they regularly go out to find and collect food. When they find it, they bring it back to feed the rest of the colony.

Workers are on a lookout for 2 main things: food and water. If it's cold outside, they might also look for a new shelter. The goal is to make your house unwelcoming and uninteresting for ants.

One word of caution: ants are well known pests in homes so it's understandable you want to get rid of them. However, they can be very useful in the nature. They aerate the soil, control termite population and they clean up scraps and seeds. They are also food for other animals such as birds and other insects. Ants contribute to the healthy planet so it's best not to systematically kill them on a large scale. It's best to make your house unwelcoming to them so they will move elsewhere.

There are many easy ways to make ants leave your house alone. Homemade cleaners and repellents can work wonders against ants.

Quick Homemade Recipes

Here are some handy recipes to get rid of ants. They can all easily be made using household ingredients. Repellents should be used in the form of spray cleaners. You should clean your countertops and all surfaces with these solutions. You can also use them to spray ants directly.

  • Vinegar and Water solution (50:50 mix). If it's not strong enough, increase the percentage of vinegar in the solution.
  • Cider Vinegar and Water solution (50:50 mix). Same as the above.
  • Liquid Dish Detergent and Water (1 tablespoon of detergent in the spray bottle of water).
  • Essential Oil and Water. Mix 1 tablespoon of an essential oil such as peppermint, lavender, tea tree oil, eucalyptus, witch hazel extract, etc. with water in the spray bottle.

These are quick ways to clean your house and get rid of ants.

Ants leave a scented trail for each other. This is how they can all easily find their way to treats in your kitchen and other food sources in your house. These trails may be completely invisible to humans but ants can follow them without a problem. Cleaning around food sources in your kitchen and other places in the house will confuse them so they will be unable to find the treat. Also, the above recipes act as repellents that will keep them away.

Photo credit: Katja Schulz

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