Home remedies for ants

Ants are the bane of every household. Each household has most probably suffered under the infestation of ants. Fortunately, ants can be mitigated when you take it upon yourself to use home remedies to get rid of them. Keep in mind that ants can be pretty unhygienic because they transverse different surfaces carrying with them bacteria that can contaminate your food.

Ants may seem harmless but when you come across species like fire ants you can be sure they will attack aggressively. The truth is that ants are a diverse grouping of insects going up to 12,000 varieties. But they can all succumb to very similar types of ant traps.

Home remedies for ants

Chalk

The main ingredient in chalk is calcium carbonate and it is effective in keeping many insects away including ants and even roaches. You can choose to draw in the path or trail of the ants as they ferry food to and from their colony or spray some chalk powder into their colony. Also choose to draw the lines in the areas that the ants use to access your house but out of reach of kids.

Pepper and salt

Pepper is one of the best ways to get rid of ants as the powder is abrasive to them. Use pepper like cayenne and black pepper which are in powder form. You can also consider using pepper solution with pepper and water which you will spray in the areas that the ants use entrances.

Salt is another very effective substance to use when getting rid of ants because it deters the ants from entering your space. Boil water and add a large amount of salt into it to make a salt solution. Spray the resulting solution into the areas where the ants use to gain entry into the house.

Lemons

The citrus scent of lemon may be refreshing to your senses and is even considered a mood booster among essential oil enthusiasts but it is a terrible scent for ants. Spray somediluted lemon juice in the areas where you notice ants enter your home and also use the solution to wipe down you floors and counter tops. Sour scents will keep ants away even as sugary stuff attracts them.

If you prefer something less stringent to lemon try oranges which have the same citrus scent but with a sweeter lingering effect.

Vinegar

White vinegar to be precise. This is an effective home remedy because it prevents the ants from even coming near your house. The ants hate the smell of vinegar and although it won’t keep them away it will definitely stop them in their tracks.