Want to know how to use home remedies to kill ants in your home? This is a reliable guide to help you decide which is the best way for your family to help repel or kill ants.
Ants in your home can be such a nuisance! Whenever I have a pest problem, I research to find the best and easiest holistic ways to get rid of them. This guide will assist you in finding the best and holistic ways to rid your home of ants and also how to repel them for the the future.
This post is all about home remedies to kill ants.
Home Remedies to Repel Ants
Vinegar
Vinegar is a smell that the ants hate! They will steer clear of it which makes it one of the perfect deterrents for ants. It actually can also kill them if you spray it directly on them but that portion will be in the “kill ants” section below. Mix a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. Spray around doors, windows, pantry, and anywhere else you see them. It will keep them at bay.
Cayenne Pepper
Ants also hate cayenne pepper. Locate the source of the ants, put pepper around that area and they will leave you alone. You could also have a mixture in a spray bottle of water and cayenne pepper to spray around the problem area.
Black Pepper
If you don’t have cayenne pepper, you can also use black pepper. It works just as well as cayenne, and you use it the same too. Sprinkle black pepper around the source of the ants. You can also use a spray bottle with a mixture of black pepper and water.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth is really a crazy thing! This powder which is fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton, dehydrates the ant’s exoskeleton. It is a danger to them (this home remedy is also found in the “kill ants” section below), so it also repels them. To deter them, sprinkle a little of the diatomaceous earth under cabinets, around windows, in trash cans, pantries, or wherever you see them. They will stay away from these areas. Repeat daily as needed.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is believed to work as a deterrent for ants because it masks the scent of the trail they follow. Mix one part lemon juice to three parts ants. Spray around problem areas such as windows or doors.
Mint Plant
Mint is a natural deterrent for ants. You can plant some mint plants outside your front/back door or around windows. Be mindful though because mint plants grow and spread very quickly. I would recommend planting them in a container so you can keep them well-managed.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is derived from the peppermint plant; we just learned that mint plants repel ants, so it would make sense that peppermint oil does the same. Put a few drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball. Wipe down the surfaces travelled by ants, in you pantry, around your windowsills, doors, etc. Your home will smell minty-fresh and ant-free. Alternatively, you can put these cotton balls all around your home, in similar places as listed above. Change them out weekly.
Salt
When using this type of home remedy to repel ants, you will want to use the cheap table salt, not the healthy alternatives like Himalayan salt. Boil some water, add a large amount of salt to it, and keep stirring until the salt dissolves. Once cooled, poured some of the salt mixture into a spray bottle. Spray around doors, windows, any other entry points, as well as any spots where you see ants walking.
Home Remedies to Kill Ants
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Nutrasweet, and Equal contain products that destroy the ants’ brain cells. In order to be attractive to ants, mix chosen artificial sweetener with 1 tablespoon of milk or a fruit juice (not citrus), and place in a shallow container near the ant mound. Don’t kill the ants that are making their way to this bait mixture. You want them to carry it all the way back to their colony and ultimately the queen.
Baking Soda and Sugar Mixture
This type of a mixture is really effective because the ants will be baited because of the sugar, the but baking soda will be the part that kills them. It is best if you can place this mixture close to the colony so the ants have enough time to get the mixture back to the rest of their colony before they themselves die.
Boiling Water
Rake back the top of the ant mound and pour the boiling water directly into the hole. Ants are designed to be able to withstand some water (rain), so make sure it is boiling. You might need to do this a few times to ensure it gets way down into the colony and to the queen. Be sure you are getting it into the hole rather than just soaking the ground around it. It might not be the most effective way of treating ant piles outside, but it doesn’t require any other ingredients so it might be worth a try!
Fun Fact: Some ant species are able to live under water for up to 24 hours!
Borax Solution
A very common way to deal with ants is this Borax solution. You need to mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of Borax, and 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Soak some cotton balls in the mixture and place them where the ants are. The sugar will attract the ants, then they will take the Borax back to their homes where, when eaten, will kill the ants as well as their queen.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
As was stated before, diatomaceous earth is a great way to not only deter ants but to kill them as well. This powder are the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton which cuts through the ants exoskeleton and dehydrates them. If you have ants in your home, sprinkle diatomaceous earth on them. You can also use this remedy to kill ants outside. The only downfall is that when it gets wet or it rains, it needs to be reapplied.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a great home remedy to kill ants! They breathe it in, suffocate and die. Pretty straight forward. You could either sprinkle it along their path or sprinkle it around the opening of their ant mound. It is best if you could rake the top of the mound away so you can pour it directly in their hole.
Mix Ant Colonies
Ants will naturally fight to the death to defend their own colonies. Take advantage of that! Take one scoop of ants from one ant pile (colony) and dump them into another ant pile. Then scoop another pile of ants from the second ant pile and dump them into the first ant pile.
They will all fight to defend their homes. If you are dealing with large ant piles, you might need to repeat this process until they are gone. Be mindful of when you take a scoop of ants…you don’t want to get attacked too.
Vinegar
As was stated above, vinegar can be both a repellent and a remover of ants. If sprayed directly on ants, it will kill them. You just need a mixture of 50/50 with water and vinegar.
Maintain Outside Property to Deter Ants
While all of these home remedies to kill ants are safe and effective, you want to make sure you are creating a place in your yard that will not attract ants in the first place. Some ways that can help you prevent the ant colonies from forming are:
- Keep your grass cut to whatever the ideal height is for your type of grass.
- Remove any dead organic matter from your yard such as tree branches, dead leaves.
- Keep any cut wood piles indoors such as a shed.
- Move trash cans/recycle bins away from the lawn. They could attract the ants to come looking for food.
- Trim any branches or shrubs so they aren’t touching your house. You don’t want to create an easy path for them to take.
- Clean up any dropped food asap. Even if it is just a few crumbs, the ants will find them pretty quickly.
Conclusion
There are many home remedies to kill ants or to repel them. You now know several healthy and safe ways to deal with these annoying pests. If you want to learn about how to deal with fleas in a similar fashion, read my blog post here! Let’s work on getting our homes back to less chemicals and more holistic living.
One more thought before you go…If the ants are in their colonies outside of your home, you might want to consider leaving the ant mounds in place. The ants provide aeration to the soil, prey on other insects that are potentially pests to you as well, and carry plant matter underground which will help you to have healthier soil as well. Ants are not welcomed inside the home, but if you can help it, consider leaving them outside where they belong.
This post was all about home remedies to kill ants.
