How to: 10 Ways to Rid Ants Naturally

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10 Natural Ways to Rid Ants

Ants, Ants Everywhere.  I know they can be a pest in the home, but environmentally they do good.  Most of the things ants do are good for us, including eating the larvae of fleas, spiders, bed bugs, flies, silverfish and clothes moths.  To control them, there are some easy, natural methods to ward them off and remove ants from our homes.

1. Clean, Clean, Clean.  Don't leave food lying around.  Seal any unused food and wash dishes straight away.  Vacuum and Clean your kitchen everyday. 

2. Have a scout around the kitchen to find the ants entry point.  Seal this point of entry off.  Natural remedies which can be found in your kitchen include turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, citrus oil or black pepper.

3. Ants dislike certain smells.  If you sprinkle these various items around points of entrance this should help to deter them from the area.  Try crushed mint, dried mint and crushed cloves.

4. Make up a soapy solution.  Soapy water can kill ants and also kill the trail for other ants to follow.  To make your solution even more potent just add some lemon rind or juice to the water.

5. There are some products that ants can not digest.  This includes caffeine.  If you leave coffee ground (used) at the areas where the ants are they will take it back to their nest.  

6. Cucumber.  Ants don't like the taste of cucumber.  The more bitter they are the better.

7. Chalk Line.  The children can help with this one.  Draw a line on any points of entry or where you want to deter them.  They will not cross the line.

8. A spray made up with White Vinegar will help prevent ants.  It has fungicidal and insecticidal properties.

9. Another food item you might have in your kitchen is Oatmeal.  The ants will take it back to their nest.  As this is a dry product when the ant drinks water it swells up.

10.  Natural Plant Remedies for warding off Ants.
- Basil
- Chilli Peppers
- Eucalyptus
- Garlic
- Lavender
- Peppermint
- Rosemary
- Thyme


Persistence is the key when trying out natural control remedies for ants.  If one of these methods doesn't work for you, try another.

How have you controlled ants in your home? Let us Know.  Share your Tips.

All About Ants:
There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world.
An Ant can lift 20 times its own body weight.  
Some Queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies!
Ants hear by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet.
When foraging, ants leave a pheromone trail so they know where they have been.
Queen ants have wings which they shed when they start a new nest.
Ants don't have lungs.  Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes.
When the Queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months.

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