Ants are pretty much the superheroes of the insect world. They can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, but they can carry fifty times their body weight. Sometimes they lift one hundred times their own mass. They run 300 metres per hour, which is way slower than cockroaches, but still pretty fast. And they’re definitely workaholics.
Watching a trail of ants can actually be quite mesmerising. Theway they stop and ‘talk’ to each other, like they’re exchanging gossip. The way they spot food out of nowhere and suddenly there are hundreds of them chomping off tiny bits until it’s all gone. The way you clear their mounds and within hours, a new one appears. It all makes a curious study.
Unfortunately, when their pilgrimage leads them into your kitchen, it becomes a lot less entertaining. Having a colony of ants trooping through your home can be distressing, especially when they get into your wardrobe or food supply. They’re too small and numerous to squish, and you’ll be worried about keeping your edible goods intact. Ideally, you want natural options that won’t toxify your entire kitchen.
Sugar and fats and dirty vats
At home, ants are interested in foods that are sweet or fatty. They are sometimes drawn to less kosher sources. For example, in hospitals, they’ve been known to seek out dressings that are septic, dirty beddings, and unattended bed pans. That situation can get messier than a home ant invasion, and is even more needful of a natural solution and deterrent.
You probably know baking soda and vinegar can take care of everything from blocked drains, tile grout, scorched pans, and cockroaches, so why not ants? Bait one part powdered sugar with one part baking soda, then sprinkle it along ant trails. Target spots where you’ve previously dismantled ant mounds. You could also place the powder on upturned jar lids.
To ants, fine sugar and baking soda seem the same, especially if the particles are similar in size. It isn’t clear why the taste doesn’t alert them, but hey. Either way, the alkali in baking powder mixes with the acid in the ants’ stomachs and they … um … explode. Make it a point to clean the rest of your space, ensuring ants are only drawn to the poisoned bait, rather than spreading to safer food sources.
Acid for the win
Naturally occurring acids seem to work well against ants. Acetic acid in vinegar and ascorbic + citric acid in lemons are both effective. They’re repellents rather than ‘cures’, so a little spray on your countertops, doors, and window ledges will make them far less attractive to ants. These acids are mild – mix them with essential oils, which are also good repellents.
For acid treatments, some residents prefer to wipe surfaces down with citrus-flavoured detergents, but raw home-made acidic sprays are better, because they have no chemical additives. Ants don’t like the smell. Plus it covers up their own natural scent, making it hard for their colony-mates to find and join the trail. The best sprays combine your chosen acid product, water, essential oils, and vinegar.
Try mixing one part apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice with one part water. Add leftover citrus peels and about thirty drops of peppermint, tea tree, lemon, orange, or grapefruit essential oil. For clove, three or four drops is fine. Another recipe is to boil the citrus peels in one part water and one part vinegar, leave overnight, then sieve out the peels.
Sweet oil and alcohol
Option three, make a power spray with a quarter cup of vodka, a quarter cup of (distilled) water, fifteen drops each of peppermint and tea tree, a drop or three of clove oil, and seven drops of your chosen citrus oil. For countertops and food storage areas, leave out the tea tree and double the peppermint. Shake the bottle vigorously and spray entryways or any other spots where ants gather.
Each of these oils can be used on their own as a repellent, with varying active ingredients. Peppermint has a pleasant, strong scent that overpowers the smell of ant trails, disrupting signals. Tea tree has disinfectant abilities, while eugenol in clove oil kills ants the moment they touch it. D-limonene in citrus-based essential oils is equally toxic to ants.
To use oils on their own, put three or four drops on a ball or bud of cotton and use them to wipe skirting boards, window sills, doorways, or any other ant access points. These oils have a pleasant, lingering smell, so you can dip a cotton ball in oil and leave it inside a cupboard or food cabinet to keep ants away, though clove may be too strong. Both the sprays and the cotton wipes will have to be repeated every two or three days until the ants stop coming.
Wax off
Oil and acid sprays keep ants away, but if you’d rather have something that lures them before killing them, try using Dr.Bronner’s soap or diatomaceous earth. The soap can be mixed with water while DE is best in powder form. Sprinkle or spray in ant-rich spaces. Both products dissolve the ants’ waxy exoskeleton, exposing their innards and killing them.
This sounds gruesome, but has no effect on mammals, so it’s safe for use around kids and (mammalian) pets. Many animals actually enjoy the taste of DE. It has a lot of silica, which is great for nails and hair. It anecdotally removes heavy metals, bacteria, and parasites from your system. The powder comprises marine phytoplankton fossils, has no intrinsic scent, and it doesn’t leave stains, so it’s ideal for domestic use.
Make sure you get food grade DE, not the kind used in pools, since the latter is toxic when you inhale it. Keep in mind that all these home remedies are largely effective for keeping ants away. But if you already have an infestation, you probably need a Sydney pest control services Once the commercial pest control team have done their thing, you can use the methods above to keep the bugs away.
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