In our latitudes, ants are one of the most typical pests that we can encounter in the home. We can talk about luck, because in a number of other countries you may even have a life-threatening surprise waiting for you in the kitchen or elsewhere in the apartment, whereas ants are merely annoying, but you probably want to get rid of them anyway.
In our article today, we’ll reveal four tricks to help you get rid of ants. It’s a good idea to start them in the spring, the sooner you disrupt the ants’ pathways, the more effective your fight will be. If you start later, perhaps at a cottage or cabin where you only go for the summer, you will need to be more persistent in your efforts.
Chalk
This seemingly nonsensical procedure has proved extremely effective in experiments, although scientists are still puzzling in vain over why chalk actually works. Just draw a few centimetres thick unbroken line around your doors and windows. Ants won’t cross it for some reason. Unfortunately, this method cannot be used on surfaces that are too rough.
Baking soda
You’ll find a plethora of chemical sprays against ants on the market, but for a few pennies you can make your own, a non-toxic one at that. Mix equal parts baking soda and icing sugar, preferably spread in a mortar. Sprinkle the powder on the places where ants come to you. Ants are attracted to the sweet smell of sugar and don’t notice the baking soda. It is poisonous to ants.
Scents and smells
If you don’t feel like killing ants outright and it’s enough for them to mind their own business, you can attack them with scents. Human and ant tastes disagree in many ways, and so ants are put off by many of what humans perceive as pleasant smells. So if you use the right tools, the side effect of fighting ants will be a pleasantly scented home. For example:
- Cinnamon and nutmeg
- Citron juice
- Cucumber peels
- Coffee grounds
If you sprinkle or drizzle the above foods on ant access paths, they will soon stop using them.
Children’s backfill
In addition to ants, baby food is also effective against grasshoppers and aphids, and to a limited extent against other unwelcome insects. But you must choose one that contains chalk, which we have already written about above. You can also sprinkle the whole anthill with the children’s topping. Repeat the process two to three times a day and after a week you should be free of ants for good.