How To Get Rid of Ants Without Pesticides
Wondering how to get rid of ants? You're in the right place!
It’s that time of year again, as the temperature rises we often start to find ants inside and outside of our homes. These incredible insects create thousands of underground tunnels and travel in groups that give them the ability to carry mass amounts of weight on their backs.
While many common ants won’t provide any risks to your health, no one really wants to see bugs on their table, floor, or kitchen countertops.
Luckily, there are easy ways to keep to prevent an infestation at the first sign these pesky insects have entered your home. These 4 tricks get rid of ants without the use of any pesticides!
Cinnamon
Ants have an incredible sense of smell. In fact, an ant’s sense of smell is 5 times more receptive than that of an ordinary insect. Use that to your advantage and bombard them with odors they hate.
While many humans love the scent of cinnamon, ants hate it. Cinnamon essential oil is a natural ant-repellant that will send them packing.
Simply add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon essential oil to a glass of water, then dip a cotton ball or napkin in the water which you can use to spread the cinnamon scent across the entry point, where ants are, or where you think ants could be.
Cayenne Pepper
This trick is more aggressive, but it will get the job done. Boil a pot of water and add a good dose of cayenne pepper. Pour spicy boiling water where you see access holes such as cracks in the sidewalk or steps on your porch. Boiling water kills them on contact and cayenne pepper vapors spread rapidly through the tunnels.
Vinegar
Much like cinnamon, ants hate the smell of vinegar. A dash of vinegar helps keep the ants away. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and equal parts vinegar and spray the areas in your home where you’ve seen ants or are worried they could enter.
Sugary Cotton Balls
On the contrary, get rid of ants by attracting them. Ants love sugar, so it's great ant bait. Dissolve ½ cup white sugar and 1 ½ teaspoon of borax in boiling water. Soak some cotton balls in the water and place them wherever you have ants. The ants will be drawn to the cotton balls which you can pick up with gloves and then remove them from your home.
Do you have any other great ways to get rid of ants? Let us know in the comments below!
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