Ants are persistent and have an uncanny ability to detect smells, even micro-smells from a distance. Leaving behind powerful pheromone trails, they mark a trail for others to pick up on and follow.
It’s difficult to avoid them altogether as they are always around and looking for an opportunity to seize food sources. In desperation, some consumers resort to chemical pesticides that keep ants away, but these methods pose a health risk, especially to children and pets.
The following are 5 easy, effective and 100% natural ways to keep them out of your home. These 5 tips for ant pest control work great and use products you can find in your kitchen!
Cinnamon
Have you ever wondered how so many of them find a way to your food all at once? Once the “forager ant” finds the food, it then marks out a trail that leads others from the same colony to the source of food. With each trip, the scent trails are strengthened.
Cinnamon powder works because the smell of it throws off the pheromone trails and affects their ability to navigate. By sprinkling cinnamon powder anywhere you see signs of them entering or moving through the house, such as around the garbage can or corners of windows, you cut off their lines of communication! This is a homemade ant pest control methodology, but a little tricky to keep up with the little critters.
Vinegar and water
Vinegar is another common household ingredient that works by interrupting pheromone trails. Blend together one portion of white vinegar and one portion of water and pour it into a spray bottle. Apply your vinegar mixture at the entrances to your home, near pipes, dust bins, behind the oven or anywhere you expect them to enter your home.
The vinegar mixture will evaporate in about a day and will need reapplication, but it is a great natural solution to an ant pest control problem.
Baking Soda
Baking soda disrupts an ant’s natural chemistry when ingested. To get them to take it back to their nest, mix it with equal parts of powdered sugar. Pour the mixture into a shallow container and place it near the pantry or cabinets or where ever they enter or traverse your home. Once introduced to the nest as a food source, their population will soon dwindle.
Chalk
It’s a fact that ants won’t cross a chalk line! This substance disrupts their scent markings, which they use to communicate with the other members of their colony. Draw or pour a line of chalk between their points of entry and their desired food source and they will not be able to reach their destination.
Aspartame
Aspartame, also commonly known by the brand names NutraSweet or Equal, is readily available just about everywhere. Since it functions as a neurotoxin when they eat it, it interrupts their senses and they soon perish.
If you know where their nest is, sprinkle the contents of one packet around the entrance to a mound and lightly mist with water to moisten it. They will collect and distribute the aspartame. After they share it with the rest of the colony, their numbers will soon begin to dwindle.
It seems easy to keep ants at bay without the use of harsh chemicals, as long as one is very diligent and catches the problem very early. A sure method is to call in a professional and ask that environmentally friendly products be used for ant pest control. Many control companies are using methods and products that are effective, without the unnecessary use of undesirable chemicals.