Getting rid of ants from your garden and home can be difficult. These small creatures are not easily killed. They are extremely strong.
Certainly, you don’t them to start feeding on your crop or start living in your furniture. Soon or later, you should kill them. Therefore, in this post, we will tell you how to get rid of ants easily and effectively.
Baking Soda and Powdered Sugar
A mixture of baking soda, some powdered sugar, and oil is toxic for ants. It will attract them, they will eat it and they will die. It kills their digestive system. This is a magical solution that will make your ant problem vanish. All you need to do is to spray this solution in their entry point and wait. More information about this can be found here.
Vinegar
There are many uses of vinegar in kitchens and gardens. You can learn more about them here. One of this uses is to kill ants. To be precise, vinegar does not kill ants but it repels them. All it takes is that you make a solution of vinegar and water and spray the ant hills in your garden with it. The strong smell of vinegar will make them leave. You can do the same thing to the ants in your house.
Boric Acid to get rid of ants
This is one of the best ways to get rid of ants in your garden and house. This mixture is extremely poisonous to ants. Once they digest it, they will die. It poisons their systems and it only takes a night to kill them. However, alongside Boric acid, you will also need:
- honey or sugar
- peanut butter
- maple syrup
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is one of the most effective ways to get rid of ants. It is scent alone is strong enough to force them out of your garden or house. It will also deter them from coming back. You can pour some lemon juice in ants’ hills or entry points or you can soak some cotton balls in it and place them near ants’ houses.
Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth
Ants usually feed on the craps of food you leave after a family picnic, garden tea party, backyard barbecue. Therefore, cleaning well is the best deterrent against ants. if you let them starve, they will leave. If they don’t leave, you should seriously consider using diatomaceous earth.
diatomaceous earthis extremely effective against ants. It is not toxic for humans but it is for ants. Using it will solve your nat problems and will prevent them from appearing again. All you need to do is to spray diatomaceous earth all over the places where ants live in your garden. Don’t worry about your plants, it is extremely harmless to humans and plants.
Cucumber Peel
If you grow cucumber in your garden, it is highly unlikely that you will have an ants problem. Ants dislike the taste and the scent of cucumber. Therefore, placing some cucumber peels in your garden near ants’ hills will be enough to force them out. However, there is only one disadvantage of this way. You will need to remove the peels at night and place fresh one in the morning till all the ants vanish.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper is known for its strong unbearable scent even for humans. Its scent is so strong that it can destroy ants’ communication system. WIthout their communication system which is based on signals, they will lose their way and they won’t be able to find their nest. Eventually, they will leave your garden. For a stronger effect, you can add some turmeric to the cayenne pepper.
Liquid Dish Soap
This is a majestic way to get rid of ants. LIquid dish soap is one of the best ant killers. It does not only kill them, but it also makes it a painful death. When an ant is exposed to this liquid, its cells will be ruptured causing dehydration and eventually death.
However, you will need to add some water and baking soda to the liquid soap to have a powerful ant killer. This solution is very effective. Once you mix these three elements, shake them well and spray them at the entry point of the ants.
Molasses
This is one of the best ways to get rid of ants without contaminating your garden. Molasses is organic. Although it does not kill ants itself, it remains effective in repelling them. If you want to be deadly to ants, you can add some orange oil. This way it will either kill ants or remove them from your garden. Either way, it is a clean organic way to get rid of ants.
Citrus Peels
Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruits are known for their strong scent and ants hate strong scents. These plants contain high levels of D-limonene which in turns is capable of removing ants from your house or garden. It may not be able to kill them but it is definitely able to push them away.
In order to get rid of ants using this way, you will need to take some citrus peels and let them dry out for a while. Then, put them in a food processor and make a powder out of them. Sprinkle this powder near the entries of the ants and they will move away.
Fresh Garlic
Garlic is widely used for removing pests. It is very effective. It is also effective in removing ants from your garden or house. This lovely health plant, due to its strong taste and scent, is able to force out bugs and ants from your garden. All you need to is to place two or three peeled cloves of garlic near the entry point of ants and you will never see these little creatures again.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint has a strong scent that ants, bugs and many other insects hate it. Growing in your garden or in a container indoors will keep ants away from your place. However, if you don’t want to grow this adorable herb, you can use its oil to repel ants. Blend 10 drops of peppermint essential oil in water and you will have a solution that will remove ants from your place. Spray the spots where you have seen ants with it to make sure they leave the whole property.
Chalk
Chalks are effective not only against ants but against all kinds of insects. It destroys the communicative system of insects rending them unable to communicate with each other. This will eventually make them leave. Moreover, Chalks is toxic neither to humans nor to plants. You can use it in your garden without worries.
Tea Tree Oil
This is an interesting way to remove ants from your garden and house. Using Tea tree oil is very effective if you want to get rid of ants for good. All you need to do is to spray some tea tree oil around the place where ants live and you won’t come across them again.
Tea tree oil is more effective when you add some drops lemon oil and peppermint oil to it. This way, it remains non-toxic to humans and plants but fatal to ants. You should definitely try. For more information about this idea, check out this article.
Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is better than using commercial insecticides to get rid of ants. Commercial insecticides have been related to many health risks. Thus, try to avoid them as much as possible. On the other hand, Rubbing alcohol delivers the same results.
You should mix one teaspoon of rubbing alcohol with one teaspoon of liquid soap in some matter and pour them into a spray bottle. Use this solution to spray ants’ entry points in your garden and house. It will kill them without harming your plants.
Baby Powder to get rid of ants
Ants hate baby powder. It does not kill them but it will drive them away from your place. Just sprinkle some baby powder on their entries daily until they disappear. It may take a bit of time but they will disappear eventually. Don’t be soft-hearted with ants. They will overtake all your gardening beds, kill most of the beneficial insects and encourage other pests like aphids.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds are an effective ant killer. Sprinkling them in your garden will not only remove ants but will also help your plants to grow and provide them with nutrients. In fact, there are many other uses of coffee grounds in gardens beside removing ants. You can know all about them in this article.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is also a non-toxic healthy way to get rid of ants from your garden. Sprinkling it near ants hills and entries will force them out of your garden. The really dislike its smell and as soon as you sprinkle it near them they will start leaving your garden. Besides removing ants, there are many other uses of cinnamon in gardens, learn more about them here.
Clove Oil
This is the best ant killer. Clove oil for ants is the as atomic bombs to humans. It kills ants on the first contact. That is why clove is the principle ingredients of homemade insecticides. You can use it to kill moths, flies, and ants. Besides, it is also really inexpensive. Check out this post for more information.
Salt to get rid of ants
Sprinkling some salts near your ants’ entries will kill them. Salt causes the loss of water and dehydration. A small fragile body such as an ant’s body won’t handle the effect of salt. Once ants absorb salt, they will die really quickly.
Cornmeal
This is the fastest way to get rid of ants. Unlike all other ant remedies, ants actually like this one. Cornmeal is one of the best ants’ food. They truly love it even if it kills them. Once an ant consumes a quantity of cornmeal, its body won’t be able to digest it and it will die.
Cornmeal can wipe out an entire ant colony in a couple of days. Those that don’t die immediately will get sick and will stop feeding until they starve to death.
Vaseline
This is an old way to get rid of ants. Vaseline does not kill ants but rather repels them. It is rich in petroleum jelly which is a deterrent against many insects including ants. Using it is quite simple. Just put some vaseline on the entry point of ants.
Bay Leaves
Bay leaves are known to have a very strong odor. Their odor is pleasant to some humans but it is completely disgusting to ants. They can stand leaving around it. Once they smell it, they will leave to a safer place. Make sure that you leave some bay leaves even when the ants disappear as a protective measure.
Red Chili Powder
Just like all varieties of peppers, ants don’t like red chili pepper. Its powder is poisonous to ants and it will make them suffocate to death. Sprinkling it around where your ants live will expose them to it which will eventually cause their death. It is not recommended to use in gardens as it may harm so delicate plants you have.
Cream of Wheat
Although it is one of most popular ants’ food, it is extremely fatal. Ants can’t resist feeding on cream wheat despite the fact that they will die quickly after consuming it. Therefore, if you want to get rid of an entire colony of ants, you will only need to provide them with one last good meal.
Cream wheat although it is very delicious for ants, it is extremely poisonous. It will disrupt their digestive system and their stomachs will start to expand until they explode. That is a quite horrible death.
Camphor Oil and Rubbing Alcohol
The combination of these two is not deadly to ants but rather deterrent. A solution of Camphor Oil and Rubbing Alcohol will drive away ants from your house. You should never use it on ants in your garden. It will cause health problems for your plants.
Peanut Butter and Borax
This is one of the best tricks to get rid of ants. A combination of Peanut Butter and Borax will attract ants because it is delicious and will kill them because it is toxic. Besides, you don’t need a big quantity of them. A teaspoon of each is enough to make a whole ant colony vanishes.
Flour
Flour is also effective when it comes to getting rid of ants. Sprinkling around your house will drive these critters out of your place.
Salt and Talc to get rid of ants
This is one of the oldest tricks to get rid of ants yet it remains quite effective. These two make a very powerful powder that is able to kill many insects including ants. Mix both of them in equal amounts and sprinkle them in the entry points of ants.
Aspartame
Aspartame is another way to kill ants easily and effectively. It works like a neurotoxin and causes malfunctioning of their senses and ultimately it will make them starve themselves to death.
Final Words
These are the most effective ways to get rid of ants. Follow these tips and you will remove ants from your garden and house once for all.