How To Get Rid Of Ants

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How To Get Rid Of Ants In The house

Ants in the house, I think we’ve all had them every now and then and want to get rid of them as naturally as possible.

One here and there but then again there are the persistent crawlers that seem to like your home and have invited all their friends to come along to the party and now they don’t want to leave.

Getting rid of ants in the house can really be an easy and quick task. Some of the best ways to get rid of ants are natural home remedies that are safe for your children and pets. Some can easily be found in your kitchen cabinet.

How To Get Rid Of Ants

Where are those ants coming from?

Ants are really amazing, if you think about it. I get a little creepy looking at them crawling around. They have a committed commune mentality. Are abnormally strong for their size and they can lift many times their body weight. Ants are so small they can crawl through the smallest crack or crevice in your home.

Did you know that ants follow a line? For instance the breaks in the sidewalk cement, the foundation of your home, etc. This can help you in eliminating them, you can follow them back to where they come from and eliminate their ant hill. You can also see where they are entering your home and caulk any cracks or holes.

What Attract Ants

Knowing what attracts ants can help you get rid of them by eliminating their food source.

Plain and simple – food, sweet or greasy food or any type of food!.

Ants have a great sense of smell and can find the smallest crumb on your kitchen floor.

How To Prevent Ants – From Getting Into Your Home

Keep all attracting substances, such as sugar and sweets or grease, covered tightly. Even the smallest of crumbs can attract our crawling friends.

Now I am no Clorox Queen by any means but keeping your home free from crumbs, spills and sticky messes will prevent ants from wanting to come and hang out in your home.

Keep your kitchen clean, bleach or citrus works well.
Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink, wash all dishes.
Make sure that you wipe all surfaces and sweep all crumbs to prevent ants.
Keep floor clean and mop often..
Clean up the little one’s messes.
Keep pet food covered.
Take the trash out promptly and as often as possible.
Try to place your trash cans and recycling bins as far away from the house as possible.
Make sure that your window and door stripping is in good working order.

Lemons To Get Rid Of Ants

Ants don’t like lemons, yes there are things that ants do NOT like. Pepper, Cinnamon and Cayenne Pepper.

It’s an easy mix to make, just mix lemon and water, half lemon and half water. You can mix this right in a spray bottle. Spray where you see ants and at entrance way or where they are entering your home. Safe to use indoors and outdoors and safe for pets and children.

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What’s In Your Cabinet?

There are some great home remedies to get rid of ants right in your kitchen cabinets. I used these ingredients when my neighbors cat used my vegetable garden as a litter box. So it is safe for pets.

Ants don’t like the scent of Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and cinnamon. and you can easily use these to get rid of ants in your home. Just spread some on the ants and you will see them scurrying away. Spread some on your pantry shelves to keep ants away.

Another no no for our friendly ants is vinegar. I use vinegar to clean my hardwood floors, maybe that’s why I hardly ever get ants. A dual purpose.

Bay Leaves are another deterrent for ants, just leave some on your kitchen counter.

There are a couple of ways you can use these ingredients.

Mix with water and spray the outside of your home along the perimeter and where you see ants entering.

Simply create a line with the spice, remember ants like to travel in lines, make the line long enough so the ants can’t go around it.

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Foods That Eliminate Your Ants

You would think that you shouldn’t be feeding your crawling friends. But there are some foods that are lethal to ants.

Cornmeal and Grits are one of those foods. Spread a little dry Cornmeal or Grits where you see ants. Once the ants feast on it, it will expand inside their mighty bodies and eliminate them. This method is effective inside or outside. Outside you spread the Cornmeal or Grits around the anthill.

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Don’t You Just Love The Smell Of Baby Powder

Another thing that ants don’t like is the smell of baby, although I love it. To each his own. So for this use we’ll go with the ants opinion. Just sprinkle baby powder on the ants and the area that they are entering your home.

You can also use the baby powder in your pantry and around sticky jars such as honey and syrup.

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Boric Acid

Many people use Boric Acid mixed with anything sweet to get rid of ants. Just mix 2 parts sweets to 1 part boric acid. The ants are attracted to the sweet and Boric Acid eliminates them. Boric Acid has a very low toxicity rate.

Boric Acid is also effective on a wide range of insects.

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