With the many beauties of summer also comes the very ugly and pesky ant problem. Eliminate your summer ants with these natural remedies to keep your kitchen safe and fresh from those nasty insect repellent chemicals.
Lemon juice
Ants dislike the aroma and acidity of lemon juice and will be deterred by its scent when trailing inside your home. Spray on entryway, exterior of your home and baseboards to keep ants at bay. Do continuously to avoid scent from fading.
Coffee grounds
Similar to lemon juice and unlike our caffeine-obsessed culture, ants are not fans of the scent of coffee. Place a small bowl or cup near the entryway and spot of choice to keep ants from permanently moving in. Coffee grounds will also keep annoying ants from your garden and is an excellent nutrient for your soil.
Chalk
While you’re outside playing sidewalk chalk with your kiddos, grab an extra piece to draw boundaries around the exterior of your home. Add a thick line on the ant trails, window sills and infested areas to keep ants from entering. Having a strong dislike for the calcium carbonate, ants will keep away from your self-made barriers.
Baking soda and powdered sugar
Mix equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar and not only will you lure ants to your natural pesticide, you’ll eliminate them and their entire colony. Attracted to the sweetness in the powdered sugar, the ants have an acidic substance inside their body that reacts to the baking soda and kills them. Not only will they ingest your concoction on site, but it’s highly likely that they’ll take the substance back to the colony, essentially assassinating them all.
Vinegar
While you’re busy naturally cleaning your house with a 50/50 solution of boiling water and white vinegar, you can go ahead and spray some of your mixture on your ant problem. Like everything else listed, ants do not care for the pungent scent of vinegar. And let’s be honest, neither do we! Add citrus peel for extra scent and repellent booster.
Salt
A similar idea and response that you’ll have with getting rid of pesky ants, is to mix a few teaspoons of salt and boiling water. Spray on ants, ant trails and wherever they seem to be migrating within your home. A dash of salt in those same areas will also assist in bidding your ants adieu.
Cayenne pepper
Think of cayenne pepper as a natural boundary line. Sprinkle around as a way to deter ants from crossing into whatever food or sweet source that attracts them. You can also pour the cayenne pepper down the ant hill as a means to rid yourself of the entire colony.
Cinnamon
Just like the cayenne pepper, ants don’t care for the scent or texture of cinnamon. Pour this spice down to not only help eliminate your ant problem, but make your house smell absolutely divine.
Tip: The key to helping any ant problem is preventing them. Always sweep any food off of the floor and keep your kitchen as clean as possible. Tightly cover foods, especially sweet things that will naturally attract ants in. Take your garbage out daily and keep outside trash receptacles as far from the interior of the home as possible.
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