Ants are everywhere. It’s quite impossible to get rid of all these tiny little terrors at one go from your home without calling the exterminator, but there are ways to discourage ants from populating your abode.
(Image from WikiHow)
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
What are ants attracted to?
- Sweet things like sugar, honey, and of course artificially sweet foods like popsicles and soda water.
- Paprika
- Flour
Solution: Keep all these food products in airtight containers.
PREVENTION
Prevent access:
Use putty, caulk, glue or plaster to block up all possible entrances for ants. This also works to help keep larger pests away too.
Create barriers around leftovers and other produce:
Pour an unbroken line of these powders around your produce to deter ants from invading
- powdered charcoal
- chalk
- tumeric
- cinnamon
- baby powder
TIP: There are plenty of other suggested powders out there that you can use as barriers, but we chose these because they’re non-toxic and the possibility of them of them being harmful is pretty low.
Use ordors to keep them out of your kitchen:
These scents will help keep ants away and keeps them confused as well
- crushed mint leaves
- garlic cloves
- lavender oil
- bay leaves
- coffee grounds
- lemon juice
EXTERMINATION
These are relatively cruel methods, but very effective:
- spray them with rubbing alcohol or concentrated soapy water. That’ll stop them in their tracks.
- Buy an aerosal of ant spray and spray them out of their homes. Or leave their bodies in the nests. Either way, you’d have stopped the infestation.