During the warmer months, messes left by kids, pet food and dishes left in the sink can all attract ants into your home. If you have children or pets, you may want to consider non-poisonous ways to solve the problem. Below are several suggestion for getting rid of ants without toxic chemicals or poisons.
1
Use baby powder. Ants are deterred by the scent. Sprinkle the powder on the ants at the spot where they are coming into your home. You can also put the baby powder on the outside of honey bottles and sugar jars to keep ants away from your pantry sweets.
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Step 2
Use vinegar. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and spray it anywhere you have seen ants. The smell will go away in a few moments as the vinegar dries.
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Step 3
Use cinnamon. Again, ants hate the scent. Sprinkle some where you see the ants invading, and you'll see them practically running away.
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Step 4
Use black pepper. If you see a bunch of ants in your home, sprinkle them with pepper. They will scatter. Follow them to where they are leaving your home and sprinkle the pepper in that area as well. This will help to keep them from returning. Sprinkle the pepper in your pantry and kitchen cabinets, too.
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Step 5
Use bay leaves. Place the leaves on your kitchen counters and along the trails where the ants are entering your home.
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Step 6
Use boric-acid powder. (You can find it in most drug stores.) Mix a small amount with sugar. Put the mixture into a small container (like the cap from a milk jug) and drizzle with water. Place the cap where you have seen ants congregating.
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Step 7
Use cornmeal
. Place cornmeal in areas where you have seen ants. They will eat the cornmeal. After they drink water, the cornmeal will swell, killing the ants.
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Tips & Warnings
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In order to prevent ants from entering your home, do the dishes daily, clean your kitchen with bleach, dispose of food wrappers, keep all door and window seals in good repair, mop floors with bleach and take out the trash as often as possible.
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Some ants are attracted to the taste of grease as opposed to sweets. If ant baits using sugar do not seem to be effective, try using peanut butter instead.
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Don't leave out the boric-acid bait if you have kids or pets. Boric acid has a very low level of toxicity in humans, and is actually used as an eyewash in low concentrations. However, it is still a good idea to keep children and pets away from it.
