When the ants come marching in, you need to take quick action to get them out! Try these quick and easy all natural solutions to a big problem without the risk of harm to children or pets.
Kill Invading Ants
Cornmeal: Ants love cornmeal and will think you have provided them with a new food source. Little do they know that it will soon cause them a quick death.
Sprinkle cornmeal in any location that ants are a problem. They will quickly begin carrying the cornmeal back to their nest where they will eat it. Unfortunately for them, they are not able to digest it. Instead the cornmeal will swell and cause them to die.
Cream of Wheat: This is another tasty treat that ants will quickly carry home and begin to devour. Because they are unable to digest it, it will expand in their system and kill them.
Sprinkle dry Cream of Wheat in areas where ants are sure to find it.
Destroy the Anthill
Follow the path ants take when they leave your home and they will lead you to the anthill. Destroying this hill is the best preventive measure to keeping ants from your home.
Hot Water: Pouring a bucket of boiling water on the anthill can often destroy entire anthills. Make sure the hot water saturates the entire hill.
Soapy Water: Mix a large bucket with warm soapy water. Dawn works well for this one. Pour the water in a circle around the anthill so that it soaks into the ground. Top the anthill off with another bucket of warm soapy water. The effects of the soap bubbles and the water will kill off ants.
Vinegar: Pour a gallon of distilled vinegar on the anthill to kill off the colony. Vinegar will also kill vegetation. Care must be taken to avoid areas of vegetation you do not want to destroy.
Baby Powder: Sprinkle baby powder on the anthill. The powder blocks breathing pores and kills ants.
Ants may return to the anthill in a few weeks. Simply repeat the procedure when ever necessary.
Ant Proof Your Home
Ants love anything sweet. It is vital that you remove all crumbs and store sweet or greasy foods out of their reach.
This generally requires an airtight plastic container, as ants can eat through plastic bags.
I once had an infestation of very large ants who proudly marched up the wall and disappeared in the upper story. I could not imagine what they had found for a food source.
After many days of trying to track these lovely little creatures under railings and behind furniture in their round-about-route to their food stash, I discovered them in my Christmas decorations.
When I removed candy canes from the tree, I had stored them in a plastic bag. The ants had discovered the candy canes – those strawberry-kiwi canes were quite a hit. All that was left by the time I found them were hollow tubes with tiny bits of candy canes in the ends. Ants had eaten through the plastic wrapper and gotten to the candy cane inside.
Air tight plastic containers provide much better protection from ants.
Wipe down counters with bleach and water. Mop floors with a solution of bleach and water every night until ants are no longer seen.
Rinse glasses after drinking any sweet drinks.
Dispose of freeze pop or candy wrappers immediately after use. Ants love freeze pop wrappers that have been left behind my little ones.
Sprinkle baby powder along entrances. When they cross the baby powder, pores will be clogged and they will die.
Draw a chalk line around the entrance. Ants will avoid the chalk and be deterred from entering your home.
Seal cracks around windows or under doors and repair any damage to window screens.
Once your home is free from invading ants, make a habit of routinely checking trouble spots on a regular basis. Re-treat them with natural products that are safe for both children and pets if ants return.
