Ants are one of the most common home invaders. Source: The Manual
- These intruders to home that can cause uneasiness to individuals.
- It is a constant struggle to try to get rid of ant infestations daily.
- But everything is possible when you take on organic ways to deal with the situations.
Have you ever noticed that no matter how often you try to get rid of ants in your house, you end up encountering the same problems again and again? A trail of ants in your house can cause you more troubles than you can ever imagine. An ant infestation usually occurs when they come indoors searching for food or nesting habitat.
Getting rid of them at home can be challenging as it is nearly impossible to eliminate the infestation completely. If things are beyond your control, you can always contact professional exterminators to help with the situation. But are you also aware that you can come up with organic alternatives for this specific problem? Here are some organic ways to get rid of these pests.
Pepper
These spices can also be used for things other than just cooking. Source: Spice Jungle
Pepper makes us sneeze even, let alone the effects it can have on ants! You can use cayenne pepper or even black pepper for this solution. Sprinkle them around the objects or corners to create a barrier in a way. The smell of pepper can help in keeping the ants at bay, and you will have one less thing to worry about for the day! Well, just make sure to keep your kids away from this insect deterrent as pepper can be a strong eye irritant! You don’t want to be adding more problems on top of your ant situations.
White Vinegar
White vinegar to keep the ants away from home. Source: The Kitchn
Remember the tik-tok trend where everyone went ‘Wipe, Wipe, Wipe it down’ ? Yea, all you have to do is apply the same trend but use white vinegar this time instead! White vinegar does not only repel ants but also is strong enough to kill them. Wipe white vinegar on solid surfaces throughout your home to make full use of the organic ant repellent.
Even when the layer of vinegar dries up, the smell of it will still linger around for a while. The smell of white vinegar will interfere with the ants’ pheromones and result in blocking the scent trails. With this, ants will be forced to leave the house rather than get lost from the colony.
Tea Tree Oil
Incorporating skin care product for a DIY ant- repellent. Source: BeBeautiful.In
It is vastly known that tea tree oil is good for the skin. But is it possible to incorporate it into this phenomenon? Get a clean spray bottle, fill the quarter of it with water, add 10-15 drops of tea tree oil, and you are all set with your homemade repellent. If you want a stronger option, you can add a few drops of peppermint oil and citrus oil. What a deadly combination of essential oils, huh!
When the ant-repellent is ready, spray it around places to ensure the trails and the infestations are disturbed. Apart from that, you can also saturate cotton balls with the solution and place them around your house for the same reason. Keep your house free from ants while keeping your face constantly moisturized.
Cornstarch
Add water to cornstarch and let it trap the ants easily. Source: SPICEography
This can get as evil as it sounds. If you spot a group of ants in your home, pour cornstarch on them and then add some water on top of it. Naturally, when water is added to cornstarch, it gets thickened and sometimes clumped up. So when the concept is applied to a group of ants, it results in a messy but effective way to trap the ants from fleeing away. When the ants are covered with the thickened mixture, it becomes easier to get rid of the colony. It may seem like a massacre, but just wipe it, wash it and move on, period.
Grounded coffee for your ant problem
Coffee grounds aren’t just for the taste of it. Source: One Green Plant
Isn’t it funny how coffee grounds are used in almost every essential DIY? If you are brewing coffee for your breakfast, store a decent amount of coffee grounds aside to be used as an ant-repellent. Scientifically, coffee grounds are good to keep the ants away because ants hate the acidity and smell of it. Caffeine is ideally a strong component that can overpower the scent trail left by ants.
Sprinkle the brewed coffee grounds on a disposable card and place it at potential ant trail surfaces. Let it sit there for hours, and you can spot the differences it can make. This is a convincing way to get rid of ants, but you just have to make sure to change them regularly. Coffee grounds tend to lose their potency when they get dried up. A card of coffee grounds a day keeps the ants away!
It’s Now Or Never!
Even though it is hard to exterminate the whole colony of ants in one go, you can always get rid of them stage by stage. It is strongly advised to take action early rather than waiting for the infestation to take over almost every corner of your house.
If only Ant-man were a real-life character, things would have been so much easier than it is now to deal with these home invaders. But you can always choose to follow these organic ways to promise yourself an ant-free home!
