Organic Pest Control | Ants
Ants would have to be one of the most annoying pests, especially when they get inside your house. Getting rid of ants isn’t easy. I’ve tried sprays and powders and they never seem to work. I’ve often had problems with ants because I feed my cats outside. They often leave food in their bowl and within minutes the food is covered in ants. I don’t want to use chemicals in this situation because my cats often take food from their bowls and eat off the ground (they’re very messy eaters!) and I would hate for them to get sick due any chemicals I’ve used. I’ve also had ants in the kitchen from time to time as well. I never leave food out and clean up any crumbs immediately but the ants still arrive in droves.
In these situations, you need an organic method for getting rid of the ants. I’ve tried a few different methods and they kind of work. Some work sometimes and then not another time, I don’t know why; maybe that’s just me. I suggest trying the methods suggested below to see which works for you.
How To Get Rid of Ants
The first thing to do is clean up the area concerned:
- sweep up any visible ants and put them away from the affected area or squash them
- remove any food which might be attracting them
- remove any water sources
- remove anything which they can hide under such as pots or wood
- get rid of aphids from your garden as ants are attracted by their excrement
After getting rid of any ants you can see, you’ll then need to look for ways to prevent them from coming back which involves using natural repellents as well as finding their ‘home’ and killing them at the source.
Natural Pest Control For Ants
- spread crushed mint (especially spearmint) in the affected area to deter ants
- cucumber is another deterrent for ants so try spreading a few slices around the problem area
- sprinkle chilli powder or cayenne pepper on ant trails and in cracks near your house
- sprinkle borax on ant trails and in cracks in pavement
- find the ant nest by placing sugar on the ground and following them home, then pour boiling water down the hole to kill them
- make an organic spray repellent of citrus peel and water (mix in a blender) and spray ants on the ground or in their nest
- spray ants directly with soapy water made using dishwashing detergent
Remember that ants are hardy creatures and it can take persistency to get rid of them. You might have to try a few or all of the above methods but if you stick with it, you can get the problem under control.
The other point worth noting is that ants can act as predators for other pests as well as pollinators for your fruit and vegetables, so although they are a serious pest when indoors, you don’t want to completely get rid of them from your garden.
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Ah yes, I can leave a comment now! Thanks for responding so quickly to my query. I think I’ve sorted out most of our kitchen infestation, by diligently wiping down surfaces, cupboards, sweeping the floor, squashing any that come in range, etc.
But it’s my home office, where I do most of my work, that’s the problem. From about 9.00am each day they start swarming in, over my desk and computer. I’ve been crawling around under my desk, but just can’t find the source and it’s most off-putting.
After your excellent suggestions, I thought I might try some spearmint essential oil - and wipe down my desk, computer and mop the floor with a dilute solution? At the very least my office will smell lovely and fresh. I’ll let you know how I go.
Oh yes and on the whole pest control thing - I’ve found a combination of atlas cedarwood and lavender essential oils excellent for keeping moths at bay this year - you know those nasty ones that get into your food cupboards.
It sounds like you’ve got a pretty nasty ant problem. I think finding the source is the trick. Once you know where the nest is you should be right.
I don’t use essential oils very often as I don’t know much about them but I’ll be interested to see if the spearmint essential oil works.
Good luck!
Hi there Andrea, I just wanted to report back on my ant control efforts. Things have certainly improved A LOT, there are still a couple around in my home office, but it’s nowhere near the army infestation I had before.
I found the place they were all coming in and put a small amount of cayenne pepper around the area and I’ve also been cleaning my desk with spearmint essential oil about every third day. Neither method worked by themselves, but I think the combination has worked. And of course the other benefit is that my office smells wonderfully fresh for several hours after I’ve cleaned my desk!
So thanks for all the advice and help Andrea, it’s certainly MASSIVELY improved my annoying problem.
Glad to be of help.
It looks like a combination of the above methods is the way to go. I like your idea of using spearmint essential oils. I’ll use that next time I see any ants around.