5 Ways to Get Rid of Ants Naturally Without Killing Them
Ants are critical to the environment in too many ways to count, but they quickly become pests when they invade your home seeking food, shelter, or both. Nobody wants an ant invasion, and often times will reach for intense chemicals to eradicate them as quickly as possible. Pest control is one aspect of daily living in which people accept some of the scariest chemicals into their homes, numb to warnings stamped on the packaging-“Don’t inhale!” “Don’t touch!” “Call poison control if you make any direct contact with this substance!” “Potentially harmful!” “Actually what we mean is it will kill you!” Well, you get the point. If something needs detailed instructions plus a hotline number for 24 hour emergency assistance (human or animal) or chemical emergency assistance, I don’t want it in my house. What you have to think is-if this is going to obliterate the pests (in this case, ants) won’t it be harmful to anyone and everything else? Yes. It will. But what nature brought forth is can also turn away, so read on about how to get rid of ants naturally.
1. Bust Out The Vinegar, Baby
Ants communicate with each other using sounds, touch, and-the golden ticket here-pheromones. The pheromones are chemical signals. Scent trails, in essence. Ants perceive smells with their antennae, and can determine direction and intensity of scents. If a forager ant finds food, it marks a trail leading back to the colony, which the other ants than follow to the source of the food. Each time the trail is traveled, the smell is intensified. By using white vinegar by all of their entrances and any paths that you know of, you are disrupting their scent trails and making it harder for them to creep back to the food source they’ve been invading.
You will need…
– 1 part white vinegar
– 1 part water
– A clean cloth
Directions
Mix together white vinegar and water, and spray/wipe down all of the entrances you know or suspect they may be getting in by, and spray/wipe down all counters or surfaces by food sources.
2. Draw The Line
Have you ever noticed outside in the summer the way ants and sidewalk chalk just don’t seem to mix? That’s because they don ‘t. Ants that stumble through chalk get covered in the stuff, while some people suggest minerals in the chalk (such as talc) actually kill the ants.
You will need…
– A stick of sidewalk chalk
Directions
Draw a thick, heavy line around entrances-repeat as needed. This generally needs to be used in conjunction with another method of elimination.
3. The Ant Honey Pot
How to get rid of ants…are you focusing too much on the “get rid of” part? Have you done everything you can to exterminate the ants, but it’s just not working? If eliminating them isn’t doing the trick, try diversion. No, you don’t want to attract the ants to your house, but if a colony has set up camp, diversion can sometimes be the way to go. Once they’ve decided the honey pot you lay out is better than that hard to reach food you’ve locked up, it’s easier to lay something to deter them from coming back in. After you’ve got their scent trails cleaned up, food sealed tightly, and some kind of deterrent by the entrances, they aren’t nearly as apt to coming marching in again. Even if they try, they’re going to find you’ve made it a lot harder by then!
You will need…
– A small paper bowl
– A few tablespoons of honey OR a 1-1 mixture of sugar and water
Directions
Place a little paper bowl with the honey outside, a little ways from your house but not so far that the ants won’t find it. Once they find the sweet stuff, they will happily go to that, rather than try to battle their way into your house. You can also mix some sugar and water and spray it on the ground if you find the honey ineffective. Once they have discovered the pot, move it a little bit at a time further and further away from the house, refilling and refreshing it as needed.
4. Essential Oil Entrance Blocker
Ants don’t like strong smells. They mess up their scent trails and communication, not to mention it covers their bodies if they literally have to crawl right through it-which they do, with this essential oil spray. Now you can really experiment with different oils, or blends of oils, and see what works best for you and your ants. For me, peppermint or eucalyptus usually does the trick. Regardless of what method I am using to get rid of ants, I always whip up a batch of this spray to further ensure success.
You will need…
– 20 drops of peppermint essential oil
– Fresh water
– A spray bottle
Directions
Fill a regular or medium size spray bottle with fresh water and mix in the peppermint essential oil. Spray liberally around any and all entrances to the house. Repeat when you deem it necessary (usually when the scent starts to fade.)
5. Ant Balls
If you find that spraying a solution of essential oil and water doesn’t work, it’s time to bust out the ant balls. The cotton balls serve as an extra barrier to keep the ants out of the home, while the undiluted essential oil will steer the ants clear at least 90% of the time. Be sure not to leave these where you think a curious pet or child would find them an appealing snack. If you don’t have essential oil, you can try using white vinegar in a pinch.
You will need…
– Cotton balls
– Peppermint essential oil OR undiluted white vinegar
Directions
Liberally douse the cotton balls with undiluted peppermint essential oil. I usually put the oil in a dish first so I don’t accidently drip it all over my fingers. Alternatively, soak the ball in undiluted white vinegar, squeezing out just enough excess that it doesn’t leave a puddle where you place it. Use one of the cotton balls to wipe down the area by the entrance, and then stuff another into the crack/hole/almost invisible opening that they are sneaking in through. Refresh as needed.
6. When Push Comes to Shove
I don’t like to kill anything-I am the person that will rescue an ant if I see it floundering about in the water-but sometimes, you have no choice. For example, if you have a nest of fire ants and a baby crawling around-there was even been an instance where the venomous stings of a fire ant colony almost killed a 13 year old boy. In this case, the non-toxic way to eradicate the ants is with soap and boiling water. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes there are simply other things you need to protect.
You will need…
– A medium pot’s (or bucket’s) worth of boiling water
– 1 cup of liquid dish soap
Directions
Fill a medium pot with water, leaving enough room at the top that you can carry it without it sloshing over the edge. Bring it to a vigorous boil, and quickly stir in the dish soap (use an environmentally friendly dish soap that is biodegradable.) Put the lid on the pot to retain heat and minimize the risk of it spilling, and use hot mitts to carry it out to the nest. Pour the water into the nest, slowly enough so that it doesn’t overflow. If you are aware of another entrance, and are worried about the ants going up into the yard, you can place a barrier over one of the entrances. Repeat the process as needed if you run out of water (really, once is usually sufficient.)
My ant story…
When I was quite small I had a hospital for bugs, with my most common patients being ants. I would bring the ant into my house and set it under a heat lamp on some cushy towels where it proceeded, in all reality, to probably get fried (I didn’t figure this out until just writing that-my intentions were good-and I did have some make a full recovery!) Now I am not suggesting you set up a bug hospital and welcome ants into your home, but the point is, ants will not seize control of your house just because you didn’t turn to some lethal pesticide (for my house growing up they probably spread the word to steer clear lest they get cooked!) There really are worse things than ants to have in your house-like the toxic products you’re using to kill them-and it’s well worth a bit of extra effort to get rid of ants naturally.
Tips: Ants seek two primary things in your home-food, and shelter. The first step in dealing with getting rid of ants is to seal up any and all food, and seal up any and all crevices that you find them making their way in through. I know-its more work than just spraying some insecticide around-but it’s worth it.
– Let me re-emphasize the part about sealing up food. Seal up your food!
– You will, in all likelihood, have to experiment with how to get rid of ants in a number of ways, and try several combinations (e.g. using the chalk method in combination with the honey pot and essential oil spray.)
You may also want to learn how to get rid of spiders
We Want to Hear from You! Let us know which remedies work and do not work for you, ask a question or leave a comment:
These are not tips for getting rid of fire ant mounds.
You can kill off a fire ant mound by covering it with DE (Diatomaceous Earth). This is the food grade DE, not the stuff for swimming pool filters. Do a search to find out exactly how it works.
Try sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the mound …. it is available from hardware stores. It scrapes the exoskeleton of insects (including fleas….works in carpet), they dry out, and they die. For ants in the house, mix 1 Tablespoon of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint oil soap with water in a 32 oz spray bottle. It kills ants on contact just as well as Raid.
Thank You. I’m unable to get your book but I look forward to seeing more of your posting. I wish I would have known more earlier in life before the damage was done. Bless You I’m an animal lover and was looking for a better way to take care of them and you showed me, Again Thank You
Thank god! I thought I was crazy.. im not alone but this not being able to kill ants thing is becoming a problem. If my husband leaves even one crumb in the sink I have to scatter and scoop ants out till I can use my sink, same goes with taking a shower.. I call toilet paper ant life support cause every time I see one struggling or looks to be dead the tp brings them back 99% of the time. Lol. Thank uou for the tips. Hoping theyll help me to not be so crazy. Haha 🙂
Thank you for the thoughtful post on how to send the ants away naturally, as I was petting my cat this morning I noticed looking closely at the floor(they blended in to the color) that ants were everywhere. I first tried squeezing lemon around them, but then found your post and used the peppermint essential oil and water spray. I sprayed it all around the area they seemed to be coming from. So far they just seem confused but hopefully they will retreat the same way they came in. It’s weird because we haven’t had any problem all summer and now it’s pretty much fall, I wonder why the late invasion?
If you live in a cold climate, my guess would be seeking out a warmer place. We have that problem here in Minnesota…can’t say I blame them though 😉 Hope it works for you!
First of all, I am greatly thankful for the informative post. We can remove the ants from our house, but we can’t keep away entering into the house. So, we have to start by identifying the type of ant, so we can find out its nesting habits and have a better idea of control them from their production point.
You are a lovely human. Thank you.
Hi, thanks for the wonderful natural ant remover tips I am going to try the vinegar spray first before my husband sprays the horrid chemical ant killer, I also don’t like to kill anything. Cheers
I am going to try these humane ‘encouragements’ to ants not to come into the house as I, too, after years of pouring boiling water on ants, or putting poisons at the point of entry (what was I thinking?) am now reluctant to harm these clever little creatures. I have been wondering what to do that wouldn’t harm them and now I have some answers. As a temporary fix, I have accidentally found that by leaving an unopened rigid plastic pack of two ‘Belgian buns’ on the kitchen worktop (there goes my ‘elevenses’), that ants are cunning little devils and can get through the seemingly ‘sealed’ edges – hundreds had found their way in to it this morning! Therefore I have put the whole pack in the garden, complete with ants, who can spend the rest of the day eating away to their hearts’ content (out of the way of my cats). I don’t want to encourage rats so may have to dispose of the buns a bit later but meanwhile I will use some of the suggestions to discourage the ants coming back.
Happy to have you back. Thank you for the info on getting rid of ants naturally and the new post on the uses of tea tree oil. I continue to look forward to your updates. Many blessings.
Interesting information in here… I was hoping to find a solution though to our fire Ant problem- I don’t like to kill anything- especially if they are living outside and causing no harm to us- I have a massive fire ant problem in our front flower bed- we started to dig up the garden last year and thousands of Ants were scattering all over- the bites were nasty- we retreated to the house and left the flower bed – which of course became overgrown. Trying to decide on a course of action this year. The colony I suspect is pretty sizeable and was well established before we moved in- I have never seen so many ants in my life… but killing them doesn’t sit well with me…
This was such a help! I love the idea of putting vinegar around entrances to my house, to keep bugs out. It’s such a strong smell, I can see why it could keep them out. I also really like the idea of giving them something to focus on, so they just stop trying to get into my house. That also doesn’t have such a strong scent!
I thank you i hope it works
Thank you, will be out to use.
Tansy is a great way to get rid of ants – just lay out a few leaves on the trail – go away for an hour or so and they will be gone.
Tansy also looks good in the garden and will come back every year.