Easy Homemade Natural Ant Repellents
There are some natural ant repellents for ants you can resort to if you’re sick of them being all over your house. They’re easy to make with simple ingredients you may already have at home and thus have a pleasant aroma. Most importantly, they’ll help free you of these bugs.
Ants can’t harm you and yet many people dislike their presence in the cookie jar and prefer to keep them away from the pantry.
Ants
These cute little bugs eat practically anything. In fact, they feed on any type of organic substance, be it of animal or plant origin. This includes herbs, meats, fruits, dairy, vegetables, oils, juices, nuts, cereals, sugar, and seeds.
Usually, they live in hidden dark places, in the countryside, the desert, the jungle, and even in urban and industrial areas. They’ll basically colonize any place where they might have a chance to obtain food. For this reason, you’ll always find ants near green vegetation.
Sometimes they build their colonies around the roots of plants. This isn’t generally a problem. However, there might be a conflict of interest if they decide to live in the plant you have in your living room or next to the swing in your garden.
Natural ant repellents
Here are some of the natural repellents you can use to get rid of unwelcome ants in your home.
1. Apple cider vinegar
Vinegar is an ideal product to clean your house and it’s also great for keeping pests away. Clean any areas the ants have invaded with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and warm water (50-50 ratio). It’ll do wonders because these insects can’t tolerate the smell. Also, the acids it contains are toxic to them.
2. Chalk and talc powder are good natural ant repellents
The chalk you used at school and talc powder are two effective natural ant repellents. Draw a line by sprinkling either of these two elements over the place where there are ants. You’ll see how soon they stop.
3. Lime juice
Lime is one of the most effective natural ant repellents as its acid content confuses ants and their sense of direction.
Spray it on the path of the ants and on the entrances of the doors and windows. You can do it directly, or diluted with water, as you consider appropriate.
Discover: Natural and Cheap Ant Repellents
4. Coffee beans
Coffee beans, in addition to neutralizing other odors, also repel ants. To use it, mix the coffee beans with baking soda and sprinkle it wherever you need it.
5. Mint
Peppermint essential oil can help you eliminate ants from your garden. Just apply a few drops around the door and window frames. Another way to use it is to place some dried mint inside bags and hang them in the corners of the windows.
6. Citrus and cucumber peels are great natural ant repellents
We’ve already talked about the properties of lime juice as an ant repellent. However, you can increase its effect if you also add its rind. It also works with lemons, oranges, grapefruits, mandarins, etc.
Cucumber peels are effective because they become toxic to ants when they decompose. Thus, they tend to avoid them.
7. Aromatic plants
Aromatic plants such as lavender, spearmint, mint, lavender or calendula, can help you scare away the ants from your house. This is because the smell will make them want to relocate.
8. Soapy rose water
Ants don’t dislike water, but they hate soap because it keeps them from moving freely. Thus, you can make a simple ant repellent by mixing a few drops of soap or liquid detergent with a little rose water.
Natural ant repellents – conclusion
Consider the following repellents if the population of ants at your home is too large:
- Recipe N ° 1. Place 1 ounce of each of the following essences in an 8 ounce empty liquid hand soap bottle: tea tree, rose, cinnamon, mint, pennyroyal, and citronella oil. Next, add two cups of water and two large tablespoons of the previous mixture in a spray bottle. Then, spray the places where the ants frequently hang out.
- Recipe N ° 2. Add 8 ounces of water to a spray bottle, a large tablespoon of hot chili sauce, ¼ cup of liquid soap, and a small tablespoon of peppermint or spearmint essence. Then, spray the mixture wherever there are ants.
- Recipe N ° 3. Crush a handful of nettles in a mortar and add them to five liters of water. Then, let it boil for half an hour. Remove it from the fire and let it steep for five hours. Finally, pour it into a spray bottle and use it wherever ants are a problem.
Now you know many natural ant repellents that are also pleasant to smell. So, which one will you try first?
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Chacón de Ulloa, P. (2003). Hormigas urbanas. Introducción a Las Hormigas de La Región Neotropical. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005647
- Delabie, J. H. C., Ospina, M., & Zabala, G. (1996). Relaciones entre hormigas y plantas : una introducción. Introdución a Las Hormigas de La Región Neotropical. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005647
- Gallego-Ropero, M. C. (2005). INTENSIDAD DE MANEJO DEL AGROECOSISTEMA DE CAFÉ (Coffea arabiga L.) (MONOCULTIVO Y POLICULTIVO) Y RIQUEZA DE ESPECIES DE HORMIGAS GENERALISTAS. Boletín Del Museo de Entomología de La Universidad Del Valle.
