3 Natural Deterrents To Deal With Ant Invasions In Your Home

Ant invasions can often be dealt with yourself and it helps to know the methods available.

If your ant infestation is not too heavy then you may wish to consider using some of these natural ant deterrents that can remove the ants from your home.

Boric Acid

Boric acid is a very effective method of getting rid of ants. You just need to mix it with sugar or sypup. The ants are drawn to it and will take the mixture back to the queen to eat. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Combine the boric acid with sugar/syrup to a ratio of 1:3
  2. Stir in 1.5 parts of hot water – this should turn it into a syrup-like paste
  3. Place this mixture near where the ants are
  4. Keep repeating until the ants no longer show up

Boric acid is extremely effective at damaging the ants’ exoskeletons and their internal organs. They die quickly if they eat it.

Lemons

Lemons are a powerful deterrent, despite not being powerful enough to kill the queen. It can help to force the colony to relocate. How to do it:

  1. Locate all entrances
  2. Take a lemon and squeeze all it’s juices out into every ant entrance you can find
  3. Leave bits of the lemon peel around each entrance
  4. Replace the peels daily until you no longer see any ants

This is effective because ants hate the smell of citrus and actively avoid it. The citric acids also destroy the ant’s scent trails so they lose their way.

White vinegar

White vinegar works very well to get rid of ants. It’s best to use it undiluted, but if you find the smell too strong you can dilute it and it should still work to deter them. Follow these steps:

  1. Make a 1:1 mixture of white vinegar and water
  2. Fill up a clean spray bottle with this mixture
  3. Spray the nest entrances and also the floors, worktops, and skirting boards in the room
  4. Clean up any dead ants after approximately 30-45 minutes.
  5. Repeat until the ants are gone

Undiluted white vinegar kills ants very soon after they come into contact with it. Diluted vinegar is a powerful deterrent due to it’s smell and it’s removal of scent trails.

These are just some useful ways for you to deal with an ant infestation yourself. If it becomes to much or you just want it dealt with by professionals ASAP, contact Zest Pest Control for quick assistance.