Repelling Ants with Homemade Solutions: A Practical Guide
Ant Raids in Your Apartment: A How-To Guide
By: Anne Hund
The Scourge of Summer:Ants invading your home, especially in the summer, can be downright irritating. However, knowing where they slipped in can help with targeted action.
Munich - Nobody wants ants in their living space, but residents report run-ins with these unwelcome visitors more frequently in early summer. This is when the pitter-patter of tiny feet often trace their way into apartments through gaps, cracks, and joints, in search of sustenance. Once an "ant path" is established, eliminating the pests can be a challenge. So, what natural remedies can help send them scurrying?
Baker's Bane: Stay Away from Baking Powder!
Here's a word of caution: Do not weaponize baking powder against ants, urge nature conservationists. Using this seemingly innocent substance can poison and cause a slow, agonizing death for the beneficial insects. "Steer clear of deploying baking powder to exterminate ants. Steer clear as well of using baking soda, coffee grounds, and cornmeal, as they also lead to a slow, gruesome demise," advises Oekotest.de.
What If You've Discovered an Ant Nest?
If an ant nest is found nestled in the building, professional pest control is encouraged, according to Oeko-Test. There are also experts who concentrate on "non-chemical removal methods." The same call to professionals applies when contending with "little pharaoh ants." With these pests, home remedies are insufficient, and the experts must be summoned to root them out completely.
A Parting Gift: Clear Away Crumbs and Food Residue
The initial step to welcoming fewer ants or expelling them naturally is to eliminate crumbs, leftovers, and food smudges. Secure your supplies in airtight containers. Furthermore, it is essential to pinpoint how the ants gained entry to your apartment and plug any gaps with silicone to prevent future invasions.
Keep Ants at Bay with Household Remedies and Freshening Scents
Various scents are said to be ant repellents, supposedly disrupting the ants' navigational instincts. Scents like essential oils or herbal extracts, such as lavender and mint, have been proven effective[1]. Household remedies like lemon peel, vinegar, cinnamon, chili, cloves, and fern fronds, placed at entrances and on their paths and nests, can also help shoo the insects away without causing distress[1].
An Old Trick: Chalk Lines as Barriers
Instead of scents, you can use alkaline substances like chalk or lime to deter ants. This can help, for example, around doors or windows. Ants tend to avoid contact with these substances and will not cross a thick chalk line or a trail of garden lime[1]. However, they may circumnavigate the line rather than crossing it.
Here are the two sentences that contain the words 'lifestyle', 'home-and-garden':
- To prevent future ants invasions, it is essential to pinpoint how the ants gained entry to your apartment and plug any gaps with silicone, which is a part of home maintenance that contributes to a pleasant home-and-garden lifestyle.
- Household remedies like lemon peel, vinegar, cinnamon, chili, cloves, and fern fronds, placed at entrances and on their paths and nests, can also help shoo the insects away without causing distress, making your home-and-garden lifestyle less disturbed by ants.
