How do I get rid of ants?

Dawn Wenderski
by Dawn Wenderski



  7 answers
  • Fiddledd224 Fiddledd224 on Apr 12, 2019

    Try white vinegar and water. Ants really hate vinegar, and you can make a cheap, easy pesticide just using vinegar and water. Mix a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray it directly onto the ants to kill them, then wipe up the ants using a damp paper towel and discard them.

  • Sharon Schlaack-Rosenau Sharon Schlaack-Rosenau on Apr 12, 2019

    Taro works great. Just set it out on a piece of paper where ever they are coming from.

  • Dwp7470b Dwp7470b on Apr 12, 2019

    Hi Dawn. You are not alone.

    Ants, especially the boss ants, leave microscopic traces of reproductive hormones and urine to find their way back home again.

    This means that:

    1. Whenever you see the ants, you can in fact follow them home if you happen to have a whole 14 hours or so to get there. If you did you would find:

    A. Your home is never the Ant's Home. In fact, before they

    decided they liked your home, they liked your porch

    more.

    B. The porch is almost always the place they enter.

    2. The worst thing you can do is kill an ant in your home! The entire troupe will follow the urine trails to find the 'lost ant' plus create new ones. Your best bet is to scoop them up on a napkin or junk mail envelope or index card and place them outside where they belong, and say: 'Bad Ant'.

    3. Ants though smarter than most insects and more easily domesticated, they are actually quite dumb and easily confused. To confuse their sensors of the trails, You need to pressurewash or clean your porch regularly with most any detergent like ajax mixed with a hint of either: pepper, peppermint or red pepper. If you don't, they will keep on returning to where the trail of urine leads them. After that prevents them from following the trail to your porch, you can also scrub your floor indoors.

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Apr 12, 2019

    In the yard, poke a hole in the middle of the mound and pour boiling water into the hole.

    In the house, diatomaceous earth is safe to sprinkle around and will take care of them.

  • Vimarhonor Vimarhonor on Apr 12, 2019

    Hello. I like the ease of a commercial ant trap— both indoors and outdoors. The Terro brand that I have used with great sucess with -is recommended quite highly. You can check out the reviews and Q&A here— to see if it would meet your needs. I recently set them up a few weeks ago and —problem is once again —solved.


    Once you get these traps in place the ant problem is distant memory. They are very effortless, effective and cost-effective. They do not smell badly like an ant aerosol spray does.


    I sometimes also use Terro outdoor versions— outside around the foundation perimeter as the ants can be seen under rocks and in my seasonal flowering planters, the do like shade and moisture.


    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q3QQNC?pf_rd_p=a526cdf5-1d83-4a09-853e-0767afc685eb&pf_rd_r=S81T06EKESM8CMQ6TD62


    https://www.amazon.com/Ant-Killer-Liquid-Station-Terro-PCO/dp/B0047MDBP8


  • I use packaged cornbread mix that says it is sweetened and put it where they are. They will take it to the mound, everyone will eat it and die, they can't digest the cornmeal, but will take it because it is sweetened. Little goes a long way.


    I read this from : Itsmemic

    Medicated powder from the Dollar Tree. It has eucalyptus in it...menthol...I puff it around my homes foundation..and inside under my birdcages in the cracks under moldings. Work immediately and they never come back. I do this at the first sign of ants..in one day..GONE. The powder is in a very large container and lasts quite awhile too !! And smells great !

    Not toxic to my birds OR dog


    What if you make a barrier around the house.

    I did some research, since we know what works for one person doesn't always work for another. I found this site and it's pretty informative. I know some tips you may not be able to use but there are some good ones also that will hopefully help.

    https://www.familyhandyman.com/pest-control/how-to-get-rid-of-ants/view-all/

  • Hi Dawn - Those little buggers are relentless, aren't they?!? This is the most effective method and all-natural spray DIY that we use with ants. It's best indoors, but will also work outside with more frequent applications. Hope this helps! Hugs, Holly

    https://pinkfortitude.com/ant-spray/