What is the best way to get rid of ants from your house?

Answer 1

• I had a bad problem with them last year and tried everything. Then, I read in a book to place Bay Leaves on your counters and preferably along the trail where they are coming in (if you can find it). It worked. Now I make sure that I keep some behind my canisters, etc. on my countertops.

• We use plain white chalk drawn in a line at the place they come in they wont cross for some reason and also I use comet cleanser sprinkled where children/animals don't go.

• So far this has worked in my house. First you need to find out where they are coming in at. To kill ants that have entered your home without poison I use straight Simple Green. Believe me it works. Then after they are all dead, clean the area and spray the area with a peppermint spray. Fill a spray bottle with water and add approximately 10 - 15 drops of peppermint essential oil , sometimes called Peppermint Spirits. Ants won't cross the area because they hate the smell. Hope it works as well for you as it has for me. Please note this can be dangerous to cats!

•Ants will crawl away from mint. I did this as a science experiment and it worked. Just plant mint all around your house. Especially near doorways.

• A line of cayenne pepper usually stops them from crossing over it.

• Try putting some whole cloves around. I put them on the window sills and door jams and also sprinkled a few around in my bottom cabinets. It worked.

• I recently purchased the book “The Garden Guy – A Seasonal Guide to Organic Gardening in the Desert Southwest” by Dave Owens. Below is quoted information that may help you out. Dave Owens, does the Garden Guy's segments on KTVK (Channel 3) in the metro Phoenix area during Good Morning Arizona. – C.L.

Outdoor Ant Control
Supplies: 1 to 2 gallons water
Stove or barbecue grill
Instructions: Heat water to 160 to 170 degrees. Quietly sneak up to the mounds of ants and pour the boiling water down the hole.
Note: I normally try to do this between 11am and 2 pm.

Indoor Ant Control
Supplies: 1 tbsp. boric acid
1 tbsp. mint jelly or peanut butter
1 cracker
Small cardboard box
Instructions: Mix the boric acid and mint jelly; spread mixture on a cracker. Punch pinholes in a cardboard box; place cracker inside. Place box in an area where ants cause problems, but away from children and pets.
Note: The mint jelly or peanut butter lures the ants in and the boric acid kills them.

Indoor and Outdoor Ant Control
Supplies: Diatomaceous earth
Instructions: Dust food-grade diatomaceous earth along the ant’s pathways.
Note: The white powder will cut through their exoskeleton and they will dehydrate and die.

Indoor and Outdoor Ant Control Supplies:
1 1/2 cup Cream of Wheat
Instructions: Place a dish of Cream of Wheat where the ants can access it.
Note: After they eat it, the cereal expands and the ants will explode.

• This is an answer for Ana who has problems with ants in her kitchen. I have found sprinkling Comet or Ajax powder around the area the ants are invading works wonders. I also take it outside and find where the ants are coming up into the house and sprinkle it there. This is great in the kitchen because it is not poisonous like bug sprays. Good luck! - LR

• Red chili powder !! I've been using it to repel ants for years. Make a paste using a little water, find where the little black pests are coming in and going out and paste the area. you can sprinkle the powder too, but I find adding water makes it more potent. The ants hate the stuff. Brooke and Mary B.

• To trap ants leave an open bottle of maple syrup (cheap stuff is ok) the ants love it and they drown happy. Just make sure you your children and sig. other know about it (LOL). Also I have had luck with the Torro ant poison. It's like a syrup. This they take back to the colony. - Lucy

• Mix borax with sugar water. Place it on the ant trails and where the ants are coming in. It kills any ant that eats the mixture. From CSinbad

• Some mint oil and mint chewing gum help repel ants in a house. placed a stick or open pack of chewing gum on a shelf. Outside you can plant mint around the foundation. It makes a good groundcover and is fragrant when it's stepped on. I hope this helps. Please let me know.

Answer 2

Amdro Fire Ant bait is THE BEST PRODUCT I have found for getting rid of ants. I have used it to rid my yard and house of all kinds of ants. I have even used it in the kitchen to get rid of very tiny "sugar ants". Sprinkle some on to a paper plate and crush the granules so the smaller ants can carry it away. Then, just sprinkle a little where you see the ants - they take it back to the nest, everyone eats, and tada! no more ants. Don't pour it - sprinkle it - you don't want your pets or children to have enough available to eat. Usually one treatment gets them all.

This fire ant poision is not sold everywhere - only in states that have fire ants - so I don't know if it's available where you live.

Here's a link that might help: http://www.amdro.com/Amdro/

Answer 3

I've been putting used coffee grounds around my outdoor plants where ants have been a problem, but this morning I found them in my living room and around the dogs water bowl. So I thought I'd try it inside and, although it looks a bit messy, I can always sweep or vacuum up the grounds in a couple of days when the ants are gone! Btw, no evidence of ants tonight, but I think I'll wait a few days before I remove the coffee grounds!

Answer 4

What kind of ants?

They sell ant sprays that either kill on contact, or that you spray outside of your house to keep them from coming in. Or you could call an exterminator.
The smaller, sweet eating ants is what I have a problem with at my house. I used Ortho Home Defense and you can spray it inside and outside, and it seems to work pretty good. I have also used a liquid called "Terro" (they sell it at Walmart) and you put a few drops on the cardboard pieces they give you and set them where you see the ants and they carry it back to the colony to kill them all.

Answer 5

There are many good answers i see. But as i live in northern cali... ants come in when eaither its really hot.. or really wet outside. as i have pets, belive it or not i used pine sol. i spray where the ants are... leave the dead ones there for a day and then i have no more ant problems. My cats hate the smell of pinesol so they never go near it. Ant spray like raid works great but if a pet licks it then can become very sick and since i have a cat that likes to lick most anything, i tend not to use that.

good luck with your ant issue. :)

Answer 6

Type of poision such as 'Ant-Rid' where the ant takes the poisen back to the colony and kills the colony from within.

Answer 7

get some posion powder and mix it with something sweet like honey or syrup and the ants will go to the food and end up killing the colony, it works like magic.

Answer 8

ant traps, ant spray, cayenne pepper and boric acid if its really dry where you are or inside the house, the cayenne will stain things orange so dont put it on anything you dont mind turning orange.

Answer 9

those little ant poison things, you can get 'em at any store

Answer 10

borax and icing sugar half and half sprinkle around the perimeter of ur house will kill of whole colonies
good luck