Ants are invaders of the home and garden. They destroy plants, ruin crops, dig holes into your home, bite you in your bed and ruin dinner. Ants invade electronics equipment and are general pests around eating areas. Learn where and how ants enter your home, where they nest, and where to stop their invasion. Get the knowledge you need to quickly and cleanly remove ants from all areas of the home and penetrate their nests wherever they are. Ant nests are easily identifiable and just as easily destroyed. Learn which remedies are safe for indoor use and around children or pets. Does this Spark an idea?
Entryways and Outdoors
If ants are coming in through the front door or garage, trace a line of white chalk, cinnamon powder or boric acid around the entry area. Ants will not cross the line (boric acid also works on roaches). However, do not use boric acid or any kind of toxic powder if you have children or animals roaming around the property. Remove plants, vines and tree branches that are touching your house. A tree branch touching your home acts as a highway for ants to enter your home.
Kitchen
When ants are coming in through the kitchen sink, start out by cleaning the sink with lemon scented detergent. Remove the old detergent if ants are crawling over the bottle. This is an indication that the ants are using the old detergent as a food source (rarely do ants like detergent, but anything that is not lemon scented won't work to get rid of them). Pour bleach in the sink to clean out the food smells that have long been absorbed into the material of the counter and sink.
Use Natural Remedies Around Sensitive Areas
Spray catnip around your entryways. Also use catnip as a nontoxic way of warding off ants from bedrooms. Ants coming through fixtures like electrical outlets are attracted to electricity generated from the wiring in your home. In the long run you may need to call a professional to remove the ant problem if they persist traveling through the electrical wiring of the home. Spray catnip over the electrical outlet in a small amount. This will keep the ants from emerging and they will seek a different route into the home. Use a natural remedy ant spray, like vinegar mixed with dish detergent and water (3 tbsp. dish detergent, a little water and a teaspoon or so of white vinegar). This is particularly effective in places like the bathroom or a kid's bedroom where you do not want toxic chemicals. As a side bonus, the white vinegar will remove any mold in the bathroom while you are battling the ants.
Combine Methods
Use a combination of methods to remove ants and keep them from coming back. If the entryway for the ants is obvious, then start working on that location. However, if you have an ant-infested house, prepare for a longer battle. In this case, start from the center of the home, such as your kitchen or wherever the ants are converging in large numbers. Spray poison (like Raid) to kill them. Wipe up the dead bodies shortly after. Work your way through the house discovering the entrances the ants are using to get inside your home. Seek out cracks in the floor, water fixtures, toilets, electrical outlets and entryways. Spray the poison to kill the ants and wipe them up with a paper towel shortly after. Go to the outside of your home and look for ant trails. Spray around the perimeter of the house with the poison. Trim back your bushes and keep your home tidy, both inside and out. If the trails of ants are coming from out in the garden, then follow the trails to the ant hill. Lay down bait traps next to each ant hill. Ant hills may appear as small cracks in the ground, small dunes or large piles of sand. Continue to lay traps until the ant problem subsides.
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