🐜 Getting Rid of Ants Safely
Eliminating Household Pests Without the Use of Toxins: Information, Research, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Ants - Learn Safe, Non-Toxic Control Methods
🧭 Ant Control Methods
🏠 In the House: Safe Indoor Ant Control
🧽 Step 1: Eliminate Scent Trails
Critical First Step: Eliminate scent trails left by ants by wiping the countertops and hard floor surfaces where you saw ants with a 50/50 vinegar / water solution.
🍽️ Kitchen Solutions
🍋 Vinegar & Water Spray
50/50 vinegar and water solution
- • Acid in vinegar wards off or kills ants
- • Spray cabinets and counters to deter infestations
- • Use in spray bottle for easy application
🥒 Cucumber Peel Method
Natural Kitchen Deterrent
Cucumber peel placed on a kitchen shelf will deter ants naturally and safely.
🧂 Baking Soda Trap
Safe Multi-Insect Repellent
- • Place jar lids filled with water nearby
- • Sprinkle baking soda on cabinet bottoms
- • Chemical reaction kills ants, cockroaches
🚧 Create Barriers Along Entry Points
🛡️ How Barriers Work
Ants will not cross various substances. You can lay down a line of these materials across the point where ants are entering your house or sprinkle around the foundation if all entrance points are not known.
☕ Aromatic Barriers
Strong smell repellant
Natural barrier
Aromatic deterrent
Strong scent barrier
🌶️ Spice & Powder Barriers
🧼 Non-Toxic Soap Seal
Get an organic, natural ingredient, clear dishwashing soap that is non-toxic to your pets, such as Biokleen - and seal the porch, window seal, or wherever they are getting in.
- • Biokleen doesn't get hard, just remains sticky
- • Ants get stuck in it harmlessly
- • Non-toxic if accidentally eaten by pets
- • Reapply after heavy rain if used outside
🍋 Citrus & Cucumber Peels
Place bitter cucumber or citrus peels near the site of ant activity. These peels are toxic to the types of fungi that ants feed on, and therefore avoided by the ants.
Pro Tip: If you find ant entry holes, squeeze lemon juice in the hole, then place lemon peels around the entrance.
💀 Kill the Colony the Non-Toxic Way
💧 Boiling Water Method
Locate the ant colony and pour boiling water over the ant mounds and into the cracks where they dwell.
⚠️ Safety Warning: Be careful with aggressive ants. Wear protective shoes and clothing. Consider professional help for large colonies.
🌽 Corn Meal Method
The ants will carry it home and eat it, but they can't digest it properly and they will die. Put corn meal wherever you see ants frequent.
✅ Pet & Child Safe: Corn meal by itself is not poisonous, making this method especially great around pets or children.
🐦 Special Solutions for Pet Owners
🦜 Keeping Ants Off Cages, Aviaries & Bird Food
🚧 Physical Barriers
- • Double sticky tape wrapped around cage leg bottoms
- • Soapy water pans under cage legs (ants can't cross soapy water)
- • Cooking oil spray on cage stand legs (too slippery to climb)
🧪 Bird-Safe Vinegar Solution
A 50/50 vinegar / water solution is a safe, chemical-free solution for bird owners fighting ants around bird cages.
- • Breeders use this in aviaries with excellent results
- • Spray around perimeter of aviaries
- • Needs regular reapplication
- • Frequency depends on infestation level
🚨 Heavy Insect Infestations
💨 Dawn Soap Mist Method
📝 Recipe & Equipment
- • 1 cup Dawn Soap to 4-5 cups water
- • Use Chapin® garden pump sprayer
- • Point leaf blower at the mist
✅ Effectiveness
- • Mist suffocates ants, termites, spiders
- • Works under fridges, crawl spaces, ceilings
- • Wet vacuum them up after few hours
⚠️ Diatomaceous Earth - Use with Caution
ℹ️ What It Is
Available at any home and garden center. It's an all-natural organic pest control solution - an abrasive powder made from mineral remains of single cell aquatic plants.
Kills by abrading and dehydrating crawling insects: slugs, ants, cockroaches, earwigs, grasshoppers, and fleas.
🚨 Important Safety Warning
- • Serious lung irritant especially for children
- • Safety concerns around birds
- • Do NOT use around birds
- • Wear protective mask when applying
🌱 In the Garden / Around the House
🌶️ Foundation Spice Barrier
Cayenne Pepper and Cinnamon (inexpensively purchased at Dollar Stores) sprinkled liberally and equally around the foundation of the house in spring.
💡 Budget Tip: Dollar stores offer the most cost-effective spices for large-area applications
🔥 Fire Ant Instant Grit
To get rid of red/fire ants in the garden, sprinkle instant grit (a couple spoonfuls) over the ant hill.
How It Works:
- • Worker ants take grit to queen
- • Queen ingests the grit
- • Grit swells inside, killing queen
- • Colony dies without queen
🧂 Baking Soda Plant Spray
Recipe:
1 teaspoon baking soda + 1/3 cup cooking oil
- • Shake well in watering can
- • Sprinkle mixture lightly on plants
- • Safe for garden and family
💧 Boiling Water for Colonies
Locate ant colonies and pour boiling water over ant mounds and into dwelling cracks.
⚠️ Safety: Wear protection with aggressive ants. Consider professional help for large colonies.
🌽 Garden Corn Meal
Ants carry it home and eat it, but can't digest it properly and die. Place wherever ants frequent.
✅ Family Safe: Great around pets and children - corn meal is non-poisonous
🌿 Natural Deterrent Plants
Plant Around Home Border:
- • Spearmint
- • Southern Wood
- • Tansy Plants
These plants naturally deter ants while beautifying your landscape
🐜 Take Back Your Home Safely!
Stop using toxic chemicals that harm your family and pets. These proven, natural methods eliminate ants effectively while keeping your home safe for everyone.
Non-Toxic Solutions
Safe for children, pets, and the environment
Budget-Friendly
Use common household items you already have
Proven Effective
Multiple methods to target different ant problems