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Ants, ants, everywhere! Those pesky insects have a way of finding every little crack and opening right into your home. When spring comes around I’ll see an ant scout here and there and I want to nip it in the bud before they take over my life (and my kitchen counter).
Every spring I start getting questions about how to get rid of ants in the house, especially when they show up quickly and seem to multiply overnight. Sometimes they’re tiny and barely noticeable. Sometimes they’re small black ants marching in a perfect line. Occasionally they even have wings.
With little kids and pets spending plenty of time on the floor, I’m not about to sprinkle a pesticide around my home that will put them in danger.
But the ants…
Thankfully there are plenty of ways to get rid of ants without putting your family at risk. I’ve talked before about natural pest control, but today I am going to focus specifically on ants. How to get rid of ants in the kitchen, how to get rid of ants permanently, and even how to get rid of carpenter ants (if you suspect a larger infestation).
How Do Ants Come Into the House?
Ant colonies send out scouts to locate food sources. Those little bugs will zig and zag and probe their way until they find food to bring back to their colony, leaving a trail of pheromones behind them. Other ants will follow the trail leaving their own pheromones, making the trail stronger. Eventually all the little foragers are marching along, back and forth, taking all your goodies back to their home.
Fascinating and annoying all at once.
If you’ve ever wondered why you see one ant and then suddenly dozens, this is why. That single scout found something appealing on your counter, under the stove, or even tucked behind a plant on the windowsill. Soon, the whole crew is trekking inside your house like they’ve decided to move in.
And it isn’t always obvious what they’re after. Sugar ants are often blamed for invading our honey jars or maple syrup, but ants are opportunistic. They’ll go after crumbs in the carpet, sticky spots on the floor, pet food bowls, and even residue left in the bathroom. I’ve found them near toothpaste drips and damp areas more than once.
Understanding how they operate is the first step in learning how to get rid of ants in the house for good.
How to Get Rid of Ants (Naturally, of Course!)
There are several approaches to naturally get rid of ants. First, repel them from coming into your home in the first place, then control and eradicate them once they are in. Finally, kill them at their source.
If you’re dealing with a larger species like carpenter ants (which can damage wood in bedroom walls or other structural areas), your strategy may need to be more aggressive. I’ll touch more on how to get rid of carpenter ants specifically below. For most common household ants, though, prevention is the best place to start.
How to Repel Ants
The first step is to make sure any sweet ingredients in your home are sealed tight. Clean up the dribbles down the side of the honey jar and make sure your maple syrup lid is on tight. It’s also recommended to keep floors swept and all counters free of any food or drips, but that’s not usually practical or possible in a busy home like mine. Just do the best you can with this one.
When I’m focused on how to get rid of ants in kitchen, I pay special attention to:
Crumbs under appliance
Sticky cabinet handles
Pet food dishes
The trash can area
Any food prep areas on the counter
Even a small smear can attract a line of tiny visitors. Some ants are attracted to oils or proteins, so pay attention to all food, not just sugary ones. Here are some more ideas to prevent ants from coming into your home:
Create a Barrier
Many people have luck creating a barrier of something ants generally don’t like or won’t cross. Some examples would be drawing a chalk line or sprinkling cinnamon, cayenne pepper, or coffee grounds along common entry points.
This works especially well along door thresholds, window sills, and baseboards. If you’ve noticed ants coming in from the yard or from cracks that lead outside, treat those spots first.
Citrus Peels – Ants are also repelled by citrus (plus it smells great!). Oranges, lemons, grapefruits, etc. contain D-limonene, which is effective at killing ants. I like to save my orange or lemon peels and dry them out. I’ll then pulse them in the food processor to make a powder and sprinkle this along entry points in the home. You can also sprinkle these around your garden or near plants outside.
Essential Oils – I’ve had good results deterring ants that were determined to come in under my screen door with an essential oil spray. Fill a small spray bottle with water and add about 20 drops of peppermint oil. Shake well and spray along doorways and window sills. It repels the ants and covers the scent of any food and pheromones.
Cotton Balls – You can also put several drops of peppermint, orange, or lemon oil on a cotton ball and place it in cabinets to deter ants from snooping around in search of food. This is one of my go-to methods when I want to deal with the problem quickly, especially if I notice them trailing across the kitchen floor.
Vinegar – Spraying vinegar along doorways and window sills is another option. This has the same effect as the peppermint oil spray. Mix vinegar 50/50 with water in a spray bottle. Add peppermint oil or a citrus oil to make it even more effective. You can also soak citrus peels in the vinegar for a few weeks, strain, then use this vinegar to spray with. Vinegar is especially helpful for erasing pheromone trails so other black ants or sugar ants can’t follow the same path.
What if Ants Are Already In Your Home?
The ants are already in. Now what?
First, find out where they’re coming in from and where they’re going so you can figure out the best way to tackle their removal. Something attracted them and that will need to be cleaned up. Then find their entry point so that you can use one of the tips from above.
If you’re trying to figure out how to get rid of ants in the house, this detective work is essential. Are they in the kitchen? The bathroom? Crawling along a baseboard in the bedroom? I once found a trail disappearing behind a bookshelf in the living room, and sure enough, there was a tiny gap in the trim that led to the outside.
Once you’ve found point A and point B, move on to clean up. You’ll obviously need to remove the ants from your counter, floor, cabinet or wherever they are. You can wipe them up with a cloth (or paper towel if you don’t want to try to remove them from your cloth).
It’s also really important to remove the pheromone trail. You can use soapy water, a 50/50 water and vinegar mix, or the essential oil spray. If you don’t clean up the trail, other ants will be able to find the same food source.
How to Get Rid of Ants Permanently (By Targeting the Colony)
I don’t know about you, but my first instinct is to kill any bugs I see in my house (or call for my adventurous daughter to do it for me). However, this may not always be the most effective way to rid your home of ants in the long term.
If you truly want to know how to get rid of ants permanently, you have to think bigger than the few crawling across your floor. The real goal is eliminating the colony. Although, there are some reports that if an ant smells another ant that’s been squished, they’ll alert the colony of the danger and stay away.
The most effective way is to make an ant poison they will take back to their colony and feed to all of their friends. It requires a little bit of patience but pays off in the end.
Option 1: Borax Ant Trap
This doesn’t immediately remove the ants from your kitchen, but it works well in the long term. It may seem like it attracts more at first, which is actually a good thing here Borax helps eliminate the entire colony and not just the ants entering your home.
Mix equal parts Borax and corn syrup and spread it on an index card. The ants are attracted to the corn syrup and carry it back to their nest. All the ants that feed on the corn syrup mixture will be killed by the Borax. I’ll put this in a location away from curious pets and kids. (I cover the safety of using Borax here.)
If you’re searching for how to get rid of carpenter ants, this method can also be helpful, though carpenter ants sometimes require locating and directly treating their nest in wood structures as well.
Option 2: Baking Soda
If you’re uncomfortable with Borax, you can try baking soda. Mix equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar and place it in a lid near where you think the ants are coming in. The powdered sugar will attract them, but since they’re unable to differentiate between the sugar and the baking soda, they will carry both back to their nest.
When ants eat baking soda it reacts with the acidic substance in their bodies and is fatal to them. Again, not an immediate fix, but very beneficial in the long term.
Other Ant Killing Tips to Try
Castile soap will also compromise the waxy coating that protects the ants. Make a spray with 1 quart water and 1/4 cup liquid castile soap. Spray along doorways and window sills and anywhere else you see ants coming in. Repeat several times a day until the problem is resolved.
Diatomaceous Earth
Food grade diatomaceous earth is highly effective at getting rid of ants and other pests that crawl, rather than fly. This includes most black ants and other small household varieties, though not typically flying ant scouts until they land.
DE is a fine powder made from the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of algae. Because it’s so fine, it’s perfectly safe for humans and animals and is actually beneficial to consume. Ants, however, become dehydrated when they come into contact with DE because it damages their waxy coating which will kill them. They won’t take it back to their colony but it will stop them from making any progress into your home.
Sprinkle DE along doorways and window sills, and any other points of entry, in trash cans, and along cabinets and baseboards. I have also sprinkled it liberally on my carpet during a particularly bad ant invasion. After a few days the ants were gone and I just vacuumed up the DE.
Use extreme care if you will be using this outside and avoid any areas that may have honey bees. The DE will stick to their legs and they will consume it when they’re grooming. DE is sharp to small insects and will kill them. We want to kill the ants and fleas, but NOT the honey bees!
A Quick Note on Flying Ants and Wings
If you notice ants with wings gathering near windows or light fixtures, you may be seeing reproductive ants. These can sometimes be confused with termites. If you’re unsure, it may be worth having a professional identify them, especially if you suspect structural damage.
In many cases, though, it means the colony is reproducing and taking out the whole colony will resolve the issue (see methods above).
Dealing With More Than Ants?
If you have other pests plaguing you there are other natural pest control options for your home and some organic ideas for your garden and yard.
Ants are persistent, but they’re not invincible. With a bit of patience, you can learn how to get rid of ants in the house and kitchen, and even how to get rid of ants permanently without compromising your family’s health. If you’ve ever dealt with ants popping up in the house, these tried and true methods can really make a difference.
How do you deal with ants? Did I miss any effective tips that have worked for you? Leave a comment and let us know!
