We’ve got ants. A lot of them.
Holy frick! These mother-lovers multiply so freaking quickly, it makes my head spin.
I went near our organized pantry tonight to grab a snack a healthy treat and saw a bunch of ants marching one by one. Ummm…NO! I hate bugs especially if there are a lot of them. I get all psycho when a bug comes near me. In my house…crazy pants are ON! I’m going to kill these suckers and get rid of their nest. No way will they take over the inside of my house.
Sure, there’s probably sticky apple juice somewhere on the floor that I’ve missed or a leftover chip tucked in a corner but that’s not enough to bring the outside in.
After doing a little research on Pinterest for DIY ant killers and some looking around online, I found some quick and easy tricks.
Just grab your grinder or average black pepper shaker and shake it where you see ants.
You can even put some near their entry point.
Avoid the “in the house” part altogether. (Source: Small Notebook)
If you have pets or kids, skip this step. If not, mix some bleach with water.
Make a light solution and fill cracks and crevices.
If you have carpet or, really, anything nice – skip this. So, really, this isn’t a great idea.
Eliminate from the nest. Boil them out. It’s a free solution.
Pour it into the anthill. Do this multiple times. Seems easy. I haven’t tried it.
1 cup of water
2 cups of sugar
2T of Borax
Mix and get rid of the ants. (Source: Crafterhours)
Ants don’t like strong scents.
You can make your house smell good and deter ants by placing cinnamon sticks
in your pantry (eh-hem, note to me), doorways, kitchen, closets, drawers, etc.
Cloves work the same way cinnamon sticks do. They are fragrant and ants no-likey.
(Source: Small Notebook)
I seriously love the smell of eucalyptus. I think I was supposed to be a koala. Gah, that sounds so stupid.
Place this in the doorways, near a window, etc to deter the ants. They don’t like the smell of this, either.
Same deal as the cinnamon, cloves and eucalyptus. Mint is fragrant.
How great would it be to have this planted at your front door?
Your guests would think your house smelled soooo good! Ants not so much.
I was chatting with an exterminator in my neighborhood (yeah, I really know how to have a good time) and he was telling me that, at his house, he uses DuPont Advion. He recommended purchasing it on Amazon (LINK HERE). Mint, cinnamon, eucalyptus and borax is fine and good but I’m going to gel these suckers OUT OF MY HOUSE!
I had to share while I’m obsessing over getting rid of ants. No bug (big or small) will take over my house. I live in the south so it feels like a losing battle. Bless my hearrrrrt.
Comment below with your recommendations.
Have you tried any of these or do you have BETTER ideas?
Good fun writing 🙂 I’ve done borax on mound followed by vinegar and/or boiling water. I don’t do it enough but it definitely kills a bunch and keeps the mound from rebuilding in that area.
Hey Stephanie! Thanks for the nice compliment. Borax is insanely useful, isn’t it? Thanks for the feedback! We also tried cinnamon recently and it works like a charm. Plus, it smells good.
I live in Florida, and OMG!, we have a lot of ants, and insects of every kind really. So, I have to tell you this bizarre ant story. I had set those ant “motels” out all over the place, you know the kind where the ants go in, eat the bait, take the bait back to the colony and it’s supposed to kill the entire colony. Well, that worked at first. But after a few weeks, we noticed the ants were back again, and in greater numbers than before. I followed there trail, which led me back to one of the “motels”, where they had checked in, but instead checking out, they had set up camp!!! There was a colony inside!!!!! And a very short distance away, underneath a decorative bowl, was the nursery!!!! Those buggers had set up an entire base right next to my kitchen right under my nose. They are very resourceful, those little so-and-so’s. The good thing was, we were able to kill the entire colony with one good, thorough, dose of ant killer. We haven’t had much of an ant problem since, but I know they’ll be back. I have pets, so I’m going to try some of the plants, and the pepper. Thanks for the tips!
Paige, you’re giving me chills just reading this. It’s awful isn’t it? “Those little so-and-so’s” totally cracked me up. Thanks so much for YOUR feedback!
You are hilarious ~ you even make ant killing sound like fun!
Thanks for the tips and chuckle.
Thank you Kari-Anne! You’re so sweet. (those little things make me feel all gross)
There was a HUGE colony of fire ants next to the front porch at my daughter’s house. We used the boiling water method on it. It worked! A couple tips: boil water in the largest pots you have; be ready to pour a second one (and third if it’s really big) right after the first. Stand on a step stool when you pour. The ants come out in hoards and are boiling mad (pun intended) so it’s good to have your feet off the ground. It also aids in avoiding getting your feet splashed.
This treatment killed most of the residents of the colony. The survivors left and never returned.
Susan
Coastal North Carolina
Oh. My. Gosh, Susan!!! That cracked me up! You boiled the heck out of them MULTIPLE times! Ha! I support you.
You bet I did. And I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it either! Grrrr. 😉
I live in CT and I have ants… I. Too. HATE. ANTS!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh this time a year they come and they invade 😐 what has worked for us is DuPont!!! Skip all that other stuff (even though they do make ur house smell good) but this gel is the REAL DEAL!
Oh my gosh YES! Thanks for sharing. Ants make me feel so creepy. No need for smelly-good in the house when ants are crawling everywhere. Who cares at that point, right? Get rid of those suckers!
Are any of these pet safe? I cant find anything that specifies if it is or not.
None of the chemicals are pet-safe but most of the plants are. A tip (if you have animals and/or kids) is to put your mixture or plant outdoors and away from curious kids and animals. These deterrents still work without being inside. If you see the ants are coming through the doorway, put the plants or chemical mixture on the side of your door frame, etc.
I have been told by vets that BORAX IS DEADLY FOR CATS. My sister read that used coffee grounds (dried out after making coffee) sprinkled in their path does the trick … seemed to work when we tried it.
Oh wow, seriously? That’s great. I love the smell of coffee, too. I hear cinnamon also works. Could we make cinnamon coffee and take care of two issues: Ants and making our house smell good? 🙂
Sounds good to me!
Hey there! I live in Florida and ants are just taking over my house! Something that’s worked really well for me is vinegar. I guess it’s probably the same reason they don’t like the mint, cinnamon, etc. the smell. But I tell you they are gone after a few days of me going psyco with a vinegar/water spray solution I haven’t seen them for days. …but I did see the anthill in the yard yesterday. Going to boil those suckers right now 🙂 anyways I used 1/4 c vinegar, 2 c water, 1 tbsp dish detergent.
Ha! Doesn’t it feel so gross seeing a ton of ants. They are harmless but really annoying. There are times when my house smells so strong with my ant killer remedies. 🙂
Haha I really enjoyed reading this..
Also great tips.. Cheers 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it. Cheers to you…especially on Friday! 🙂