How to Get Rid of Ants in House without Chemicals?

Ants can quickly take over a house, and if they discover food, they will keep coming back in big numbers.

Fortunately, how to get rid of ants in house without hiring an exterminator is possible with natural ant-repelling techniques.

Chemical pesticides have the potential to damage bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects in addition to contaminating groundwater when used to eradicate ants. 

Common household items like white vinegar and certain essential oils may be able to repel ants. However, it might not be safe to use some products near pets.

There are probably thousands of ants nearby anywhere that one is visible. When having a picnic in the great outdoors, this information might not bother you too much, but if you find yourself dealing with an ant infestation at home, you’ll want to find a quick solution.

While getting rid of ants might take time and effort, it’s also critical to take care of any underlying problems that might be luring them in, like poor sanitation or structural difficulties.

How to Get Rid of Ants in House Using Natural Ingredients

Determine what draws ants indoors first. Keep an eye on their path and wonder if there are any food or water sources in their path.

Find what they’re looking for and take it out: a spoon under the sink or a sticky drop of honey.

If you’re lucky, the ants will leave on their own after you remove the attraction. Try these fixes if they don’t work.

1. Mint

Insects are naturally repelled by peppermint. You can use peppermint essential oil as a natural remedy for ant control or plant mint around your house.

Your home will smell fresh and minty, and ants detest smells! Plant mint around your home’s perimeter and at entryways. 

Using a cotton ball, apply a few drops of peppermint essential oil to clean any suspected areas. A cotton ball soaked in peppermint oil can also be positioned in ant-prone areas like cabinets.

2. Vinegar

Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 vinegar and water mixture. After killing the ants with a direct spray, remove them from the area with a moist paper towel and dispose of them.

As an additional deterrent, you can spray a mixture of vinegar and water around doorways, windowsills, and other areas where you see ants entering your home.

3. Lemon Juice

Lemon juice appears to obliterate ants’ scent trails, just like vinegar does. To make an all-purpose spray, try combining one part lemon juice with three parts water.

Apply the lemon solution to any areas where you notice ants, including the outside of your home and the areas near your doors.

4. Cinnamon

An excellent choice for eliminating ants is cinnamon. An ant that breathes in cinnamon suffocates and perishes. You can sprinkle ground cinnamon around an opening in an anthill or on the ants’ path.

Moreover, Cinnamon Essential Oil is effective at keeping ants away. Apply a solution of a few drops of cinnamon oil and water to ant trails, cracks, and the areas surrounding doors and windows.

5. Cayenne Pepper or Black Pepper

Ants are averse to cayenne. Black pepper is also an effective spice. Find the area where the ant infestation is occurring, scatter some pepper there, and if you can, build a wall to keep the ants out of your home.

An additional option is to combine some pepper and water, then mist the resulting mixture with the ants. While the pepper won’t kill the ants, it will certainly make them less likely to come back.

6. Food-grade diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth (DE) of food grade is also an effective ant repellent. The fossilized remnants of marine phytoplankton are what make up this powder.

The ants’ exoskeletons can be broken through by the tiny, razor-sharp edges of DE, gradually drying out their bodies.

• Apply a thin layer of DE very gently to windowsills, under cabinets, under refrigerators, in and around garbage cans, and anywhere else you see ants.
• Continue once a day until the ants are completely gone.

7. Coffee Grounds

Many homes keep coffee grounds around the house as a major deterrent to ants. Since it alters their scent, you can sprinkle them in all of your home’s entryways to keep pests at bay.

You would need to combine coffee grounds with something more powerful, like boiling water or borax, in order to kill ants with them.

8. Cornstarch

A box of cornstarch, which most people keep in their pantry, can be used to combat an ant infestation.

Add water to cornstarch only until it becomes thick for an antidote to your ant problem that will literally stop the ants in their tracks.

9. Boiling water

An effective solution to ant invasion is to boil water. It is not only cost-free but also has the potential to eradicate many ants from the colony.

For it to work, you’ll need to use two to three gallons of boiling water, but be aware that using water this hot could harm your plants or grass.

10. Baby powder

An additional common household item that deters ants from entering your home is baby powder. To keep these critters out of your home, sprinkle them everywhere, especially in front of small gaps in your windows and doorways.

Is Borax Safe to Use to Scare Away Ants?

Several DIY ant-killer articles call for a borax and sugar recipe, which is not recommended. Despite being all-natural, borax can cause skin irritation, be dangerous if consumed in large amounts, and possibly even interfere with hormones.

For the one time, a borax bait may be suggested in order to manage grease ants, which are infamously hard to eradicate.

In case this approach is necessary, combine two tablespoons of peanut butter and half a teaspoon of borax to create a bait.

Place this bait right next to the grease ants, keeping it out of the reach of kids and pets. This is not an instant fix; it will take a few days for the ants to return to the colony with the bait and perish.

Ants are a common and mostly harmless invader of homes across the United States. Ants can be difficult to get rid of, but with time and the natural techniques mentioned above, it is possible to repel and eradicate them.