Getting Rid of Ants Invading Your Home

• Real Estate Tips
• July 31, 2018

Ants are hardworking insects capable of lifting items a thousand times their own weight! They are intelligent insects with intricate social colonies capable of building complex nests. These insects provide great ecological benefits to your garden, but you definitely don’t want them inside your home. Once they realize your home is a source of food, a small colony can quickly turn into an ant army invasion.

There are different types of ants, but typically these three types tend to invade homes during the warm summer months.

• Odorous house ants have a sweet tooth and will more than likely appear at your picnic. They leave a pheromone trail so killing a few won’t solve the problem. When crushed they leave a stinking smell, hence the name.
• Carpenter Ants are easy to spot because they are large and colored either dark brown or black. They generally live in wooded areas and like to nest in rotted wood. They need a constant water source. 
• Pavement ants are dark brown or black, and quite small. These ants are quite aggressive and will often invade seemingly impenetrable areas. Pavement ants will eat just about anything. 

There are several natural options for you to get rid of ants. The following list names a couple relatively simple steps you can take to get rid of these small home invaders and prevent future ones from visiting.

1. Food Bait: Use a 1:3 combination of Borax and powdered sugar to attract and kill ants simultaneously. Place small amounts of this concoction near the suspected area of invasion. You can also place this mixture directly in their path.
2. Vinegar: Spray vinegar near any cracks that ants could or have entered through. This eliminates their chemical trail and any future visitors.
3. Diatomaceous Earth: This natural and organic siliceous sedimentary rock. Made from the fossilized remains of tiny aquatic animals, this is one of the best solutions to ant invasions. Sprinkled around the exterior perimeter of your home, this substance will kill any insects that come into contact with it by sucking out their moisture.
4. Cut the foliage: Ants and other insects like to climb trees and other foliage. By trimming the excess or long branches, you eliminate the bridges between the plants and your house.
5. Essential oil: By using a few drops of 100% pure peppermint oil on cotton balls you can easily get rid of ants. Place the soaked cotton balls in areas where you’ve seen ants crawling.
6.  Cinnamon: Sprinkle cinnamon near any entry points
7. Baby powder: This method only works occasionally. Sprinkle the baby powder around the perimeter of your home where ants may come into contact with the house.
8. Seal your home: Keep crumbs to a minimum. By sweeping and vacuuming daily, an ant’s food source will be cut off and they may leave on their own. Store any sweet foods in Tupperware or plastic bags. And don’t leave any food out on tables or counter tops.

These natural and effective solutions have been known to solve ant invasion problems. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Make the proactive decision to start ant prevention before that small ant turns your home into a feeding ground.