There are more than 10,000 ant species in the world, and it is estimated that at one time there were 10 quadrillion ants on earth. These small insects are extremely powerful and can carry more than 50 times their own weight. Ants are one of the most interesting insects. They may not seem overly interesting at first glance, but ants have the most developed social life among insects. Each ant has its own task, and sometimes they even have ant wars during which they invade neighboring ant colonies, capturing its inhabitants and forcing them to work for them. As they invade other ant colonies, they can also invade your home and create some problems as they come in groups. So how to get rid of ants indoors?
You can get rid of ants indoors using ingredients that you already have in your house. To solve the ant problem, you can use natural ingredients such as chalk, salt, coffee, pepper, cinnamon that will repel ants and prevent them from coming back, or you can use strong chemicals that will kill them.
Ants are very social beings, so it will rarely happen that only one ant wanders around your house. If that happens, that ant has strayed and hasn’t come to explore your house. In their colonies, which can be huge, everyone knows their task and has a developed sense of collective work. They adapt well to different living conditions so they can survive on all continents except Antarctica. Their body is very resilient, so they will survive falls from great heights and continue working as if nothing had happened. The exceptional ability to adapt allows them to easily settle in your house where they have all the necessary living conditions.
What causes ants in the house?
Ants live in developed communities that we call colonies. In the colony, each individual has a specific role, just as in the world of bees. The colony has a queen, drones, and workers. The queen never comes out of the anthill and her task is to populate the colony by laying thousands of eggs. Drones are male ants whose function is to mate with the queen and they die as soon as they’ve fulfilled this function. The ones we have to take care of in our household are the workers.
Workers are female males who don’t lay eggs. Their function is building, protecting, and feeding the colony. Workers ants come out of the anthill every day, go on a reconnaissance to find the source of the food, and take it to their anthill where they will feed the rest of the ants.
If you find ants in your kitchen it means there is a larger colony or nest nearby. Ants will not appear if they do not smell food, so it is important not to leave crumbs or food debris outdoors as this will attract ants to your home. Vacuum regularly, clean up your dirty dishes, and wipe down any surfaces in your kitchen daily. Also, you need to make sure that the food is always locked tight in sealed containers. If you spot a trail of ants, you likely have an infestation of ants that will start coming regularly because they have recognized your house as a food source of which they have informed other ants as well.
Ants invasions can also occur if you have greasy surfaces, sticky garbage, or decaying wood around your home. Also, make sure that you do not have moisture in the house because some species of ants need a reliable water source to survive, so they will gladly inhabit such premises. It is important to emphasize though that ants mostly come to your house because of the food.
How to get rid of ants indoors?
You can get rid of ants pretty quickly and painlessly if you know why they came. It is very important to keep track of where ants come from and where they find food in your home. When you notice where they are getting their food from, clean the surfaces and close all the bags and containers in which you keep the food so that the ants can no longer reach them. If you notice ants entering your house through a crack, seal the hole so they can no longer enter.
There are several ways you can get rid of ants in your home very easily, and these are just some of them.
Chalk
Chalk contains calcium carbonate which repels ants. Simply draw a line of chalk where you don’t want the ants to come. Although it is not clear why ants will not cross this line, using chalk has been shown as a successful way of repelling ants.
Lemon or orange
Ants do not like acids such as citric or orange. To prevent ants from coming into your house, you can add lemon juice to the cleaner and then wipe the floors with it to keep out ants. Everything sour repels ants, while sweet attracts them so be careful not to leave sweet things in your glasses or on the dishes.
You can slice the orange and place the pieces in front of where the ants enter or mix them with water and make a paste that you will put in the place where the ants come and then simply wipe it off.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon essential oil or cinnamon powder can help to repel ants. The cinnamon essential oil has a very intense scent so you can apply it to places where you have spotted ants. Just a few drops of cinnamon essential oil will repel ants. If you spot ants in different places, mix half a liter of water, two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and a couple of cloves. Stir well, then spray the liquid wherever you want. Apart from the fact that this mixture will repel ants, your apartment will also smell wonderful.
Salt
We all have salt in the house, and it can be the real enemy of ants. This is perhaps the cheapest way to get rid of ants. Simply heat water and dissolve more salt in it. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray where you think ants enter from.
Pepper
Ants love sugar, but they hate pepper. To drive away ants simply sprinkle pepper on the places where ants enter your house. You can also spray the ants with a mixture of water and pepper. The mixture will not kill them but will prevent ants from returning to your home.
Coffee
If you want to repel ants but not kill them, coffee can also be a great solution. Simply place the ground coffee in the place where they come from, and the intense smell of the coffee will prevent the ants from returning to that place.
White vinegar
To get rid of ants you can use white vinegar whose smell the ants will not like at all. Mix equal amounts of water and vinegar and add a few drops of essential oil to the mixture to make your house smell more pleasant. Spray the mixture on places where you think ants are entering, on windowsills, doorways, and potential entry points.
Baking soda
Baking soda not only repels ants but can also kill them. Mix baking soda with powdered sugar to attract ants. Baking soda alone will not attract them, but the mixture will attract ants and kill them. In a bowl, mix baking soda with powdered sugar and leave it on the surface where you spotted the ants, then just wait for it to kill the ants.
What is a natural way to get rid of ants?
Most of the above ways to get rid of ants are completely natural. Ants are extremely valuable in the ecosystem so they should not be killed, but can be driven out of the house quite easily using ingredients that will not kill them.
How do you get rid of ants when you don’t know where they are coming from?
If you don’t know where the ants are coming from, check to see if you have cracks in the walls, doors, or floors from which the ants can come out. Also, see if there is any outdoor food that attracts ants to come to your house. Store all food in sealed containers and clean all cabinets and surfaces so that there are no food residues or crumbs anywhere. Once you have cleaned everything, the ants will not return to your home.
If they come back, use one of the mentioned methods to deal with ants or combine a couple of them for better results. Begin with wiping the floors, areas around doors and windows, and all tables and kitchen counters with a mixture of water and lemon that will repel ants from returning to your home.
These tips should help you get rid of ants, even if you don’t know where ants come from. If there is no way you can get rid of ants, maybe it is time to call pest management professionals who will use strong products to get rid of ants in your home.
