How to Get Rid of Ants Inside
Often your home becomes a host to ants. Not only are they annoying, but they can also be dangerous to your health and your home, depending on the type of ant species you’re dealing with.
But why do they come inside? There are only two reasons why ants are attracted to your home - food and water. They love sugary foods, food residue and source of clean water. You can learn more about what do ants eat, so you can have a better understanding of why they come inside your home.
Usually, ants can be seen inside of your kitchen as it’s the most commonplace for scavengers to find food. Using pesticides or chemicals to get rid of them may not be the best option for you. There are plenty of ways to naturally get rid of ants inside and ensuring you prevent re-infestation.
How to get rid of ants inside
There is no need to panic in case you find out that ants are invading your property. Instead, do what you can to take care of the infestation. Here is how!
Investigate the property
The first step to eliminate these pesky insects is to investigate the property. They don’t come inside without a reason. Follow their trail and find out what attracts them. Then, clean it up. Usually, just by doing that you can prevent them from coming back.
Cut down their scouting
Ant colonies send scouts to look for food. They have an amazing sense of smell, which helps them find food. Even if your home is very well cleaned, there may still be small crumbs on the kitchen floor, or inside the cupboards. An ant may sense that and find it. It only takes one ant to find it and spread the news to all its buddies.
Ants leave behind pheromone trails, which helps other ants to follow them. Sweeping them away won’t stop them from coming back. To destroy their trail, use vinegar and water. In a spray bottle, mix one-part vinegar to three parts water. Spay anywhere you’ve seen ants. The vinegar will mask their trail and they won’t be able to find their way back to the colony.
Make a homemade ant trap
Setting up a poisonous bait for the ants is a great way to get rid of them. They will carry the poison back to the colony, which will kill them. Make sure you know what type of ants you have so that you know what their feeding preferences are. For example, carpenter ants will ignore sugar-based baits as they prefer protein. Here’s how to make a natural homemade bait that will help you get rid of ants inside your house:
In a bowl or a small container, make a thick paste by mixing 3 parts of sugar to 1 part borax. Don’t put too much borax as the ants won’t take the bait. Place the bait in spots where you’ve seen ants and let as many of them take it. They will carry the sweet treat to the colony while the borax kills them.
Everyday tips to keep ants away from your home
It's important to take the necessary measures to make sure that ants will not be returning to your property. To do that, there are a few simple tips to follow that will lower the chances of another ant invasion.
Remove ant-tempting foods
Using vinegar or lemon is a great solution to get rid of ants inside your home. They don’t like acidic substances. Wipe away the ant trail with lemon juice or vinegar mixed with water. It will break the chain and stop them from coming back.
Keep your property clean
Keeping your home clean will prevent ants from coming inside. Cleaning regularly the floors and countertops, as well as any other place where food particles may fall and hide, will make your home less appealing to the small insects.
Also, make sure to take the rubbish out regularly and rinse the bin once in a while.
Fill gaps and cracks
Ants usually get inside of your property through small cracks in the doors, windows, or building structure. To stop them from entering, you need to find and seal the entry points.
You can find their entry point by following the trail of ants. Once you do that, seal it and make it unattractive to them. Ants tend not to like chalky substances, such as baking powder, baby powder, and actual chalk. Sprinkling some powder can stop them from entering your home.
To completely stop them, you need to kill the nest. For more information, you can read how to get rid of ants outside.
Use citric acid (ant repellant)
Using vinegar or lemon is a great solution to get rid of ants inside your home. They don’t like acidic substances. Wipe away the ant trail with lemon juice or vinegar mixed with water. It will break the chain and stop them from coming back.
Expert advice
Dealing with ants inside your home may be more troublesome than you think. You won’t be able to get rid of them just by wiping them away or squishing them. There’s a whole process that comes to it.
The first step to eliminate these pesky insects is to investigate the property. They don’t come inside without a reason. Follow their trail and find out what attracts them. Then, clean it up. Usually, just by doing that you can prevent them from coming back.