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How to Naturally Get Rid of Ants in Your House

Wondering how to naturally get rid of ants in your house? A homemade insecticidal natural ant spray for hand-to-hand combat, a homemade ant trap to catch them all, and various “lines ants won’t cross” to keep them out or contained are all found here! No toxic or expensive ingredients! It’s possible to even make your own organic ant killer. 

Ant poison

I killed 50 ants today in 10 minutes.

Turns out that spilled sugar and a sticky molasses jar attracts ants like…well, like spilled sugar and a sticky puddle of molasses!

The microwave cabinet where I keep my sweeteners (since I don’t use a microwave anymore) was taken over by ants, the little kind that don’t even feel gross when you smash them with a fingertip.

That was my first line of defense: kill any visible intruders on sight. My poor kids had to wait 10 minutes for their breakfast because I was a focused maniac: “Paul, go by the sliding glass door and see if there are any more ants coming in the house. You see one? Kill it! Get him with your hands! It’s okay, we’ll wash hands before breakfast…”

Even the 2-year-old got in on the fiesta and has a kill shot to her name.

Before we could eat, I also used my natural ant spray down the entire unit and all along the baseboards of the kitchen, especially in front of the slider (where I know the ants get in the house) with my homemade natural insecticidal spray.

1. Homemade Method to Naturally Kill Ants in Your House

I’m a big fan of natural remedies and am even learning to make my own herbal treatments for the medicine cabinet.

I’m not going to put out poison in my kitchen (unless the ants and earwigs take over completely). My mom copied this recipe down out of something she was reading once at my house, and I am sure glad I was able to find it last week when the ants first came marching in. Imagine my glee when not only ants but earwigs, too, my most hated nemesis that hide in every washcloth and towel in our house, died within 60 seconds of being squirted.

Added bonus: this home remedy for a natural ant spray is so simple to mix up, my husband could do it:

1 teaspoon dishwashing soap (not detergent)
1 teaspoon cooking oil (we used virgin olive)
1 quart water

 

Mix in a spray bottle. Spray on any soft-bodied insect that invades your house or garden: ants, earwigs, aphids, whiteflies, mealy bugs, etc.

Also use your natural ant spray as a barricade line where ants might be entering your house. The only drawback is that it doesn’t work once it’s dried, so if you really want prevention, you have to use your natural ant spray often throughout the day or use other strategies below. This is a good first wave of terror on the bug world, though.

2. Getting Rid of Ants Long-Term: Natural Ant Poison

If an initial on-contact kill with the natural ant spray doesn’t get rid of all your ants, you need to give them something poisonous to take home to their friends.

Make a homemade natural ant poison trap that will kill the ants but not be toxic to your family. (You still don’t want your kids to eat it on purpose, but it’s not like toxic chemicals.)

  • Cut an index card in half.
  • Mix about a 1:1 ratio of corn syrup (or any sticky sweetener) and borax (one major reason I won’t use a homemade dishwasher detergent made of borax).
  • I just use a spoon or my finger and do it right on the card; then I don’t have any ant poison dishes to wash.
  • Put the index card where you know they’ll find it, even on the carpet (see above).

Check out my non-toxic ant poison video to see how SIMPLE it is to make this stuff – it takes 45 seconds!

Note: the sweetener will dry out in a day or two, so when the ants stop feasting, replenish with new sweet poison to make sure they are really gone.

Did you know that essential oils have a shelf life?

Katie here, popping in to tell you that those essential oils that have been sitting in your cabinet for a couple years and are still half full may have expired. Read more about what I learned when researching this topic, and you can even have the handy printable I made to help me remember how long which oils last.

Natural Insect Killer Spray, natural ant spray

Pest Control Options: 3 More Ways to Get Rid of Ants

A few years ago I was visiting a friend and we decided to wage war on the ants in her house, naturally. A quick Google search netted us many home remedy options for natural pest control for the ants:

Border Options to Keep Ants Away:

  • cinnamon – they will NOT go near cinnamon, so even if your daughter says, “Mom, you’re wasting food!” just do it. Make a cinnamon line so they can’t get on your counter. 😉
  • chili powder
  • cayenne pepper
  • chalk (a reader in the comments says this doesn’t work)
  • cornmeal
  • baby powder
  • black pepper
  • try food grade diatomaceous earth, found on Amazon, sprinkled around the exterior of the house or even inside as a line ants can’t cross. (You can also read about my parasite diatomaceous earth cleanse.)

Squirt the ants with undiluted vinegar

Just keep a spray bottle under the sink ready for use!

Lavender and mint sachets safely repel ants 

Put them in closets, drawers, pantry, etc. repel ants is a great tip left by a reader (add bay leaves to take care of moths and other insects). I think that’s so cool! (and simple!)

With my friend, we attacked those we could see with straight vinegar with mixed results, and we decided to cordon off the pantry with a thick line of cinnamon. When the kids got up in the morning and discovered the strange line of brown powder in the kitchen, they and their active imaginations decided there were ghosts in the house. If you try it, make sure to leave a note for others! 😉

For me, the homemade insecticidal soap is the most effective thing I’ve ever seen to kill ants on contact.

Organic Ant Killer 

If you are looking to keep what you bring into your home organic and non-toxic, it’s possible to make an organic ant killer. 

Simply buy the above mentioned ingredients with the USDA certified organic label and make your own organic ant killer formulas. It will save you money to make your own organic ant killer. 

The best way to get rid of wasps and bees.

Got Bees?

If you happen to have a bees’ nest (or more likely, a wasps’ nest), check out how to get rid of wasps and a wasp nest.

Fruit Flies, Too?

Easy Natural Fruit Fly Trap

Aren’t I lucky? Along with our friends the little black ants and the terrifyingly pervasive earwigs, we also have been bombarded with fruit flies in the past 24 hours. I absolutely understand how primitive (and not so primitive) peoples in history assumed the fruits like melons were actually full of fruit flies. It’s incredible how quickly they appeared en masse after I cut a cantaloupe!

If you’re as lucky as me, you might want to read my post on How to Naturally Get Rid of Fruit Flies in your House.

What About Other Bugs?

best all natural insect repellent

Got you covered there too with our big non-toxic bug spray review…and for the scarier bugs, you’ll want this breakdown of insect repellents and how safe they are compared to the risk of Lyme and West Nile. And what about the bugs inside you? Here’s how to get rid of parasites with essential oils and other natural tools.

Don’t miss How to Naturally Control Bugs in the Garden.

And if you need a snack after all that insect fighting, check out the 30+ recipes in Healthy Snacks to Go.

What will you use to safely kill ants? An organic ant killer? A natural ant spray?
Ant poison

Photo from dbgg1979

Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.

10 thoughts on “How to Naturally Get Rid of Ants in Your House”

  1. Pingback: Demystifying Borax - The Zero Waste Family

  2. Pingback: Demystifying Borax – The Zero Waste Family

  3. Pyrethrim is *not* non-toxic to humans/mammals! It has a better reputation than some other insecticides because it breaks down quickly in sunlight. Before it does, however, it’s killed any bees and other good bugs that were in the vicinity and perhaps your pet … or your 11yo daughter (yes, that has happened, and with a very low exposure).
    Diatomaceous earth is fine if it’s wet – but it doesn’t kill insects when wet, either. Dry, it’s a hazardous substance that can cause severe lung issues depending on the quantity. Not, apparently, the nasty long-term things like silicosis – but then if you had inhaled some diatomaceous earth and you happened to already have lung issues, you might not live long enough to get silicosis anyway. Honestly, folks, just because a product is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s necessarily safe! Arsenic, cyanide, and asbestos are natural, too, but I hope you know enough to keep your family and pets away from them!

  4. Glad to see I’m not the only one reviving this post.

    Ants are a nuisance, but I can “handle” them over other creepy crawlies *shudders*.

    We moved into our apartment in the fall so it was clean, nothing amiss, winter came and I figured as soon as spring/summer came so would the bugs, and am soon to realize there are monthly pest control checks -_-. Spiders coming out of “nowhere” it seems, ants and other unmentionables. I do not want our apartment fumigated because, well, of the toxic fumes lingering so I’m resorting to natural methods.

    I had an ant problem and I lined up cinnamon sticks and that HAS seem to abate them, however, that just means they’re elsewhere and they still need to be gotten rid of. I am so glad I came across this article and other tips and tricks from the comment section. I think I’ll remove the cinnamon sticks use a combination of Raid gel that remains out of sight AND Borax + sweetener “cocktail” that won’t be toxic to my family. They did spray the lawn outside with chemicals, but I think I’ll make a liquid concoction as outlined in the comments and spray along the edge of our patio.

  5. Thank you so much for this post! My kitchen pantry was under attack from the tiny black sugar ants. I cleaned everything, threw away the food they got into, kept wiping things down with vinegar, and stashed cotton balls with essential oils of lemon, peppermint, and clove everywhere to deter them, but they kept coming back. I then found your post, mixed up some borax and maple syrup, and now it’s been a week and I’m totally ant free! I’m so glad this worked and I didn’t have to spend a fortune on an exterminator!

  6. I am not a bug expert, but this trick works for several weeks to rid yourself of these pesky little nuisance pests. Use 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup icing sugar and mix well. Do not put this powder mixture on grass but rather alongside driveways or inside your home kitchen pantry where ants are seen congregating. Ants are resilient creatures, and soon you’ll see them disappear as they’ll be attracted to the icing sugar to take tid bits to their nest. The borax is the silent secret killer, and soon you will see no signs of them for several weeks, but re-apply it later. It is much better solution than harmful chemical sprays that are dangerous to pets, children and the environment. Good luck……

  7. Try sprinkling the outside ant hills with used coffee grounds when rain is not expected for 2 days. This works like grits but instead of “wasting food” you’re reusing something you’d normally throw out. This does not work for fire ants. As far as I know only poison works for fire ants.

    I learned what a fire ant is while using this method. I sprinkled the grounds on the ant hill & they were oblivious to them. I had heard fire ants are oblivious to coffee grounds so I went online to see photos of them. Sure enough those were the little devils. My grandma paid our neighbor to mow her yard. He said she had fire ants so she got some poison for him to use; I got what was left & used it to decimate the colony. (They are smaller than I thought but their legs are skinny like a spider’s.)

  8. Pingback: 5 Natural Pest Control Options That Work | Wellness Mama

  9. Just an FYI, I dont know who said cinnamon works but it does not. Ants march through it like its sugar.

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