We encourage your best judgment regarding issues of health and safety for you, your family, and your pets when it comes to using any recommended measures.
NON-traditional, NON-pesticide tips from “Getting Rid of Ants,” thefrugallife.com, sponsored by theherbplace.com (2011):
- Sounds crazy, but try vinegar! Fill a squirt bottle with plain old cheap white vinegar, and squirt it anyplace you’ve seen ants (kitchen counters, windowsills, etc) and let it dry. It is non-toxic, won’t harm anything, and the smell will go away in just a couple of minutes. It worked for me!
- Corn flour – works every time for us. Ants eat it but can’t digest it. The corn flour is fine enough to be walked back to the nest. We have a lot of ant problems, but corn flour saves the day!
- I have a suggestion for the ant problem; plain old cinnamon. I put in or at the site of the ant invasion, and they back off quick! This works for exteriors too. I have a vegetable garden in my front yard and had ants all over. I sprinkled it around every raised bed and around the edges of my house – all ants were gone overnight. It’s wonderful!
- I have a book with several tips for the use of apple cider vinegar. One of them is getting rid of ants. Make a mixture of 50/50 water and vinegar and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray the surface with the solution several times a day. Ants guide themselves with their scent. Vinegar has a natural chemical scent that ants avoid.
- My husband was in conversation recently with a gentleman in the pest control business. This man preferred to use environmentally safe methods to control pests. His recommendation for ants was: equal parts Windex and Ivory Soap. Simply mix, and spray problem areas.
- I had a bad problem with them last year and tried everything. Then, I read in a book to place Bay Leaves on your counters, preferably along the trail where they are coming in (if you can find it). It worked. Now I make sure that I keep some behind my canisters, etc. and on my countertops.
- I initially sprinkled baby powder around their entry site and as a barrier to my food and garbage. Eventually they stayed away completely and I do not need to put any more powder down at all. I read that they do not like to get any powder on their feet.
- Black pepper is a nonlethal, poison free, cheap, and safe way to get rid of ants – sprinkle the black pepper where you see them congregating and watch ‘them scatter. Follow them to where they’re exiting – which is the same spot they’re entering in at – and sprinkle the pepper at that spot to keep them from coming back in. It’s safe to use in your cabinets, on windowsills, around food, etc. CAUTION: Pepper products can be harmful to pets.
Angela Hayes
General Manager