As the temperature outside starts to heat up and we approach the summer months, you may start to notice more and more insects in and around your house. Ants in particular can be a major pest this time of year. Ants tend to invade homes in search of sugary foods to take back to feed their colony and queen. Where there’s one, there will soon be many unless preventative measures are taken. Here are a few ways to keep ants out of your home this summer, particularly your kitchen.
PEPPERMINT OIL
A few drops of pure peppermint oil added to a spray bottle of water is a natural way to prevent ants from intruding your personal space. Simply combine fifteen to twenty drops of peppermint oil with the water in a spray bottle and spray along the outer walls of your house, windowsills, and doorways. This mixture acts as a repellent not only for ants, but also spiders, rats, and mice. This remedy is also good for those with pets and small children as it is completely natural and not poisonous.
BORAX
If ants have already invaded, a mixture of Borax, water, and sugar is a great way of trapping and killing the pests. Mixing one cup of sugar with one tablespoon of Borax and 1/4 cup of water and placing it in bottle tops or old jar lids where ants are seen the most will get rid of them quickly. This method works because the ants are lured into the trap by the sugar. Those that do not drown in the mixture, take back the sugar along with granules of the Borax back to the colony. When the ants ingest the Borax, it expands and eventually makes them explode. Basically, one ant can poison the whole colony. It should be noted that those with pets or small children should keep the mixture out of reach, as it is essentially a poison.
BAIT TRAPS
Another option for preventing ants is purchasing bait traps. These traps work the same way as the Borax mixture mentioned above. The ants find the bait and take it back to the colony. They eventually poison the colony and kill them. Bait traps can be purchased at most hardware and farm stores. Places like Greenleaf Organic Pest Management might also have suggestions or solutions that won’t be as harmful to your family and can be used throughout the house and yard.
It is advised to not kill the line of ants as you see them. Doing so only kills the worker ants you see, and does not take care of the source of the problem: the queen and her colony. As mentioned before, be sure to keep all pest control materials out of reach of children and pets.
