Six Natural Ant Repellents
by Liane Schmidt on Aug 09, 2007 with 17 Comments
Say goodbye to those pesky ants, safely and effectively.
Yes, those durable creatures…they come crawling in their lines and missions dead set to get into your cupboards and climb over your counters. Seeming to come out of the walls from nowhere, suddenly they appear from all directions. And, all you want is to get them out!
Do not worry! There are practical things you can do to keep these marching soldiers out of your home without having to resort to toxic bug killing repellents. You do not have to worry about inhaling dangerous fumes and you will remedy your problem.
Try some of these out and see what a difference a little ingenuity can make!
-
Use Vinegar
Put some vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray around the areas that these pesky critters show up. Vinegar leaves behind a natural ant repellant.
-
Chalk
School teachers get your chalk out. Yes, that’s right, for some reason if you draw a line of chalk on the ground, ants will not cross over it. Maybe they know that once you “draw the line” one side is theirs and the other is yours. (pun intended) If only it was that easy with all things in life. Maybe we can all learn something from ants.
-
Black Pepper
Black Pepper is a natural safe way to send these insects running back to their anthills. Sprinkle some near their entryway and rest assured that they will not visit you while that pepper stands in the way.
-
Cayenne Pepper
This is another pepper that ants avoid. Lay some down and remedy the problem right away.
-
Mint and Chewing Gum
Some types of mint and chewing gum keep these segmented bugs away. Place some down and they will find some other place to hang out.
-
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is also known for its ability to keep those crawling bugs away. Sprinkle some around the areas they frequent the most.
These are just some great ideas especially if you don’t like the idea of killing anything. Ants, while they can be troublesome in your home, are remarkably interesting creatures. It is a wonder to think that even when they are running from the risk of their own life, they will stop to pick up a fellow fallen soldier and try to carry him home.
For more great reading:
Liked it
Published in: Gardening
Lisa J. | Aug 29, 2007 | Reply
Interesting and great tips, thanks!
Liane Schmidt | Sep 5, 2007 | Reply
Dear Lisa J.,
Thank you so kindly for your comment.
Best wishes!
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
glenda | Feb 26, 2008 | Reply
thanks for the great tips
gayle Classen | Mar 4, 2008 | Reply
have already tried the vinegar, mixed it with water, they worked for a while, maybe should try it neat. thanks for the very useful tips, because the ants are ready to carry me and my dog away. will try all of the above, until something works, and can this be applied outside with the same result? will try that too.
jihad | Mar 25, 2008 | Reply
I like the idea.
GROSK | Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
#1 ant killer, besides very cheap.. Powdered washing powered, of any brand? Yes, break up the ant hill with even a stick, then spinkle a little powder over the ant hill. The next day, stir around the ant pile, Yes they are gone Gauranteed.
jeremias alejandro | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
i likes to take piece toilet paper and squash the ants and flush them down the toilet
Repell but let live | Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
Thank you for your advice. I was looking for repellent more than a way to kill them. Being fed up with ants yesterday I sprayed with chlorox cleaner the trail coming into the house. It kills them right away. But then, out of under a little leave came out another insect running away as fast as possible trying to survive the spray. It first went fairly fast, then slowed down. It started contorting and finally straightened to its death. I am not a faint of heart, I delivered my own baby a month ago, love to train my mixed martial art, ride motorbike and walked on a wire 30 feet in the air. But this got me. I want to repell the ants like the people we don’t want to associate with in life. I will use the cinnamon and cayenne and work from there. My father in law was an avid hunter. Once he shot a deer, proud of himself he walked to it to claim his prize. When looking at it he noticed a tear going down the deer’s face. He broke down and never went to hunt again.
Aaron | Aug 6, 2008 | Reply
Great,jus what i was looking for”.
thankx
Liane Schmidt | Jan 11, 2009 | Reply
Dear glenda, you are kindly welcome.
Dear gayle, I hope the tips are helpful to you!
Dear jihad, I am glad to hear that.
Dear GROSK, your comment is truly appreciated.
Dear jeremias, yes, that is another way to go for sure.
Dear Repell but let live, yes, as I grow “younger & wiser” everyday, I do my best to try to avoid killing things. I’ll even catch spiders in a cup and set them free outside. Thank you so kindly for your comment it is thoughtful and wise.
Dear Aaron, I am very happy to hear that!
Blessings to all.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Kerrow | Apr 7, 2009 | Reply
My daughter in law just rang to ask for a safe repellent, Thanks for your great site, have e-mailed it to many like minded friends
Cheers
Kerrow
Lisa | Apr 24, 2009 | Reply
What do I do if I can’t find entry points or nest? I live in a 30-year-old trailer, so entry could be anywhere. Only have an occasional visitor, that may show up anywhere in the house, even across the top of my computer monitor. They don’t seem to have a favorite place to run.They seem to be increasing in the frequency of visits. Right now I dealing individually with them, but would like them to stay outside altogether. Any ideas?
Beth | Apr 28, 2009 | Reply
Thanks so much for these tips! Exactly what I was looking for… repel, not kill, and in spray form. One question though… my sunny deck is the ant infested area. Can I safely spray vinegar around without it (+ sun) causing any discoloration to the deck? Thanks again!
Dan | May 4, 2009 | Reply
Hi, Lisa.
I live in an old trailer, too, and had/have the same issue with ants. The problem with these old trailers is that they tend to leak into the walls and there is generally one property drainage path that finds its way under the trailer when it rains.
The following depends upon the type of ant, of course, but should work for most types that would take up residence in a house. My issue is with odorous house ants and the following works great on them.
If you just want to control them, start with a row or two of spearmint around the perimeter of the trailer. Now, this will keep new ants from joining the party, but won’t do anything about the thousands or millions already living in your walls. To address these, bait is probably your best bet. Diatomaceous earth, borax, and pancake syrup works pretty well. Start with a cup of syrup and a couple tablespoons of the earth and borax. Maybe thinned a little with distilled water (the chlorine in tap water repels them). Just cut up 2 inch squares of cardboard (stiff plastic work best since it doesn’t wick the moisture from the syrup), 8 for a single, 12 for double-wide), and place them just inside the skirting at fairly equal intervals. Check/replenish/replace them every couple days and you will notice a marked reduction in a week or so. The best part is that all are cheap to use. Borax (20 Mule Team)will be on the top shelf @ Wal Mart priced at about 3.00. Diatomaceous earth will be at most Lowe’s stores and should be much less 10.00 depending on the quantity they’re selling, and you may have the syrup around the house.
To rid yourself of the ants completely/permanently, you will have to address any water issues you find. Like I mentioned earlier, old trailers are prone to leakage into the walls and under the trailer itself. This can get expensive to resolve, but will save money in the long run.
Hope this helps at least a little…. Regards.
Lostash | May 6, 2009 | Reply
Chalk? Really? I’m going to make use of that tip!
X | Aug 3, 2009 | Reply
I have pine oil. This seems to work very well!
Chris | Aug 16, 2009 | Reply
My sister in law owns a natural health store, she said use natural lavender oil in a mist bottle (10 drops of oil for 1 cup of water) mist it around doors and windows…put lavender scented dryer sheet in drawers, anywhere you want to keep bugs out, just put them away from small pets & babies has they will put anything in their mouth…
As for trailers we had our rv in storage I put cloves(not ground) around doors cupboards drawers shower toilet etc…my RV was the only one without ants !
My RV is in my driveway right now, so I\’m going to clean it up will see if my sister in laws lavender oil worked better then my cloves…will keep you posted…