3 Simple Hacks to Prevent Ants in Your House

Ants thrive on dirtiness. You leave food crumbs on the table, or an emptied soda can open, you are bound to find these little pests nibbling their way all over the place. Before diving into any simple measures to cleanse the house of ants, clean up all the surfaces, wipe away the crumbs and make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink. Oh, also ants have a sweet tooth. So, be especially aware of any sugar bites out in the open. Ants can sniff those. FightBugs.com Try these tips on how to get rid of ants in your home before you have to call for help. Here are some of our top tips on getting rid of those icky insects. You could potentially save a lot of money! Know What Ant You're Dealing With Wikimedia Commons Take a close-up photo of the ant and look it up online. If you can't figure out what type of ant it is, try emailing it to your local library or university. They can help to ID the type of ant for you. This can help you figure out a game plan on how to get rid of this specific type of ant. You can see more about keeping ants out of your home on the NEXT page... How To Prevent Ants From Getting In Your Home Reader's Digest Try as you might, ants sometimes have a way of coming uninvited to your place despite all your efforts. You may keep your lids closed and floors mopped and clean. Yet, they will show up. Well, they are called pests for a reason. But don't worry. We have some homemade methods that you can try to get rid of those ants. 1. Cinnamon Huffington Post Cinnamon is considered to be one of the most effective ant-repellent Ants just can't stand the smell of cinnamon and are likely to clear out. Dip a cloth in the cinnamon essential oil and water mixture. Wipe the cloth over areas where you spotted ants. Repeat the process daily until the ants disappear. You can see more about keeping ants out of your home on the NEXT page... 2. Vinegar Pinterest Vinegar repels ants in much the same way as cinnamon. Ants hate the smell and scutter away. Making the vinegar spray to repel ants is the easiest. Pour distilled vinegar and water in a spray bottle in equal measures. Add some drops of lemon essential oil. Shake it properly and spray where you see ants. Normally, they would make a nest. Often they are found in cracks and sidings. You would see them coming in and out of hole repeatedly. This means they have created a nest there. Spray your vinegar mixture there until you have an ant-free zone. 3. Borax Natural Living Ideas As opposed to the above two recipes, borax works to invite ants where there is food. Food with borax is then taken and shared by ants with their fellow mates in the nest. This food ultimately kills them. Mix peanut butter (2tbs), sugar (2tbs), water (1tbs) and borax (1tbs). Put the mixture in a plastic container with a lid. Make sure to poke holes so that the ants could come in and out of the container. You can see more about keeping ants out of your home on the NEXT page... If you're looking to avoid the natural route, put out ant poison and wait Wikipedia Avoid physically killing them yourself when you put out ant poison. Put it in places where you've seen ants, especially under the sink and along walls or windows. You may see more ants at first, but once they take the bait and bring it back to their colony, you'll get rid of them for good. If you have pets or don't want to use chemicals, try using lemons. Apparently, these critters don't like lemon juice. You can also mix one part vinegar with three parts water in a spray bottle to clean wherever you see ants. This can get rid of their trail. Please SHARE this with your friends on Facebook to let them know the easy ways to get rid of ants! Watch this video to learn some more tips to fend off ants: Do you face an ant-attack often? Share this with your friends and family to make them aware of easy ways to get rid of ants. H/T: healthycures.org