The first step to getting rid of ants is cleaning up whatever might have attracted them in the first place, like food spills or crumbs. Sealing leaky pipes and keeping indoor houseplants clean also helps.

Another natural solution is boric acid, best way to kill ants within three weeks of exposure by eroding their outer shells and stomachs. Mix it with sugar or cornmeal and sit it near the ant infestation to start killing them off.

Vinegar

Vinegar, especially white vinegar, is one of the most commonly used household items to get rid of ants. It is a natural insecticide that can kill the insects by disrupting their scent trails and communication pathways.

You can use it alone or in combination with other products. You can mix equal parts white vinegar with water in a spray bottle and apply it to problem areas around your home, such as baseboards or windowsills. You can also add a few drops of any type of essential oil, such as lemon eucalyptus or peppermint, to the solution to make it more effective.

Another natural way to kill ants is to use boric acid, which can kill the insects by eroding their outer shells and stomachs. This method is most effective if you use it on ant hills outside your home, but you can also sprinkle it around the entrances to their nests. It has a low toxicity rate for humans, but it's important to keep borax away from children and pets. Pepper, on the other hand, doesn't kill ants, but it can repel them by blocking their sense of smell.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice also destroys the scent trails ants leave behind. Use it to wipe down counters and other surfaces inside your home where you've seen ant activity. It can also be mixed with vinegar to make a spray. Just be careful to keep it out of reach of pets and children, as the acid in lemon juice can burn them.

You can also try pouring boiling water or lemon eucalyptus oil over ant nests to kill them and prevent other ants from invading your house. Another eco-friendly option is to saturate cotton balls with lemon eucalyptus oil and place them along the ant trails that you've seen around your home.

Diatomaceous earth is a less familiar, but highly effective method of killing ants. It looks like flour to the naked eye, but when ants walk through it, the sharp edges of the diatoms cut their exoskeletons and cause them to dehydrate. Sprinkle it around entrances into your home, or add it to a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water to make a spray that you can apply directly to the ants.

Peppermint

Using peppermint oil for ants is a natural and effective alternative to chemical pesticides. It is non-toxic to pets and humans and rapidly breaks down, leaving no lasting residues in the environment. It also helps to protect the ecological balance, minimizing negative impact on beneficial insects such as bees.

Peppermint oil works by deterring ants by removing the pheromone trail they leave behind as they search for food. This simple home remedy can be applied to counters, baseboards, and other areas where ants are a problem. It can also be sprayed on entry points, such as windowsills and back doors.

Other essential oils, such as lemon eucalyptus (OLE) and clove oil, are also effective at repelling ants and can be combined with peppermint to create a powerful blend. Look for an organic OLE that has been distilled without additives from a company known for their commitment to sustainable sourcing and rigorous testing. You can find this type of organic OLE at most health food stores. For a more targeted approach, soak cotton balls with OLE and place them in potential entry points.

Cinnamon

Ants have a keen sense of smell, but cinnamon is so strong that it can overpower their scent. It also disrupts and erases their pheromone trails, which confuses them and forces them to seek new routes into your home. You can sprinkle cinnamon powder around problem areas or use cinnamon essential oil. The latter is more potent and leaves no mess behind, but you’ll need to dip a cotton swab in the oil before applying it to your home.

Another non-toxic option is pepper. You can sprinkle it around the ants or make a solution with water and pepper to spray on them. It will kill them immediately or force them to seek other food sources.

If you have a serious ant problem, it’s best to consult a professional pest control company. But you can also try these simple home remedies to repel them until they leave. Just remember to clean up any food or other crumbs that could attract them and take steps to seal cracks in your home that they might crawl through.

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper is a powerful deterrent for ants. Sprinkle it around the house where you see ant trails to keep them away. It also works well as a sprinkling agent at the entrance to your home where you see ant activity. It's effective and harmless to children, pets and plants.

Borax is lethal to ants, interfering with their digestive system. Make a sugar and borax powder mixture and spread it in areas where you see ant activity. The ants will carry the sugar back to their queen, which will die soon after.

The acid in citrus peels is another natural ant repellent that doesn't harm the insects. Save lemon, lime and orange peels and scatter them near ant entry points.

A solution of equal parts water and vinegar can also disrupt ant pheromone trails. Use a spray bottle to apply the solution to entry points, along with other places where you see ants. Diatomaceous earth (DE), a powdered form of fossilized algae, is another effective ant deterrent. Dust DE lightly and evenly around ant entry Pestemite, or saturate cotton balls with it and place them in those locations.