They have had songs sung in their honor, cartoons depicting them as determined little soldiers, and even have had stories written about them. While cutely animated as adorable picnic disruptors, there is nothing amusing or entertaining when ants begin marching, two by two, throughout your humble abode. So how do you maintain a pest-free home, when the ants refuse to negotiate, determined to launch a full scale invasion? There are several things that you must first consider, before you rush out to buy sprays or ant traps.
The first thing to do, when launching a (kitchen) counter attack, is to identify the enemy. Ants come in a wide variety of sizes and styles. Much like us, different ants have different preferences in where they like to live and what they like to eat. Miniscule ghost ants are adept at avoiding commercial ant traps, carpenter ants like to attack wood, and some ants will go for the sugar bowl. Determining what variety of ant is in your home will give you hints to how your invaders are entering your home, as well as how to make them retreat.
Now that you know who you’re dealing with, you can probably see where they are headed. Whether it’s across the bathroom floor or along the kitchen counter, there is something in your home that has attracted them. The next step is to find what that something is and either get rid of it or make sure that it’s sealed up in ant-proof containers. The sugar bowl, the honey or maple syrup jar, even that fruit-scented shampoo that keeps your hair full and bouncy can be the culprit. Make sure food containers are sealed tightly, sticky sweet residues are rinsed off of bottles, and be sure to empty the crumbs out of the toaster; whole wheat or rye, crumbs are easy to carry back to the nests. Always making sure to wipe down the counter after cooking will also help deter these pests; a dirty counter is like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Ants communicate to one another constantly. When they find something that tastes yummy, they send signals out to all the other ants and, what started off as a single ant soon becomes a train. Inconvenient, yes, but don’t grab that can of spray yet! The next trick is to follow your trail of ants backwards, to try and see how they are entering your home. Once this is determined, you may then be able to seal off their entryway with a small dab of clear silicone sealant (available at hardware stores). This will help keep ants, as well as other buggy friends, outside.
By now, you’re probably eyeing that spray can and wondering when you can put it to use. In truth, using a spray pesticide is probably one of the worst things that you can do to kill ants. Sure, it seems quick, and the stuff usually smells strong enough to knock over a horse. It should work on a few itty bitty ants, right? Wrong. As stated earlier, ants communicate with one another all the time. In those last few moments of life, they send out messages to all their fellow ants that something is terribly wrong. When this happens, the main colony of ants divides and starts new colonies, in case the main one is destroyed. If you’ve ever sprayed for ants, only to discover that they come back with a vengeance, this is usually what has happened.
There are only two sure-fire ways of getting ants out of your house; either deter them or destroy the queen, back in her nest. While you could call in the professionals to do this, chances are that they will either spray for the ants or they will set out bait; both of which are expensive options in the long run. There are a wide variety of homemade remedies for ants, which will save you money, as well as keeping your pets and children safe from harmful chemicals. Sometimes, it may take a bit of experimentation, but here are some tried and true methods of getting rid of ants.
Ants dislike anything with a strong or pungent smell. Scented oils, such as peppermint or eucalyptus, are often good at turning the ants around and discouraging them from trespassing (some people even suggest perfumes work, but I wouldn’t suggest spritzing the kitchen with Giorgio). More readily found in the average home, white vinegar, pungent spices such as black or cayenne pepper, bay leaves, or even cinnamon can be sprinkled along ant paths to help turn them around and, if you have a baby in the house, scented talcum powder has also known to offend them enough that they hightail it.
Should you truly wish to destroy the enemy, the only sure way is to destroy the queen. This can be accomplished using simple breakfast foods and a little bit of patience. Sprinkle a small amount of uncooked, instant wheat cereal or grits along known ant tracks, and your little pests will quickly pick up the treat, carrying it back to the nest. There, safe in their home, the ants feed this cereal to the queen where it will expand and kill those that eat it. Essentially, it has the same effect as the chemicals that professionals use as bait, but is safe for use in a home with children or pets.
If you take these steps, you should be able to wage your own counter-attack against your invaders and send them running. Sometimes, it takes a little time and patience, but it’s well worth the effort, as well as being relatively easy on the pocketbook.
