Natural Pest Control Measures To Try Against Ants

It can be pretty annoying to find ants in your home. There are lots of baits and sprays that are effective against ants, but what if you do not want to use those chemicals in your home? Then, you may want to try some of these natural pest control methods.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is quite acidic, and ants do not enjoy its flavor. Take a fresh lemon, microwave it for 20 seconds to warm it up and release the juices, and then slice it in half. Squeeze some of this fresh lemon juice near the places where you suspect ants are entering your home. Repeat this process every day for a week or until you no longer see any ants. You may then have some sticky residue to clean up, but it should be easy to wipe up with a damp cloth.

Cinnamon

Most people enjoy the scent of cinnamon, but ants find it very unappealing. You can put some cinnamon sticks in your cabinets, along baseboards, and near doors and windows where you suspect the ants are entering. If you are worried about a dog or cat eating the cinnamon sticks, then you may want to package them up inside a little sachet. They'll still give off their scent, but won't be as easy for pets to carry away.

Peppermint

Natural peppermint leaves can be purchased at many health food stores. They have a nice, pleasant minty scent and are safe for pets and children to be around. Ants, however, are repelled by them. You can simply put the fresh peppermint leaves in areas where you have seen ants. Growing some peppermint plants on your kitchen counter will also help keep them away.

Black Pepper

Black pepper makes people sneeze, so you don't want to sprinkle it loosely around your home. However, you can use it to repel ants by packaging some whole black peppercorns up in little sachets and placing those sachets where the ants enter. The peppercorns do lose their potency over time, so you will want to replace them with fresh ones every week or so. The cheap ones from the dollar store work just fine.

While many homeowners do find success with these natural ant control tactics, they do not always work. If you don't find success with these measures described above, you may have to turn to harsher chemicals. Contact a pest control company to learn more.