Both cayenne and black pepper repel ants. Ants hate cayenne pepper. Black pepper will work just as well too. Locate the source of the ant infestation problem, sprinkle some pepper around that area and if possible, create a wall that will stop the ants from accessing your household.
Ants hate the smell of strong citrus fruits. Save your orange, lemon and grapefruit peels and scatter them around entry points. It's a natural way to deter ants without harming them.
Two of the best ways to eliminate ants are Borax and diatomaceous earth. Essential oils, including peppermint and clove, are a natural way to repel and kill ants. Food and moisture attract ants, so keep your home clean and dry to get rid of ants permanently.
For an effective organic ant repellent, scatter talcum powder liberally around house foundations and known points of entry, such as doors and windows. Other effective organic repellents include cream of tartar, borax, powdered sulfur, and oil of cloves. You can also try planting mint around the house foundations.
Better Than Hopscotch: Ants will not cross a chalk line. Draw a chalk line in front of exterior doors, to prevent ants from coming into the house. You can also draw a chalk line around tables on the porch or patio, to keep pesky ants away while dining outdoors.
Borax, a mineral used in many cleaning products, is lethal to ants, interfering with their digestive system. Create a syrupy paste with borax, confectioner's sugar and water. Put the mixture inside shallow containers with narrow, ant-sized openings and place them near ant mounds or wherever you see ants.
It makes sense that you want to wipe them out the moment you spot them in your house. However, this might be the beginning of your troubles. Killing ants will, definitely, attract more ants because the dead ants release pheromones that attract or rather alert, nearby ants.
On the other hand, plain table salt does not. It is only effective in intercepting the ants. This should not be applied on heavy ant-infestation.
Vinegar and Water
Vinegar mixed with water can repel and kill ants. It's also not dangerous to humans unless you have an allergy. The only drawback is the smell it leaves behind. Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle.
Boric acid is a fairly common form of pest control that kills insects upon ingestion. Mixing boric acid with another substance that attracts ants, like sugar or honey, will lure them in and then shock their central nervous system.
– Air Fresheners: Air fresheners contain a range of ingredients including sweet and fruity that can be alluring to all kinds of pests including ants.
It is advised not to squash ants, doing so will only release pheromones and trigger more ants to come to the location and cause more trouble to you and your family. Ants are known to pack a deadly bite that causes excruciating pain for a short time.
invicta workers do have color vision and have a preference for green, orange and red and least prefer blue. “Many people would not consider studying if ants have color vision because ants generally rely on chemicals instead of vision when exploring their environments,” Carbaugh said.
Crazy ants are attracted, not so much to sweets or starches, but to electricity. That's right, electricity! They will infest televisions, gaming systems, stereo equipment, and machinery of all sorts; and when they invade, it is by the hundreds or perhaps more!
Different Species Have Different Lifespans
For comparison, odorous house ant workers, a commonly seen ant inside homes, tend to live about two to three years, while a fire ant worker lives only about five weeks.
Ants transport their dead there in order to protect themselves and their queen from contamination. This behavior has to do with the way ants communicate with each other via chemicals. When an ant dies, its body releases a chemical called oleic acid.
In addition to transporting the bacteria that are already inside your home, ants can bring with them any number of other food-borne diseases like Shigella, clostridium, salmonella, staph, strep, E. coli, and various fungi.
How Do You Get Rid of Crazy Ants? Using a non-repellent ant spray, you can then treat both the trail and the colonies simultaneously. These sprays contain an insecticide, are readily available in the market and can be effective if you have located the nest.
All types of ants are capable of biting. These insects use their mandibles and mouth to pinch the skin if they feel threatened. These bites can cause some pain and discomfort, but they are usually not dangerous. However, if you do not clean and care for the bite, the skin can become irritated or even infected.
Ants can also creep into your bed and even make a home there. Although most ant species don't bite, some mattresses can become infested with stinging ants.
White vinegar
White vinegar, available at all grocery stores, is a cheap and effective way to kill and repel ants. It is also a natural cleaning agent. Try using a 1-to-1 vinegar/water mixture to clean hard surfaces, including floors and countertops, wherever ants are likely to travel.