Ants cannot stand the smell of cinnamon. Ground cinnamon, cinnamon essential oil, and cinnamon sticks can all be effective repellents. Ground cinnamon can even suffocate ants by clogging the spiracles they use to breathe.
Peppermint is a natural insect repellant. You can plant mint around your home or use the essential oil of peppermint as a natural remedy for control of ants. Ants hate the smell, and your home will smell minty fresh! Plant mint around entryways and the perimeter of your home.
Vinegar
The strong odor from the vinegar will serve as a permanent deterrent to the pests. Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar into a spray bottle, then spray the mixture onto the areas of your home where the ants are congregating or the areas that are most susceptible to ants.
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.
Natural deterrents.
Salt, baby powder, lemon juice, chalk, vinegar, bay leaves, cinnamon, or peppermint oil are a few items that you have around your home that will stop ants from coming inside. Lay these out in areas where you see ants, and they'll stop using that area as an entrance into your house.
Try pouring a line of cream of tartar, red chili powder, paprika, or dried peppermint at the place where you think ants might be entering the house; they won't cross it. You can also try washing countertops, cabinets, and floors with equal parts vinegar and water.
Vinegar only remains effective for as long as the scent lingers. When the solution dries up, homeowners need to reapply the solution in the problem areas to keep ants away. However, it's important to remember that vinegar shouldn't be treated as the main line of defense against ant infestations.
There are a range of smells that ants avoid, such as citrus, lavender and mint. These plants have developed these chemicals in order to put off insects that might otherwise feed on them.
"The scent of eucalyptus is the driving factor that keeps insects out of your home," says Evie. "Add sprigs of eucalyptus around your bathroom, kitchen and living room. You can also mix a few leaves with witch hazel and water and spray any areas that ants can gather."
Salt-boil salt and water into a mixture and once cooled, pour into a spray bottle and spray nooks and corners. Oranges-half fresh orange juice and half water sprayed around your home will keep the pests out and keep your home smelling nicely. Essential Oils-used like lemon or orange juices.
Natural items like boiling water, vinegar, and baking soda to get rid of these ants and Diatomaceous Earth are effective in dealing with fire ants. Diatomaceous Earth is one of the most effective ant-killers out there, and placing them in the ant entryways can solve the problem of “how to get rid of ants permanently”.
Vinegar. Vinegar is often a common home remedy for insects and ants are no exception. To use vinegar as a homemade ant spray, simply fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. Spray the solution directly on the ants and then wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel.
2. Lavender. Lavender may smell pleasant to humans but it's not so popular with ants, flies, moths, fleas and mosquitoes. A pot near your door can keep ants away; lavender in boiled water is thought to repel ants; and the oil can help to keep skin bite-free.
While it attracts 'good bugs' [like honeybees and hoverflies], mint also deters 'bad bugs. ' Repel ants and flies by growing pennyroyal mint right outside your door, or spray diluted peppermint essential oil (ten parts water to one part oil) around doorways and windows.
Many other common household solutions can also repel ants, including cinnamon, mint, salt, cloves, garlic, onions and bay leaves. Many ants are attracted to sugar, so you may have seen ants stop and spend some time on the circle made up of the sugar water—they may have been enjoying a snack!
Mix soap and water
Mix well 1-2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap with 2l of warm water. Identify the nest and pour the mixture slowly into it. The mixture will kill the ants and prevent them from escaping the nest.
Peppermint, Spearmint, Pennyroyal, Garlic and Citronella are effective essential oils ants hate. You can also put the essential oil on a cotton-wool ball and place them by the doors. Spray the essential oil along shelves and floors where the ants are seen, and on their nests. Or, grow plants ants hate.
Home Ant Control Tips
Windex, the glass cleaner, is a known insect killer. When you have an ant swarm in your house, spray them all with Windex and they will die nearly instantly. Windex can also eliminate some of the scent trails that ants follow to find food.
If you're able to locate the point of entry, simply dab a generous amount of the Vick's Vapor Rub around the entry point or any cracks in the area. The ants are unable to walk through the stuff due to all the fumes, and will go away (hopefully never to return!).
While many people believe that salt is an effective way to get rid of ants, the truth is that salt may only temporarily repel certain species ants, rather than kill them. Ants live in a colony often consisting of thousands of ants.
The good news is that ants can still smell Vinegar after it is dried. Always remember that Vinegar is not a permanent solution to remove an ant infestation. It is reasonable to spread the solution thrice a week over the affected areas to remove ants slowly.
Vinegar does not kill ants in the traditional sense: you spray it, and the ant dies. The only way this remedy is effective is if the ant drowns in vinegar (though water accomplishes the same thing).
Use this white vinegar solution to spray all entry points of your home, try to spry all windows, doors, baseboards and the common paths that ants would travel within your home. Give about an hour for this solution to take effect, then after a few hours the ants should be dead.