Ways to Get Rid of Ants
Written by ChrisStanley on July 23, 2008 – 12:24 pm -Mary Lynne Harper had an ant problem. Specifically, she needed to know the ways to get rid of ants.
Are you looking for ways to get rid of ants? Getting rid of one ant isn’t difficult – just step on it! But that won’t do Mary Lynne much good because ants are communal insects. Mary Lynne needed to be able to kill the ants at the source.
This article explores ways to get rid of ants – their colonies and all.
Mary Lynne noticed that she had lots of ants in her garden. There are many ways to get rid of ants in the garden. An easy method is to sprinkle coffee grounds around the area you wish to protect. Then, take a spray bottle filled with water and a few drops of essential peppermint oil, and spray the ants you see. The coffee grounds will take care of the problem long term while the peppermint oil spray will kill the visible ants.
But Mary Lynne’s main problem was the ants inside her house, particularly in her kitchen. If one of her children left an apple core uncovered or a soda can around, she would soon have a swarm of ants around it. Her ant problem made life very difficult.
There are also ways to get rid of ants indoors. One way to do this is to check and see where they are coming into the home. Go stand by the door during daylight hours. Can you see any sunshine? If you can see light underneath a door, the ants can get in there. Consider caulking up any gaps in doors and windows and any cracks or holes in walls.
Another idea is to place baby powder lines along the baseboards of windows and doors and near any holes in the walls where you suspect ants are coming in. Baby powder (also known as Dioxomous Earth) is toxic to ants but perfectly safe for pets and children.
Further, you might consider using bait that ants can take back to their nests.
The first thing that comes to mind when bait is mentioned are the commercial products you can buy in the grocery store. There are many different types of commercial baits, but these use harsh chemicals which may be dangerous to children or pets if they were to eat them. Even worse, there is some evidence that chemical baits and sprays may damage a child’s DNA so you’re not only harming that child, you’re affecting future generations. If all of that wasn’t enough, these chemical baits and sprays are bad for the environment.
Mary Lynne wanted something that would not be dangerous for pets, children, grandchildren, or the earth. A safe and natural way to get rid of ants is to sprinkle Cream of Wheat in areas where ants forage. The Cream of Wheat expands as it combines with the internal body fluids of the ant causing it to explode.
Another way to get rid of ants is to sprinkle pepper around. Your dog may explore it once, but one snootful and he’ll stay away. Your children will ignore it.
Unless you are able to treat the nest directly, spraying in general is not very effective. But if you do, locate a nest, you can pour 3 gallons of hot water mixed with