Ants in the home are usually not welcome guests. Deterring them and getting them to stay outside will make life easier. There are many ways to control ants in the kitchen environment, and this page is the ideal place to add your solutions.
Herbs and spices as deterrents[edit | edit source]
Use herbs to deter ants. Herbs can be placed on kitchen shelves, inside cupboards and in containers to ward off ants. Herbs not liked by ants include rue, pennyroyal and tansy.
For spices, put whole cloves in the areas frequented by ants. Crushed or ground cloves can be used near entrance holes or even the ant's nest if you know where it is.
Disrupting ant trails[edit | edit source]
Sprinkle chalk powder on ant trails to discourage them from crossing the line. Do this at any entry holes into the house to discourage them from entering.
Sprinkle salt across ant trails to stop them from crossing the line.
Using scent[edit | edit source]
Use lemons to deter ants, as they don't like the scent. Cut a lemon in half, squeeze the juice into areas where the ants appear to be entering and congregating. Lemon peel can also be used to deter ants, and will air dry quickly.
Keeping ants out of food[edit | edit source]
Keep desirable food in airtight containers that ants cannot access. In particular, keep sweet substances such as sugar, honey, treacle, molasses, in airtight containers and keep the lid on. Wipe trails of treacle, honey, etc. wiped off the sides of such containers after use.
Add a bay leaf to powdered and granulated substances such as flour, sugar and paprika that can attract the interest of ants.
