5 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen

5 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen

Ants in the kitchen can be more than just an annoyance – they’re actually capable of causing serious health problems if left unchecked! In addition to being able to contaminate food and cause allergies, ants can also spread harmful bacteria and germs through your home if you don’t keep them out of the kitchen.

This article will cover 5 effective ways to get rid of ants in the kitchen, from keeping crumbs and spills cleaned up to using safe insecticides to ensure that your food stays safe from their prying little hands.

1) Use peppermint oil

Peppermint oil is an effective way to repel ants from a kitchen. Make sure you use pure peppermint oil and not that with other ingredients, as it can be harmful if ingested.

Dab cotton balls with minty-fresh oil and place them around your kitchen for about 20 minutes before removing them—but leave enough so they continue to release their scent.

You can do this several times a week or whenever you see ants, depending on how bad they are and how quickly you want them gone. Also, make sure you don’t put any food out while doing so!

The idea is to keep them away from your food. If there’s no food out, there’s nothing for them to eat or take back to their colony. Over time, you should notice fewer ants at mealtime. Be aware that peppermint isn’t effective against all types of ants. For example, it won’t work against fire ants.

However, since most ants aren’t too picky when it comes to food sources, it’s likely to have some effect on yours.

2) DIY Boric Acid Traps

Boric acid is poisonous, so if you have a small child or pet, take precautions when setting traps. Mix 1 tablespoon of boric acid with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons water to make a paste.

Spread it over a piece of paper and place it where ants are frequently seen, like countertops or near your kitchen sink.

As ants eat through the paper they will ingest some of your bait—which should be enough to kill them! Boric acid can also be found in powder form at many drugstores.

You may need to experiment with different amounts of boric acid and other ingredients to find what works best for you.

For example, adding more sugar may attract more ants while adding more boric acid might increase its toxicity.

Be sure to store any unused portions of baits in an airtight container away from children and pets.

3) Clean up food crumbs

Crumbs are one of those things you don’t think about until they’re everywhere. You leave a bagel on your desk and forget about it for a few days—and then suddenly, you have ants!

To prevent these creepy crawlies from taking over your kitchen, make sure you clean up all food crumbs as soon as you see them. Leaving crumbs out invites ants into your home and creates potential hazards like cross-contamination with food products.

If you want to keep ants away, avoid leaving any kind of food out where they can get at it. That means no open containers of honey or sugar—and definitely no leftover cookies or crackers.

If you do find yourself with an ant infestation, try some non-toxic solutions first before calling in an exterminator: borax and sugar water are effective natural repellents that can be left around areas where ants tend to congregate (like under your sink).

4) Find where they are coming from

You won’t be able to eliminate ants if you don’t know where they are coming from. To find their point of entry, check any holes or cracks that exist around your home.

You can also set up a few traps using sugar and water. Place some water on your countertop near one edge and sprinkle sugar at a diagonal across it. The ants will drink from it but won’t be able to get out because they don’t have enough traction on the countertop.

When they walk along it, they will move towards your sink since that is where they usually enter homes—but when ant traffic picks up, you should have enough time to seal off entrances before any more ants enter your home. It’s also important to make sure that no food is left out overnight.

If you have an outdoor cat, keep them inside at night so they aren’t bringing ants into your house every night.

5) Use liquid potpourri near windows

If ants are coming into your home through a window, you can spray liquid potpourri (like Citronella) near them to keep them out. This natural solution works by masking some of the odors that attract ants and repelling them.

Keep a bottle on hand so you can quickly spritz any windows whenever you notice insects gathering around it. You may also want to try wiping down all surfaces in your kitchen regularly with vinegar, which is also known as a powerful ant killer.

While vinegar will not kill an infestation outright, it will disrupt their trails and force them to find another way back inside your house. Spraying or wiping down with vinegar is especially helpful if you have kids or pets who may be attracted to its scent.