If you find ants in the kitchen area, be aware that they can be pests that will annoy you constantly. Although small, these insects make you feel uncomfortable while preparing food, and make you lose your appetite. Although getting rid of ants in the kitchen can seem very difficult, you can use some repellents from household products in combination with ant bait to get them out of your home forever.
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Part 1 of 4: Watching the Ants
Step 1. Identify the ants
Correctly identifying ants in the kitchen is a very important first step in dealing with ant problems. Ants have many species with different habits and behaviors that will determine the treatment that must be carried out to deal with them.
- Observe the ants in the kitchen and pay attention to their characteristics. Some of the characteristics that must be seen are the color and size. The ants in the kitchen are most likely pavement ants or pharaoh ants, although other types of ants are possible.
- Once you've identified the characteristics of an ant invading your kitchen, do an internet search to determine the exact species, and what methods you should use to get rid of them.
Step 2. Locate the ant's entry point
Follow the ants that have been in the house for a few minutes, and try to find a place to enter the house. Pay attention to the inside of the house around doors, windows, and gaps in the floor, and outside of the house around windows, doors, wallboards, and outdoor lights.
If you see ants moving in and out of these places, focus on the area when cleaning so that the ants can't use them again to get into your home
Step 3. Find the anthill
If you already know the trails and entry points that the ants use to get into the house, try paying attention to the ant trails that lead outside the house. You will notice that all the ants follow the same trail. When ants enter the house, they leave a scent trail that the colony can follow.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find an anthill, but once the nest is found, you can spray the anthill with a toxic substance. You can also eradicate the ant colony at the source by placing poison baits in your home for the ants to carry to their nests. This can kill an entire ant colony
Part 2 of 4: Fighting Ants
Step 1. Eliminate ant trails
Even if you only see one ant in your house, you are more likely to see a larger number of ants. This happens because the ants leave a trail wherever they go so that other ants can smell it and follow it. You can't get rid of ant trails just by sweeping and mopping the floor. These are traces of pheromones (chemicals used to communicate with other members) that cannot be removed simply by sweeping. You must remove it with a disinfectant cleaner. To make it, mix part vinegar and part water in a spray bottle, then spray the entire kitchen surface with this mixture. Target areas frequented by ants.
- Remember, this mixture cannot kill ants that are already in the house. This only erases the traces so that ants outside the house can't follow the pheromone trails inside the house.
- You can also use bleach instead of vinegar. The most important part of this mixture is a sterile cleaner to remove traces of ants.
Step 2. Repel ants using soapy water
Mix 1 cap of liquid soap and water in a spray bottle. Shake the bottle to mix the water and soap. Next, spray this mixture on the ants whenever you see them in the kitchen. Wait about 5 minutes before you clean it. Ants are easier to clean off the kitchen counter when they are not moving.
- You can also use bar soap instead. Scrape off a few pieces of bar soap, then put it in a quart of water. Next, microwave the mixture to melt the soap, then put it in a spray bottle.
- This method is safe for pets and children because it does not contain insecticides. This mixture can also be used in the garden to repel insects that attack plants.
Step 3. Repel ants using lemon
Mix 1 cup of lemon juice with 4 cups of warm water in a large bowl. Dip a cloth into the mixture, and wipe down countertops, the inside of cabinets, the top of the refrigerator, around kitchen windows, and other surfaces in the kitchen where ants are frequent.
- The smell of citrus can repel ants. Cucumber peels and orange peels are known to be used to repel ants.
- You can also wipe the floor with this solution, but make sure you do this on a floor where ants often enter your home.
Step 4. Repel ants with herbs and spices
Spread the cinnamon powder around areas where ants might get into your house (doors, windows, etc.), around the edges of kitchen counters, or anywhere ants are used to. The aroma released by cinnamon in addition to being able to repel ants, will also provide a refreshing aroma in the kitchen. Some spices and herbs that can also be used to repel ants include:
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- Red chili pepper
- Clove
- Garlic
- Bay leaf
- Mint leaves (mint)
- Basil leaves (a type of basil)
Step 5. Repel ants with dry diatomaceous earth
Pay attention to the area around the kitchen where the ants are most infested. IF you often find ants in tight corners, such as kitchen ledges, small cracks in walls, floor and baseboard edges, or along windows, sprinkle diatomaceous earth in these areas.
After you sprinkle the diatomaceous earth, observe to see if the ants have left the house, or have taken another route to get into the house. If needed, sprinkle diatomaceous earth back into the new route. One month later, clean the area that has been treated with diatomaceous earth, and sprinkle diatomaceous earth again if the ants have not disappeared
Step 6. Repel ants using wet diatomaceous earth
Observe if the ants are swarming over a larger, flatter area, rather than simply moving around the edges and crevices of the kitchen. If ants are crawling along the walls, you should use wet diatomaceous earth. Follow the directions given on the spray bottle to use it. Use a spray bottle to target large areas (e.g. walls), where ants are infested.
- Again, try to track and see if the ants have left the house, or have taken another route. If there are still ants a month later after you spray the wet diatomaceous earth, re-spray the diatomaceous earth.
- Diatomaceous earth will not work when wet. This material will work when the water in the solution dries and evaporates, leaving a fine powder to kill ants.
Step 7. Repel ants using other natural ingredients
Some ingredients that are known to repel ants include coffee grounds, rice, corn flour, lime, cucumber skin, and baby powder. Sprinkle these materials around the areas where the ants swarm, and observe which materials work best for your home and the ants there. Getting rid of ants this way (using random spices and food) is a trial and error process. Materials that are suitable for one house with the same ants may not be suitable for another.
Ants do not like the smell and content contained in these materials. Therefore, ants will usually not enter areas surrounded or covered with these materials
Step 8. Seal the entry point of the ants tightly
Use putty to seal any open cracks and crevices that ants use to get into your home. These cracks are usually found near doors and windows. By caulking them, you have sealed off the entry points for the ants and kept the room temperature better.
- To caulk holes and crevices effectively, insert the tip of the putty tool into the hole or crevice, and massage the putty tool to fill in the holes and crevices. If the putty has started to ooze from the hole or crevice, the crack is tightly closed.
- This method of preventing the entry of ants is non-toxic so it is safe for children and pets.
Part 3 of 4: Killing Ants
Step 1. Find out the most effective ant bait
Scout ants (ants seen in the kitchen) are ants that transport food throughout the colony. Place the opening bait in the most ant-infested areas. Place a small plate filled with sugar-based foods (such as syrup, honey, jam, etc.), and fried foods (such as potatoes or fried chicken). Pay attention to which type of food the ants prefer. You don't have to leave this bait for too long to find out what kind of food the ants prefer.
- Ants' preferences for food can change depending on the time of day. So, it's a good idea to use an opening bait first to find out which taste of food the ants like the most at that time. Next, buy poison ant bait with the taste of the food.
- The application of this opening bait does not have to be done on all ant problems in the kitchen, but this step can help narrow down the type of bait to use. When in doubt, buy baits that contain both sweet and savory flavors at a time.
- Poisonous ant bait is sold in liquid and solid form. For ants who like sweet foods, liquid bait usually gives better results.
Step 2. Be patient as the bait works to lure and kill the ants
Once you've placed a poison bait that tastes like food that ants like, you may notice an increase in the number of ants. This happens because the bait has attracted the ants. This is what you want because the more ants around the bait, the more bait the ants will bring to the nest to kill the entire colony.
- Remember, the process of getting rid of ants using this bait may take a while. This is because you're not only killing ants that roam around the house, but you're also killing generations of ants, such as adults, pupae (ants in a cocoon), larvae, and eggs. The process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
- When implementing this bait system, all other food must be removed. Don't let any food other than bait attract ants. Of course you want the ants to only take poison bait. Also, don't disturb the ants or bait after they start eating them.
- If you still see ants after two weeks of baiting, change the type of bait you use. This means the bait is ineffective or ineffective.
Step 3. Make your own ant bait
Mix 1 tablespoon organic boric acid, 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or another sweet, sticky ingredient like jam, honey, etc.). Spread boric acid and sweetener on bread or crackers, then place the bait in a cardboard box with a small hole. Just like factory-made bait, the smell of the food in the bait will attract the ants, and the boric acid will kill the rest of the colony when the ants transport the bait to the nest.
- Leave the bait until the evening because at that time the ants will leave the nest to look for food.
- Invade the anthill at the source. If you can find the nest, get rid of the ants by eradicating the colony. Spray the nest and the area around it with a bifenthrin-based insecticide.
Step 4. Call a professional exterminator if the ants have not gone away
You may need to contact an exterminator and ask them to do an assessment if your methods of getting rid of the ants are not working.
A professional exterminator can find out where the ants enter, and possibly find other nests, as well as provide useful explanations and better methods for dealing with the ant problem in your home
Part 4 of 4: Preventing Ants from Coming Back
Step 1. Keep the kitchen sink dry and clean
Clean and rinse any cutlery that you intend to leave in the sink overnight. Don't let any food scraps attract ants at night.
Try pouring a small amount of bleach down the sink drain to get rid of the leftover smell
Step 2. Sweep and mop the floor as often as possible
A little food crumbs can invite a crowd of ants. So, make sure you've cleaned up any food crumbs that are scattered on the floor and hidden under kitchen utensils. Sweep the floor to remove the ants' food source. Wipe the kitchen floor using a mixture of part water and part bleach.
- Again, this solution for cleaning floors can also be made by mixing part vinegar and part water. The most important ingredient is a sterile cleaner to remove traces of ants.
- This vinegar and water mixture can also be sprayed around the pet food bowl to keep ants from swarming there.
Step 3. Vacuum the area that came into contact with the food
Just like when you sweep and mop, this vacuum will help clean up any crumbs that can attract ants into your home.
This is especially important for homes with carpets because food crumbs can be difficult to see when hidden in the carpet
Step 4. Take out the trash regularly
Choose a garbage bag that is strong and durable, and dispose of the trash as often as possible to reduce the chances of ants eating food around and in the trash can.
- Oftentimes, a small puncture in the bag can allow the liquid waste to flow out and attract the ants.
- Sprinkle baking soda at the bottom of the trash can to freshen it up. This can prevent the ants from smelling the food in the trash.
