Topic: UGH! Ants in the kitchen! Natural remedies?
beaches
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posted
Spring has sprung (finally) and brought with it some unwelcome guests into my kitchen! I am totally grossed out.
I put out the Raid ant traps (inside and out!). Then someone told me that I should put lines of baking soda on my counters, along the doorway and kitchen window so the ants couldn't cross over. That didn't work.
Then I read that ants are repelled by cloves. So I sprinkled ground cloves all over the place. That didn't work either. My house just smells like I baked a fall goodie that we can't eat.
Then I read that ants hate the smell of vinegar so I made a mixture of vinegar and water and sprayed the counters and cabinets. Still, they felt welcomed and now the house smells like salad dressing.
Then I read that peels from citrus repels them. So I took the peel from a couple of lemons and placed them all over the kitchen. And they are still here!!!
I am trying to avoid spraying toxic chemicals in the house. Anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of these things?
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beaches
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posted
OK, let me guess. The next comment will be "moving to General" lol.
That's where I meant to post!
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This is a recipe for getting rid of those pesky ants that come every spring and summer. Mix up the solution, pack cotton balls in a jar LID, put the solution on and they will be gone.
Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons boric acid 3 cups warm water
Directions: 1. Mix the sugar and boric acid well. 2. Add the warm water slowly, mixing all the while so it won't be too lumpy. 3. Store in a jar until ready to use. 4. When ready to use, put cotton into the top of a jar lid to fill it and then saturate the cotton to the top. 5. Place it in the location where it is needed. 6. Note: This solution will keep for a long while. A good technique is to drip a drop or two over the edge of the lid to rest on the counter so the ants will find the solution sooner. It sometimes takes a little while for them to find it, but find it they will. When they do, do not disturb them as they drink. They will hang over the edge of the lid and drink for a while and then take it back to the nest killing the colony. Almost overnight they will be gone.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I used to make up a similar solution for roaches. You make a paste out of boric acid, sugar and milk or water.
Then put the paste in jar lids and spread them around. Put them out of reach of children and pets just to be safe. (but I think it is safe as it is)
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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beaches
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posted
LOL glad I made things a tad easier!
But now you're telling me I have to use a 6 step recipe? Isn't it enough that I have to cook all the time? Geez!
But thanks for the info! I'll give it a shot, unless someone chimes in with an easy-breezy one step way to get rid of these things!
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Razzle
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posted
Find the location where they are entering your house.
Spray a mix of cinnamon, clove, lemon, eucalyptus or any other strong-smelling oil in water on the location.
Spread the spray around to fully coat a wide area in and around where the ants are coming into your house.
This will hide their chemical trail and confuse them so they can't find where the trail goes to come in your house.
We have ants that come in through our front door every year. I apply an essential oils mixture to the threshold and spread it around, then let it air-dry.
The ants don't come in for months after... I sometimes have to re-apply later in the summer, but not always.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Carol in PA
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posted
Diatomaceous earth.
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beaches
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posted
Thanks Razzle. It appears as though they are entering the kitchen from a certain spot but I can't really say for sure. Is there a way to find out exactly?
That mixture sounds like a good one. I don't have the actual oils though-just the powdered spices. Do you think a combo of spices would work just as well as the oils?
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beaches
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Carol, that sounds easy enough. Thanks! But inside or out?
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poppy
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beaches
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No poppy, not happening anytime soon. And what is a flicker?
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Carol in PA
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posted
I had ants coming in through a crack behind the kitchen sink. I sprinkled diatomaceous earth all along the joint where the counter meets the wall.
posted
A flicker is a type of bird... and one guy in college claimed he sat on the ground in some yoga
pose and "communicated" with the ants that they didn't want to come into his house. It is life
affirming, uncomplicated, and you don't have to cook. I, for one, don't believe it worked.
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beaches
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posted
Thanks Carol for that link and thanks LT for giving me an easy way out with the boric acid.
And Don, things can't ever be TOO clean for me, eventhough it's tough for me to clean these days! Thanks for making me smile Posts: 1885 | From here | Registered: Jul 2012
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beaches
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posted
I forgot to mention that I also literally flung peppermint capsules into every cabinet and drawer. And I screamed and cursed at the little critters as I was doing that.
Otter, that is just too funny. Thanks for defining flicker.
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karenl
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posted
Why are you not just putting these ant boxes with one hole in it in the area where they come in. The poison is inside.
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beaches
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posted
Karen, I have 12 of those ant boxes scattered about the kitchen. That's one of the first things I did. That stuff worked in previous years. I apparently now have mutant ants who are immune to that poison!
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Razzle
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posted
No, the dry spice is too mild. It needs to be wet, and needs to cover the whole area.
You could try getting the spices wet...sprinkle some in a little water, mix it well, then sprinkle the mix where you think the ants are coming in...let it air-dry...
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Dogsandcats
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posted
Glass cleaner when I have a influx of them. Doesn't get rid of them, but it cleans them up and confuses them while you put out all the potions listed above.
-------------------- God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.
Billy Graham Posts: 1967 | From California | Registered: Oct 2010
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lymie_in_md
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I've used peppermint essential oil. Here's a link with different essential oil recipes you can use.
posted
The boric acid or DE should work. May take a few days.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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MannaMe
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posted
Artificial sweeteners work too! I used aspartame in the little packets, sprinkled it right in the openings where they came in.
It takes a few days till they carry it back to the nest and kills them off. Then we were free of ants for months!
Posts: 2252 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
Isn't THAT a scary idea!! And Monsanto says aspartame is safe in ingest. Sure, right!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Carol in PA
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The Terro Ant Killer worked better for me than the diatomaceous earth did.
If you need any convincing, read the reviews for it at Amazon.
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lymie_in_md
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You could add margarine, flouridated toothpaste, with aspartame mixed all in bottle of any carbonated beverage (specifically diet) -- I doubt anything could survive after that.
-------------------- Bob Posts: 2150 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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beaches
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Member # 38251
posted
So apparently I'm not the only one with this problem
I went food shopping today and it didn't even occur to me to be on the lookout for the borax or the essential oils or the diam-however you spell it-earth.
The critters are still exploring my kitchen but there are a lot less of them and they're moving a lot slower. Still I am just so grossed out. I think I found out where they are entering the house. I sprinkled some clove and garlic powder and a couple of cinnamon sticks.
Fingers crossed, that will be the end of them.
If not, you guys have given me lots more remedies so thanks!
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posted
We finally got rid of ours in the bathroom. Took about 4-6 days for them all to be gone. Just love having an ant covered toothbrush - NOT!!!
I hope they go away soon!
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hiker53
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posted
Bay leaves will also deter the ants. I put them around my counter along with the Terro bait traps and with cloves. Took care of the problem.
I did have to empty a cabinet and bag up a lot of stuff in tight plastic bags. They have stayed away for 2 years and I hope they never come back.
Hiker53
-------------------- Hiker53
"God is light. In Him there is no darkness." 1John 1:5 Posts: 8890 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2004
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beaches
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posted
jjourneys, eeewww, ants on the toothbrush? Gross! Glad you got rid of them!
Hiker, funny you should mention bay leaves. I put some of those out on the counter this morning. And I sprinkled more ground cloves.
I might have to look into the Terro bait traps. All I had was the Raid ones or whatever the heck they are and for the first time in years they didn't take care of the problem.
Tonight was the first night I haven't seen any of the stragglers. Fingers crossed that the problem is solved. Now I just have to clean out one particular cabinet where they were flourishing. Yuck and gross.
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