How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Home

Ants are a key part of our natural system, they'll clean up those dead leaves, speed up decomposition of dead animals and fallen wood, and turn all that in to nourishing soil. Unfortunately if they get inside your home, they can quickly find their way to your food.

It's not uncommon for home owners to find a long line of ants slipping through otherwise un-noticed cracks in your home, and in to your pantry. And by that point it's often too late to prevent an ant infestation. So lets go over a few of your options.

It's not the nicest solution, but if you have already got ants in your house, often your only option is to exterminate them. Killing off an ant colony isn't always easy, and it's never going to happen one ant at a time.

There are some poisons out there that work effectively, and the most commonly used ant poison is Terro Liquid Bait. These prefilled packages will provide a tainted food source for the ants, which will be taken back to the ant colony where all the ants will be able to feed on it.

This isn't the nicest solution, but unfortunately once you have ants inside your home, even if they are nesting outside, it's still going to be hard to get rid of them.

Terro is an effective ant killing solution, and in around three days your ant problem will be gone. These are cheap to buy too, at about a dollar a pack.

If ants haven't entered your home yet, or you have just got rid of an ant infestation, there are some things you can do to make sure you don't have to kill ants again anytime soon.

Cleanliness is Key

The easiest way to ensure you will not have to deal with ants in your home is to keep your home clean. Avoid leaving food out, keep sugary items in containers, and wipe down your counter tops and sinks after use.

Many people find themselves dealing with ants after they let their cleaning slide, so make sure you keep your kitchen clean, as well as any areas where food is consumed. Remember, a crumb is a feat to an ant!

Seal your Home

If ants can't get in to your home, they can't infest it. You can never seal up your home 100 percent. But what you can do is seal up some common entry points for ants.

The most common ant entry point is a crack around your window frame. These are common, and are often over kitchen counters, making them a perfect path to food for ants outside your house.

If you see ants entering through cracks in your home, it may already bee too late, but seal them up anyway. If you are not seeing ants yet, you can find cracks by closely examining your window frames, and moving your hand slowly around the frame feeling for a breeze.

Ant Deterrents

If you are having trouble sealing everything up, there are some ways you can deter ants. Try spraying vinegar around likely entry points, you can also sprinkle chalk, cinnamon or cayenne pepper powder to keep the ants out.

Wiping Away the Trails

Ants are very smell orientated, so a trail for food (which they will follow without question) can be scrubbed away, or if ants are killed along the trail, will become a "no go zone". This can be a good way to deter ants from entering your home without having to kill off an entire colony. Unfortunately this does tend to be a short lived solution, so if you do manage to stop them using a trail, make sure you seal up your home afterwards!