Key Steps:
To eliminate ants from your home you need to:
- Find their nest and destroy it.
- Zap those ants with a solution of soapy water in a spray bottle. Spray the ants directly whenever you see them on your surfaces and floors
- After getting rid of ants, clean all surfaces and floors to destroy their scent trail
- Remember to keep your kitchen clean and tidy at all times – with all food stored away or kept covered – to prevent ants from returning
Ants – invaders of homes and picnics. This simple guide on how to get rid of ants can help you ensure they don’t become a problem in your home – in just three steps.
Step 1: Don’t Just Get Rid of Ants, Prevent them from Entering
Prevention is the best solution. Besides knowing how to get rid of ants in the home, avoiding the problem of an ant invasion before it’s even happened is your best bet for an ant-free life.
Ants are attracted to food sources, so the prime location to target for prevention is the kitchen. Make the following list part of your routine so you won’t need to know how to get rid of ants in the kitchen (although if you do, try step 3).
- Cover any food you don’t put in the fridge
- Always wash up dishes the same day. You could try recruiting your partner or children for washing-up duty (even if they’re not-so-willing volunteers)
- Take the rubbish out daily
- Wipe away any excess water from work surfaces as ants look to stay near water sources
- Regularly sweep or hoover your floors, especially in the kitchen and under the dining room table.
Step 2: Getting Rid of Ants through Observation
If you do still find that ants have managed to muscle their way into your home, don’t fear. Observation is crucial for getting rid of ants. Start with the following:
- Try to pinpoint where they enter your home. It may be through a window, door or crack in the wall. A magnifying glass can be useful here to track the small creatures
- This can be time consuming work. Most people don’t have time to wait around watching ants, and who really wants to? However, it will be worth it. Speed the process up by leaving a sweet item out as bait
- Once you have found their trail, follow the worker ants to their nest
- Now you have located the home of the insects, you can get rid of the ants by eliminating the root of the problem
- Use a blender to mix several pieces of orange peel with around 120 ml of warm water. Pour this mixture on top of the ant nest.
Step 3: Take Action to Get Rid of Ants
Action is the final solution for how to get rid of ants in the house. Finding their nest isn’t always possible; so here are some ant-busting actions you can take, using natural products you’re likely to have at home already. Once you know how to get rid of ants in kitchen cupboards and on surfaces, putting this knowledge into practice is simple and fuss-free. Plus, all the suggested substances are child and pet friendly.
- A common homemade remedy is a mixture of water and white vinegar. Fill a spray bottle with the mixture and spray the trails the ants use to get into your kitchen. Wipe your work tops regularly with the mixture to prevent future infestations and keep your kitchen ultra clean
- Soapy water is another safe solution to get rid of ants. Mix a capful of liquid soap with a cup of water and put into a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the ants whenever you see them. Once they have all been caught, wipe them up after 5 minutes. This will allow you to remove them instantly
- Always make sure to clean any surfaces after removing ants by using a cleaning product (like one by Cif); this way, you can destroy the scent trail left by ants (which can be followed by other ants), and make it less likely that ants will come back.
If you’re tired of six-legged visitors, don’t worry – with these three steps, you should have an ant-free home!