Natural Ways to Prevent Ants From Entering Your Home

Diatomaceous earth (silicon dioxide)

This recipe consists of diatomaceous earth, which sounds like a synthetic chemical, but it is actual made of fossilized remains of tiny marine animals.  These tiny remains have sharp edges that cut up the exoskeleton of ants, causing them to dehydrate.  This recipe acts as a defense by actually killing the ants, so it is not a true deterrent, but it beats having to wipe out hundreds or thousands after they have entered your home. Read more about diatomaceous earth here. Bonus: its pet safe too! (make sure you buy the food-grade variety). 

Recipe:

• Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth

Directions:

1. Apply a light layer of DE along pathways where ants are traveling, and areas where they might enter your home.
2. It will take one or two days for the dehydration action to take place, so if ants start moving in just wait a little bit.

Periodically, you will want to refresh it by adding more, or wiping it up and replacing it with fresh DE.  The frequency depends on factors, such as if the diatomaceous earth gets wet, blows away, or gets kicked around by small feet.

Pepper

To be specific, we are talking about black pepper and cayenne pepper since those are the most widely available ground pepper varieties that are effective. This can be applied in both solid and liquid solution form. The liquid version can be used in areas where you don’t want a pile of pepper to be visible. Just be careful not to touch your eyes after working with it. Pepper is a true deterrent, meaning it only repels the ants but doesn’t kill them.

• Recipe:
• Ground black pepper or cayenne pepper
• One squirt bottle mostly full of water

Directions:

1. For the dry version, sprinkle the pepper near areas where the ants might be able to enter your home. Use a moderate to heavy amount so it remains potent.
2. For the liquid version, slowly pour the pepper into the water while stirring. Try pouring ½ teaspoon at a time. Once the solids really start piling up, then it is saturated. It works best to make this one day in advance so the oils in the pepper can seep into the solution.
3. Spray the liquid solution in areas where ants might invade. The water should evaporate, but leave a mostly invisible pepper barrier that will stop the ants.

Peppermint

What could be better than a natural ant deterrent? One that smells great! This method can be use in a couple of ways. You can find mint plants to plant outside your home in strategic places to deter ants and other insects. As a bonus, you can harvest the mint which can be used in your food and beverages. As an alternative, you can use peppermint essential oil and apply it to areas where ants might invade. Mint is a great option because it is a real multitasker, providing multiple benefits.

Recipe:

• Whole mint plants from a nursery or garden store, or
• A small bottle of peppermint essential oil and some cotton swabs, or
• A small bottle of peppermint essential oil and a squirt bottle with ¼ cup of water in it.

Directions:

1. For the planting barrier, plant each mint plant about 18 to 24 inches from each other. Over time, the mint will spread and grow together.
2. For the essential oil method, apply a generous amount of essential oil on a cotton swab and lightly wipe it on the surface where ants might enter your home. After a few weeks, you can touch it up and apply it again to keep it fresh. Mmmm smells like candy canes!
3. For the squirt bottle method, put 10 to 20 drops of essential oil into the water and mix. Spray the areas you want to protect.

Tea tree oil

Often considered to be one of the best essential oils to repel ants, tea tree oil is an easy option to defend your home. Tea trea oil is a natural astringent, which shrinks or constricts body tissue. Ants don’t seem to like that.

• Recipe:
• A small bottle of tea tree oil and some cotton swabs, or
• A small bottle of tea tree oil and a squire bottle with ¼ cup of water in it.

Directions:

1. For the essential oil method, apply a generous amount of essential oil on a cotton swab and lightly wipe it on the surface where ants might enter your home. After a few weeks, you can touch it up and apply it again to keep it fresh.
2. For the squirt bottle method, put 10 to 20 drops of essential oil into the water and mix. Spray the areas you want to protect.

Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) and lemon eucalyptus oil

This is kind of confusing, because OLE is different from lemon eucalyptus oil. The primary difference is lemon eucalyptus oil contains citronella. You know, the lemony scented stuff people use for mosquito repellant. OLE, however, contains p-menthane-3, 8 diol, or PMD which is a natural biochemical that is know to repel insects. Both are natural and safe, just don’t get it in your eyes because it might irritate them.

Recipe:

• A small bottle of OLE or lemon eucalyptus oil and some cotton swabs, or
• A small bottle of OLE or lemon eucalyptus oil and a squire bottle with ¼ cup of water in it.

Directions:

1. For the essential oil method, apply a generous amount of essential oil on a cotton swab and lightly wipe it on the surface where ants might enter your home. After a few weeks, you can touch it up and apply it again to keep it fresh.
2. For the squirt bottle method, put 10 to 20 drops of essential oil into the water and mix. Spray the areas you want to protect.

Neem oil

Some people claim neem oil kills ants. It is a natural pesticide, especially for aphids, mites, spider mites, etc. One thing we do know, ants feed off of waste created by aphids. If you spray your shrubs located next to your house with neem oil, it can reduce a food source of ants, which will deter them from congregating near your home. Using this method gets into ant prevention by interrupting its food chain. A more indirect way to prevent ants in your home, if you will.

Recipe:

Directions:

1. Put liquid soap in the water and gently stir.
2. Add neem oil to mixture.
3. Put lid on squirt bottle and gently shake for 20 seconds.
4. Spray neem oil on plants around the foundation of your house.

Coffee grounds

This method of prevention is so tempting to use. A lot of people make their morning cup of Joe and have a small pile of used coffee grounds. How easy is it to just spread the coffee grounds around areas where ants could enter the home! Its basically just as easy as throwing the coffee grounds in the trash. But here’s the truth, ant don’t like coffee grounds. When they approach it, they will take one sniff and turn around. Eventually, however, they wise up to it and move the coffee grounds aside, and continue to blaze their trail. So while this method is know to deter ants, it is a very temporary fix, maybe lasting for a couple of days.

Recipe:

• One cup full of used or unused coffee grounds

Directions:

1. Look for places where ants can enter your house.
2. Spread coffee grounds around that area, creating a scent barrier.

Borax (sodium tetraborate)

Borax is one of the most common ingredients in commercial ant bait and killers, and yes it is natural. It does more than prevent ants, it can take out the whole colony. So this is a method to use when you mean business! The key to using borax, however, is it has to be mixed with a bait because ant won’t naturally eat it by itself. Disguise it with something sugary though, and you’ve go yourself a recipe for ant disaster.

Liquid Sugar Bait Recipe

1. Mix ½ Cup of sugar, 1 ½ Tablespoons of Borax, and 1 ½ Cups of water in a bowl
2. Dip the desired amount of cotton balls in the mixture
3. Place the dipped cotton balls in an area the ants are likely to come in contact with

Solid Sugar Bait Recipe

1. Thoroughly mix ¾ Cup of powdered sugar and ¼ Cup of Borax in a bowl
2. Set the mixture in containers that are easily accessible to ants
3. Place the containers in areas that the ants are likely to come in contact with

Manage Your Landscaping

Ok, how about a solution to prevent ants that is comprehensive, and out of the box thinking. This method is all about keeping your outdoor trees and shrubs in check. If you have a new home, plant shrubs and trees far enough away from the house that it won’t be directly touching the house even when it is mature. If you live in a home that already has shrubs and trees up against the house, do your best to trim it up so its not directly up against house. Insects, including ants, often hang out in these areas and might just decide to venture into the house. And why not, your kids just dropped a bunch of oreo cookies on the floor. Yum!

Seal Your Home

Here’s an idea, prevent ants from entering your home by … stopping them from entering your home. If you walk around and look at the outside of the foundation of your home, you will see several places where vents, gas lines, electrical lines, and cable or internet lines enter your home. At these locations, sometimes there are small gaps where insects use as a portal to the buffet in your kitchen. While not always an entirely natural product, silicone caulking can be used to seal up these areas, creating a physical barrier between ants and your cookies.

Directions:
Apply silicone caulking with a caulking gun around the pipe or wire going into the house, making sure it sets in the hole as much as possible. This can get messy. Once you’ve got it on, make it pretty by dipping your fingers in a cup of warm water mixed with a couple drops of dish soap. Then use your finger to smooth the surface of the caulking, making sure it seals up the entire hole.

Remove Dead Wood

Ants will hang out in stacked firewood or rotting tree limbs and roots. If you have wood stacked next to your house, you’re asking for six-legged neighbors to come over for lunch. Separate the stacks of wood from your house, the further away the better. Also, if you have a dead tree or shrub near your home, take the time to remove the stump and roots. As the tree rots, ants and other insects will move in. Then they’ll hang out in your kitchen on the weekends like one of your slacker friends from grade school.