Eco-Friendly Ways To Get Rid Of Ants

Eco-Friendly Pest Control

Who doesn’t want harmful pests free environment? Because pest infestation is a great problem in every home or garden. Pest attacks on gardens or crops, and destroy them in a huge manner. Ultimately leads to a loss of crops or garden. Moreover, It is difficult to work in that environment where armies of bugs are wandering everywhere. Many pests such as rodents, roaches and mosquitoes can cause life-threatening infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue and yellow fever, because they carry harmful bacteria and viruses.

Having these consequences in mind, it is important to control these pests in an environment friendly way. Proper pest control can ensure that your home, garden and crops stay safe and healthy. Many pesticides are commercially available that help to kill these pests. But, unfortunately many of these pesticides contain harmful chemicals that are not proven good for the health or food of your garden. Therefore, there is a need to turn to Eco-friendly pest control methods that are safe for your health and environment. Eco-Friendly ways of pest control safely rid a wide range of unwanted pests from your homes, garden or crops, without the use of harmful chemicals.

The first step controlling pest is to create a most hospitable growing environment for your plants. A healthy garden is the best natural pest control. Healthy plants are less attractive to pests and if they attack they have the ability to defend and recover yourself. When you use commercially available pesticides that contain harmful chemicals they aren’t only harmful for your family they are also harmful for other families that live surrounding you. So, when you use eco-friendly pest control methods you are not only saving your family, but other families as well.

10 Ways to get rid of Ants

Ants are the most common insects for whom homeowners request pest management professionals (PMPs). These small, thin waist, curved antennae creatures thrive above ground in colonies up to one million or more. These social animals have division of labors (reproductive and workers) and usually enter your home via cracks, crevices, and other small openings in search of moisture and convenient access to food.

There are only three types of ants or group of ants among many that invaded your home such as Carpenter ants, odorous house ants and pavement ants. These three ants create problems for homeowners. So, the owner called pest control professionals to eliminate these ants. Mostly, they used pesticides to eliminate these ants but those pesticides are harmful for humans health. So, there are lots of eco-friendly natural ways to get rid of these ants that are less toxic.

  1. Vinegar Spray

Odorous house ants are also known as sugar ants because they are attracted to sugar. They are mostly found in the kitchen. When these ants find a source of food, they leave pheromones trail, so other ants in the colony can detect the way to food. One of the best ways to eliminate sugar ants is to destroy this trail by using vinegar spray or by using one of the methods described by thepestadvice.com. If you break this trail, the sugar ants nest mates will not find the food source inside your home. Making your own vinegar spray is a good and cheap way to eradicate sugar eating ants. Add equal amounts of vinegar and lemon juice in a spray bottle and thoroughly mix. Then trace the ant colonies or nests and spray on them.

  1. Essential Oil Spray

Just like ants hate the smell of vinegar, there are a number of essential oils that help to break up the pheromone trail of ants. These essential oils can make your home smell good. In order to make this oil spray, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar in one cup of essential oil and mix well. Then pour this solution into a spray bottle and spray where it is necessary.

  1. Soapy-water spray

This is the easiest way to get rid of ants. Soap is used to deter ants. Make a solution of liquid soap and tap water (1:3). Then spray on the area which is affected by ants.

  1. Garlic

You observed that ants don’t come close to garlic. This is because garlic is a good ant repellent. We can use garlic as a natural insecticide to eliminate ants. Just peel the garlic and place it in different parts of home to take away ants.

  1. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is another fragrance that resists ants. You can exploit this by sprinkling cinnamon powder around the territories of your home where ants are coming. You can place cinnamon sticks near windows. You can enhance its effectiveness by adding a few drops of essential oil on a cinnamon stick.

  1. Chili-pepper spray

Chili-pepper is a little spicier and it is a good repellent of ants. It helps to repel ants from your desired area. You can use pepper in both ways. Either you can place fresh pepper as it or you can spray chili pepper mixture to keep ants away. To make the mixture of chili pepper, Add 10-12 chili peppers in 1 cup of water and boil it then strain out the chili pepper and add the mixture into a spray bottle and use it against ants.

  1. Use Of Borax Or Boric Acid

Borax or Boric Acid both are used as pesticides But there are small differences between them. Borax is a mineral mined from the ground. You can find it in cosmetics, toothpastes, soaps, weed killers, and often used in laundry detergents. After further processing, borax turns into boric acid. It doesn’t matter you have borax or boric acid, you must take precautionary measures and keep these products away from children and pets.

Although, Borax or Boric acid have low toxicity rates for humans and animals. It’s fatal for ants when they come in contact with it. When ants eat the borax bait, it interferes with their digestive system and eventually kills them. Borax doesn’t cause an immediate death; it takes 24-48 hours after consumption. This slow killing procedure gives worker ants enough time to take more and more bait and share it to the colony and queen. If the queen eats this bait then reproduction of ants will stop.

Keep in mind, ants are not attracted to borax alone. In order to entice them to bring it back to the colony, you have to mix the borax with some of their favorite foods. So, you make a borax bait by using these methods. Mix 1 tablespoon of borax into half cup of sugar and then add 1 and half cup of warm water in it. Soak cotton balls in the mixture, and put them out where you see the mess of ants. The sugar attracts the ants, and they’ll take the Borax with it back to their nest. Borax is mostly used to eliminate fire ants and sugar ants.

  1. Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth

If you have concern with your pets and children you don’t give preference using borax to eliminate ants. So, you can use food-grade diatomaceous earth. This is white powder of fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton.

It’s non-toxic for kids and pets. Just trace the ant trail and apply a thin layer on it. If you find a group of ants you can directly spread powder on them. It causes dehydration in ants and ants will kill within 48hours.

  1. Baking Soda

Another ecofriendly way to get rid of ants is by using baking soda. There are two ways to use baking soda to get rid of ants naturally.

First, if you know where the ant colony is outside, you can cover the ant mound with baking soda and spray it with white vinegar.

Second, you can mix equal parts of baking soda and powdered sugar together until there are no more clumps. Place the mixture in small lids wherever you see ants.

The ants will take the fatal mixture back to the colony and share it with other ants and the queen.

  1. Cornmeal

Cornmeal is considered another natural insecticide. However, there is a need to use different tricks to enhance the consumption of cornmeal by ants.

To make the cornmeal more appealing to ants, mix it together with an equal measurement of powdered sugar. Scoop the mixture into small lids and place where you see ants. This will kill ants due to their inability to digest cornmeal.