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How do I get rid of ants in the kitchen? I need a non toxic method for getting rid of ants. Thanks for your help in advance :)
Make sure all the food in your house is sealed, so that the ants can't get to it. Be relentless about this for 3-7 days. The ants, having nothing to eat, will go elsewhere. This works because the ants are following the chemical trails left by other ants, who DID find food. Use laurel leaves to keep the ants away from a specific place. Put laurel in your sugar can. You will be amazed! Use chalk to keep ants away from kitchen areas. You will be amazed to see how they move away from any chalk lines - make sure you plan these carefully however. You can also use corn meal. This method is especially great around pets or children, as corn meal by itself is not poisonous. The ants will carry it home and try to eat it, but they can't digest it properly. Be sure to put corn meal wherever you see that the ants like to frequent. Use boric acid, a natural derivative of the mineral "boron", used in borax, and also in saline solution. It is about as harmful to humans as table salt. Buy it at the local drug store (about $2 a bottle). Pour about a tablespoon of real maple syrup (or anything you know ants love) on a flat plate or saucer. Sprinkle the boric acid around the syrup so that the ants must walk through it to get to the syrup, you may even use a q-tip to ensure a good distribution of the powder around the the syrup. Put the concoction somewhere you know there will be ants and just leave it. Put out Cream of Wheat (farina). Don't cook it first. The ants eat it, it expands, boom! My exterminator tells me Boric acid disolves their skeleton. This works on all insects with external skeletal systems. This is why they need only pass through it and not eat
Use windex... kills them right away. I have heard peppermint oil helps as well... clean counters and wipe with peppermint oil. I hear ants hate the peppermint oil and stay away from it. The upside is using peppermint oil makes your kitchen smell minty clean :)
You could put ant traps on the ground. I hear talcom powder works as well but I think next time I will try peppermint oil. I think it may be dangerous to use this if you have cats though so ... try other options if you have cats.
check to see if you have a water leak somewhere under the sink or the dishwasher or condensation from the fridge because ants NEED water to reproduce so if they are congregating in an area rhere is usually water close by all the other suggestions sounded good to but if you wear cleats wont you miss a lot of em and mark up the floor? lol
It's almost impossible to get rid of pharoh ants. The best way to control them is to keep the kitchen clean - to reduce their food source.
Also, get some geckos and let them loose in the kitchen.
Try baby powder along the edges.
Stomp on them! Lol with cleets
boric acid (eye wash)
Terro works the best
