Ants Be Gone: Natural Remedies to Eliminate Ant Infestations 

As a homeowner and landlord, few things are more frustrating than discovering an ant infestation. While ants play an important role in the outdoors, they quickly become unwanted guests once they’ve made themselves inside our living spaces.

Not only are ants unsanitary, but they also have the potential to act as vectors of harmful foodborne pathogens, posing a serious risk to the health of your family.

Some species can even cause property damage by nesting in walls or woodwork, which can lead to expensive repairs and reduced property value over time if left unchecked. 

Thankfully, there are many safe, natural, and effective ways to get rid of ants without harsh pesticides or calling an exterminator. 

Today, I’ll explain ant behavior, proven prevention methods, and step-by-step remedies for eliminating existing ant problems using affordable household ingredients. I include the Borax recipe that worked for us, and show pictures that it works from our own kitchen.

Understanding Ants and Their Behavior 

Before we step into ant extermination, it’s helpful to know a bit about how these resourceful insects operate. 

Ants are surprisingly intelligent for their size and have evolved incredible organizational abilities and communication methods to thrive.

Many ant species utilize complex pheromone trails to mark paths between the colony and food sources. Some ants can even use chemical signals to alert the entire colony when a promising food supply has been located. 

That’s why it’s so common to see long trails of ants marching back and forth once they’ve infiltrated your kitchen.

Understanding their societal structure is key for effective ant extermination methods that target the entire colony.

Preventing Ant Infestations

My philosophy has always been that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Taking some simple precautionary measures can go a long way toward keeping ants at bay and preventing infestations before they start.

Seal Entry Points

Inspect both the interior and exterior of your home, looking for cracks or crevices where ants could squeeze through. 

Use a quality caulk or sealant to close off these potential entry points, paying close attention to areas where utilities enter the home. Even hairline fractures in window frames or door jambs should be sealed up.

Keep the Kitchen Clean and Dry

Ants have an incredible sense of smell for food sources, so a clean kitchen removes temptation. Wipe down all surfaces regularly with a vinegar-based solution to remove grease and crumb trails. 

Fix any leaks or moisture problems, as standing water can attract ants searching for hydration.  

Store Food Properly

Make sure all food items, including pet food, are stored in sealed plastic or glass containers. Never leave crumbs, spills, or dirty dishes out on counters overnight, as ants will soon sniff them out.   

Eliminate Standing Water

In addition to fixing leaks, be diligent about removing any other sources of standing water around your home. Check potted plants, bathtub surfaces, basement areas, and anywhere moisture could accumulate.

Keep The  Yard Clean  

An unkempt yard creates the perfect habitat for ant colonies to establish nests. Regularly trim backyard vegetation and kill weeds, clear away fallen branches or piles of leaves, and seal off any cracks or entry points in exterior walls and foundations.

While preventative measures are advisable, you may sometimes find ants have already gained access despite your best efforts. In that case, it’s time to take more direct action with some well-proven natural ant removal methods.

Natural and Safe Methods for Removing Ants

There’s no need to resort to harsh chemical pesticides that could potentially harm children or pets. Countless homeowners have successfully eliminated pests using simple, natural household ingredients that are affordable and eco-friendly.

Borax and Sugar Bait

One of the most effective DIY ant baits combines borax, a naturally occurring mineral compound, with sugar as an appetizing lure. This lethal concoction tricks the ants into bringing it back to the colony.

Scroll down for our full section on using Borax. We included step by step instructions on how to use borax to get rid of ants. We also included pictures of us doing this.

Boiling Water 

While more labor-intensive, pouring boiling water directly on ant mounds or trailing ants is an effective low-tech solution. The extreme heat instantly kills ants in the area. Be very cautious when using this approach to avoid burning yourself or pets.

This method works best for smaller, localized infestations versus an extensive colony that has spread out. It’s useful for pest control emergencies when you need fast elimination of ants around pet food bowls or high-traffic kitchen areas.

Natural Repellents

In addition to baiting and directly killing ants you see, there are also many natural, non-toxic repellents you can use to help prevent the pests from wanting to enter your home in the first place.

Certain smells and substances act as remarkably effective deterrents for keeping ants out of your living spaces without harsh chemicals. Best of all, many of these repellent materials are very affordable and likely already in your pantry!

Here are some of my go-to natural ant repellents to strategically use around the home:  

Cinnamon: Sprinkling cinnamon powder or placing cinnamon sticks along windowsills and entryways works wonders. Ants hate the strong smell and won’t cross the barriers.

Vinegar: The pungent odor drives ants away on its own. Try wiping down surfaces with undiluted vinegar to disrupt trails.

Essential Oils: Peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, and tea tree oils all naturally repel ants. Add 20 drops to a spray bottle with water.

Coffee Grounds: Ants avoid the smell and bitter grounds. Spread used grounds liberally around trouble spots.

Chalk: Ants won’t cross a barrier line drawn with regular chalk.

Diatomaceous Earth: This fine powder made from fossils actually damages ants’ exoskeletons over time. It is safe to use indoors and outdoors.

I like to combine a few of these methods, using cinnamon, essential oil, and vinegar indoors while lining the outside foundation with coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth. Using this multi-pronged natural approach has been my formula for successfully keeping ants away long-term.

Using Borax to Get Rid of Ants

Of all the DIY home remedies, borax consistently comes out as one of the most effective active ingredients for comprehensive ant control. Let’s take a closer look at how and why this common laundry booster works so well.

How Borax Kills Ants

Chemically speaking, borax (sodium tetraborate) interferes with the digestive systems and metabolism of insects like ants by causing fatal dehydration and disrupting enzyme production.

What’s clever about using borax is the slow-acting, delayed toxicity that allows worker ants to make multiple trips carrying the bait back to the main colony before the effects kick in over 1-2 weeks. This helps the lethal dose spread extensively throughout the colony population.

Unlike many conventional insecticides, borax remains potent and residual for long periods of time. This is key to wiping out not just the ants you can see, but their entire underground nests and satellites that can re-infest your home if not fully eliminated.

Borax is the main ingredient of many ant baits you can buy in big box retail stores. 

Here’s the crazy thing. This is the picture from before we used borax. You’ll notice the ant trap we bought from the store isn’t working. We had been using these traps for months, and they didn’t do much. Then we used borax and they were gone.

Borax and Sugar Ant Bait Recipe

To make a borax ant bait, mix 1 part borax powder with 3 parts sugar. Then add just enough warm water to form a syrupy paste that won’t dry out too quickly. Apply pea-sized dollops of this mixture along known ant trails or near entry points the ants are using.

The sugar attracts the worker ants, who can’t resist stuffing their mouths with the sweet treat. As they ingest and metabolize the borax mixed in, it damages their digestive system over the course of a few days, wiping out the colony.

Signs of the colony being eliminated can take over a week to appear. During that time, continue leaving out fresh bait droplets as needed to attract new ants.

Borax Ant Bait Recipe

The basic borax ant bait combines just three ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup borax powder 

1-2 cups warm water

Simply mix the dry sugar and borax together, then slowly stir in just enough water to form a thick, syrupy paste or bait gel. Use any small containers or bottle caps to place pea-sized dollops of the bait along ant trails or near nests.

It’s better to make multiple small batches of fresh bait rather than a larger single serving, as the mixture can dry out and crystallize over time.

Tips for Using Borax Bait 

Bait Placement Strategy

Locate high-traffic ant trails or nest openings and place pea-sized dollops of the borax bait approximately 12-24 inches apart along their paths. The closer the bait is to the colony’s entry/exit points, the more effective it will be.

Refresh Bait Frequently

Refresh the bait every 3-4 days by adding new fresh dollops alongside the old dried-out ones. Ants are highly attracted to the moisture in the sugary syrup, so keeping it replenished draws them in.

Allow Time for Full Colony Elimination

Be patient and allow sufficient time (1-2 weeks) for the slow-acting borax to be effectively carried back and spread throughout the entire colony to eliminate it. Don’t get discouraged if the ant activity seems unchanged initially.

Use Caution Around Children & Pets

While borax is relatively low in toxicity, it’s still important to keep pets and children away from any areas where the borax bait mixture has been applied until it can be cleaned up properly. If kids or pets do consume, call your local poison department hotline. 

Avoid Disturbing Bait Placements

Don’t spray insecticides, step on, or otherwise disturb the bait placements, as crushed borax crystals lose their potency and attractiveness to ants. Let the workers move the bait themselves.

Using a properly formulated borax-based bait is one of the safest, most cost-effective, and comprehensive methods to eliminate even the largest resilient ant infestations over the course of 1-2 weeks. Just be sure to thoroughly clean up any leftover bait residues once the colony has been eliminated.

How to Identify Ant Nests

Locating and treating the ant colony’s nesting sites is key for full elimination. Ant nests often have telltale signs like:

Mounds or Piles of Debris

Small mounds or piles of soil, wood shavings, bits of insulation, or other debris can indicate an ant nest entrance below ground or inside walls.

Steady Ant Trails

Steady streams of ants entering and exiting through a particular spot like a crack, hole, or crevice is a surefire sign that a nest lies behind or beneath that point.

Wall/Floor/Foundation Cracks with Activity

Look for cracks or holes in walls, floors, foundations, or gaps around utilities/pipes that have noticeable ant activity as another warning of a potential nest location within the structure.

Common Indoor Nest Locations

Inside the home, ant nests are commonly found behind kitchen cabinets or appliances, inside wall voids, beneath floorboards or carpeting, within insulation in attics/crawlspaces, and near moisture sources.

Common Outdoor Nest Sites

Outdoors, carpenter ant nests especially like to establish colonies at the base of trees, under stones or landscaping tiles, in mulch or wood debris piles, and any rotting wood structures like old tree stumps.

Once you’ve identified definite ant nest locations based on these signs, treatment methods like baiting, dusting, or direct nest elimination can be much more effectively targeted.

How to Seal Ant Nests

Once you’ve identified a nest location, there are a couple of options for treatment:

Pour Boiling Water Into Nest

For smaller exterior ant nests, you can carefully pour boiling water directly into the opening or mound entrance. The extreme heat will kill many of the ants inside instantly. This method may need to be repeated a few times over several days to fully exterminate the entire colony.

Use Insecticidal Dusting

Insecticidal dusts like food-grade diatomaceous earth can be puffed directly into nest openings and crevices using a bulb duster or powdered sugar container. These desiccating dusts dry out the ants skeletons and kill them over time. 

Look for products labeled safe for indoor/residential use.

Seal Up Nest Entrances

After treating a nest with an insecticidal dust or direct heat/moisture application, seal up the opening itself using caulk, cement, expandable foam sealant, or epoxy putty. This blocks off the entrance and forces any ants still alive inside to relocate the nest entirely away from your home.

It’s often wise to combine nest treatment with broadcast bait applications to ensure you eliminate both the queens/colony along with sealing up the nesting areas. This multi-tactic approach prevents ant re-infestations.

How to Prevent Future Infestations

Even after successfully eliminating a current ant problem, it’s wise to take ongoing prevention measures:

Seal Entry Points

Thoroughly inspect both the interior and exterior of your home, sealing up any cracks, crevices or gaps where ants could potentially gain entry using a good quality caulk or sealant.

Keep Kitchen Clean

Maintain clean kitchen sanitation by wiping down all surfaces regularly with vinegar or soap solutions to remove any crumbs, spills or grease trails that could attract foraging ants. Wipe up spills immediately.

Proper Food Storage

Store all food items, including pet foods and birdseed, in sealed plastic or glass containers to prevent ants from smelling and gaining access to any sources.

Fix Moisture Problems

Fix any leaks, standing water issues, or humidity problems to remove moisture sources that ants need to survive. Use dehumidifiers in damp basements if needed.

Clear Outdoor Debris

Clear out any potential outdoor nesting sites like brush piles, fallen logs or trees, mulch beds, or areas of excessive yard waste buildup where ants could easily colonize.

Conducting routine home inspections and staying on top of good sanitation practices makes it much harder for ant colonies to regain a foothold. Don’t give them easy access to food, water or nesting sources that will attract them back.

When to Call in Professional Pest Control

For most minor or moderate-sized ant infestations, DIY borax baits and other natural home remedies can be very effective when diligently applied. However, there are certain scenarios where calling in professional pest control experts may be the best course of action:

Severe Infestations with Multiple Colonies

Severe infestations with multiple satellite colonies spread out over a large area of your home or yard. DIY methods can struggle to fully eliminate an infestation once it reaches this advanced stage and level of dispersal.

Carpenter Ant Structural Damage Risks

Carpenter ant problems that could risk serious structural damage if the nested colonies in wood framings, beams, etc. are not completely eliminated. These ants can quickly do costly damage.

Inability to Locate or Eliminate Main Nest

Inability to locate or eliminate the main nest yourself after repeated attempts. Ant colonies can have very well-hidden or inaccessible nest locations that require professional equipment and knowledge to treat properly.

Specialized Ant Species Removal

Ant species that require specialized extermination methods beyond basic baits/repellents. Some ant types like fire ants have very resilient colonies that call for professional-grade insecticidal products or techniques like structural fumigation.

Professional exterminators not only have access to stronger insecticidal products when needed, but also specialized equipment like wall cavity injectors, heating units to destroy nests, and the extensive training/experience to thoroughly treat an infestation and prevent future ant issues from reoccurring.

Your Ant-Free Home Awaits

While ants are unwanted houseguests, you don’t have to resort to harmful chemical pesticides to get rid of them. With diligent effort and deepening your understanding of ant behavior patterns, most homeowners can successfully combat ant infestations themselves over time. 

Don’t let unsightly ant trails, the risks of contaminated food sources, or the general stress of dealing with these pests get you down. 

Stay the course, and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying an ant-free home environment once again. All it takes is some affordable household ingredients and eco-friendly methods, no need for harsh chemical treatments.

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