Killing or brushing away ants from your kitchen does not make them go away, they will find a way back soon. It is the trail that must be cleared which can often originate from a distance from the destination. Killing a few does stop the train of ants for a while, but ants soon will get back on the trail. Same holds if one clears off small patches along the trails, it won’t take them long to fill in the gaps. So in order to get rid of this problem, nine ways are given below.
1. Ant chalk
The usual limestone chalk will do the wonder. It works by confusing the ants as they find it hard to smell the trail. Create trails extending away from ‘their’ trail, this will confuse them. This is a cheap and tested method. One can also buy the ‘ant chalk’ but this can be poisonous on ingestion, so children and pets are to be kept away.
2. Cinnamon
Ants can’t digest cinnamon and can’t resist sugar. So leave some sugar and cinnamon along the trail. This surely will keep them away and might even kill some on the way. This is cheap and not toxic either.
3. Steam
Pour boiling water along the trail. This will wipe out the scent trails, volatile as it already is. Care has to be taken though in handling the boiling water and children are to be kept away.
4. Chili
This also works just like cinnamon. Sprinkle it along the trail. Kids and pets are to be kept away. Again better for outdoor use.
5. Baking soda
Paste of baking soda and water can be used for cleaning the trail with scrubber or it can be sprinkled along the trail.
5. Commercial cleansers
Wiping along the trails with commercially available scrubbers like Murphy’s oil or Orange Oil works well to eradicate the scent trail as Orange Oil is used for biological pest control. And it is non toxic at the same time.
6. Bleach
Mix water with a 2% bleach and spray on the trail. Bleach will get rid of the scent and suffocate the ants. But this has its health risks as bleach fumes can be toxic.
7. Vinegar
Fill a spray bottle with vinegar, spray it on the trail and let it dry. It works same as bleach, but vinegar is not toxic. But do not mix the two; the mix can be toxic to you.
8. Windex + ivory (soap)
Equal parts Windex and Ivory soap. Simply mix and spray on trails. Cheap and environment-friendly solution.
9. Caulking
Another more elegant way to get rid of the trails is to track down the origin of the trails leading almost always to some cracks in the wall, floors, doors, etc. Caulk them and trails will soon disappear.
