“AN ANT ON THE MOVE DOES MORE THAN A DOZING OX”!
Ants are critical to our environment yet they soon become pests when they begin to invade your space and over take your home. Nobody, wants to be overrun by these little critters and more often than not are quick to reach for poisonous chemicals and pesticides to eradicate the problem rapidly.
Pest control is one aspect of daily living in which people invite some of the most appalling chemicals into their homes. Unfortunately many individuals are still unaware that these toxic formulas can be “Potentially harmful!” to there health. After all if a product is toxic in design and manufactured specifically to kill and maim, won’t it be harmful to anyone and everything else it comes into contact with ???
This is one of the main reasons that I made it my mission to obliterate our growing ant situation utilising purely safe, non-toxic, natural ingredients.
Since moving house in November, several armies of ants have repeatedly invaded our home. Now as you are all aware by now, I do not believe in the use of chemicals and pesticides and am a great believer that there is always a natural solution to combat every problem, rather than relying on hazardous toxins. So after putting up with the ever growing army of busy workers for long enough, it soon became clear that enough was enough and I had to come up with a solution to make these pesky critters decide to turn around and start marching in the other direction once and for all !!
After trialling numerous methods, recipes and formulas, I can now happily confirm that these natural, non-invasive, non-toxic solutions actually do work in eliminating these tiny predators.
Listed below are the methods I found the most effective:
Peppermint Essential Oil
This oil not only smells great but is extremely effective at deterring ants, as it disrupts their scent trail. Simply place a few drops on a cotton wool ball and wipe on skirting boards, window cills and other entry points. You can also leave a peppermint-infused cotton ball in cabinets, drawers, wardrobes and other areas as needed. Repeat every few days until the ants are just a fading memory! Peppermint oil can also be incorporated into a home made spray, see “Ant Attack” recipe below.
Tea Tree Essential Oil
Tea tree is an excellent all rounder to keep in your kitchen cabinet. I use it frequently to sanitise and disinfect my whole home and it is a favourite ingredient in my homemade cleaners.
To use simply follow the same method as the Peppermint oil.
Tea tree oil can also be incorporated into a home made spray, see recipe “Ant Attack” recipe below.
Clove Essential Oil
In addition to disrupting ants scent trails, clove oil actually kills ants on contact thanks to eugenol, a component contained within the oil. This component works as a fast acting contact insecticide, that is extremely effective on a wide variety of household pests such as cockroaches, ants, dust mites, flies, wasps, spiders, crickets, and fleas.
Eugenol has little or no residual activity, which means it’s effectiveness fades quickly, although the scent of the oil tends to linger. Products based on eugenol are considered minimum risk pesticides with very low risk of damage to the environment or user.
Clove oil is most effective when mixed with another oil. It is especially strong, so I recommend using it in small amounts.
Below is an extremely effective recipe that I have had excellent results with:
ANT ATTACK SPRAY
Ingredients:
1/4 cup filtered water
1/4 cup vodka (Used to help suspend the oil in the water. If you don’t have any available you can just use water and shake often)
15 drops peppermint essential oil
15 drops tea tree essential oil
3 drops clove essential oil
Method
Place all ingredients into a glass spray bottle with the help of a small funnel if required, to avoid spillage.
Shake bottle well to combine and then spray around skirting boards, window cills, door thresholds, and any other areas where ants have been spotted. If you’re spraying on a food surface, omit the tea tree oil and add 15 drops of peppermint oil. Repeat every few days until ants are completely gone.
If you do not have any essential oils here is a second recipe that I have found especially effective, using only simple, everyday kitchen staples:
VINEGAR & LEMON SPRAY
Like essential oils, the smell of vinegar and lemon repels ants and also masks their scent trails.
Ingredients
1/4 cup white or apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of filtered water
Method Place all of the ingredients into a glass spray bottle, use a small funnel if required to stop any spillage.
Shake the bottle well to combine, then spray around skirting boards, window cills, door thresholds, all entry points and just about anywhere you’ve spotted the pesky little critters. Repeat daily until ants are completely gone.
These recipes are all safe and natural, so please be patient, I can assure you they do work, they simply take a little longer than conventional chemicals.