How to Prevent Ants from Entering the House

The population of ants on earth is 140,000 times larger than that of humans. However, that does not mean that they will become guests in your home. You can prevent them from entering your home by destroying ant nests, eliminating their food source, creating barriers and baiting scouting ants. Read on to learn how to prevent these uninvited guests from coming.

Table of Contents

Prevent ants from entering the house

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Seal the entrances to the house. With their tiny size, ants have thousands of ways to infiltrate your home. Some may be conspicuous; Others, you can only recognize when you see a swarm of ants marching past. First, you need to find out where ants are entering your home: follow the ants’ path to see how they get in and out of your home. Seal any entry holes you find with silicone sealant, putty, glue, or plaster. Temporary measures include petroleum wax or sticky clay.

If you are using temporary sealants such as adhesive clay, remember to replace them with a more durable material afterwards. Unstable materials will deteriorate over time and the joints will reopen.

Kevin Carrillo

MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

Kevin Carrillo is a pest control specialist and senior project manager at MMPC, a certified minority-owned pest control and services business based in New York. MMPC is certified to a set of industry-leading standards, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and the New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC’s work has been featured on CNN, NPR and ABC News channels.

Kevin Carrillo
MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

Clear bushes and branches from the perimeter of the house. Ants especially love to nest in foliage or under trees, so if you see branches touching your house, cut them short. Similarly, if there are vines growing next to the house or any other type of plant that comes into contact with the house, trim it down, otherwise it will serve as a conduit for ants to enter the house.

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Seal the cracks with glue. Seal cracks around windows, doors, and walls. Seal all the openings that can become the path of the army of ants. Efforts to seal gaps will be most effective if you do them carefully and thoroughly.

Another benefit of sealing your home: you can control the temperature in your home more efficiently, thereby reducing your electricity bill. Also, it’s one of the least risky methods if you’re concerned because you have small children or pets at home.

Kevin Carrillo

MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

Kevin Carrillo is a pest control specialist and senior project manager at MMPC, a certified minority-owned pest control and services business based in New York. MMPC is certified to a set of industry-leading standards, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and the New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC’s work has been featured on CNN, NPR and ABC News channels.

Kevin Carrillo
MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

You may have to repair some of the areas that are being sealed with sealant, grout, or silicone. Ants often dig their way, so it can be quite difficult to keep them out of the house. They can quickly dig their way through soft materials like silicone, which is used to seal small openings, such as those around sinks, plumbing, windows or skirting boards. . I’ve seen ants’ paths dug through plaster.

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Spread ant repellant on suspicious entrances. This is a stronger measure than sealing the cracks. You can create a barrier against ants with ant repellant chemicals and powders – even killing ants that accidentally enter. Consider using diatomite soil, salt, or even commercial ant poison. These substances act as a form of ant bait.

Diatomite soil is a fine powder that can kill ants. This substance works by drawing moisture in the ant’s body, but it is best used in a dry environment. You also don’t want anyone in the house to inhale it (especially small children and pets).
Try salt. Salt has the same effect of drying out the ants, especially when they bring them back to the nest. You can spread it under doors, near windows and along walls. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Kevin Carrillo

MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

Kevin Carrillo is a pest control specialist and senior project manager at MMPC, a certified minority-owned pest control and services business based in New York. MMPC is certified to a set of industry-leading standards, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and the New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC’s work has been featured on CNN, NPR and ABC News channels.

Kevin Carrillo
MMPC, Pest Control Specialist

Experts agree: If you want to keep ants out of your home, choose an insect repellent and use it to create a barrier around your home.

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Make a barrier with tape. Stick the stove with adhesive tape, sticky side on. No need to add poison or powder. Ants can get caught in the tape when they try to crawl over, so you have successfully blocked the ant’s path. Make sure the ants can’t crawl under the tape; you can try double-sided tape or stick the back of the tape close to the floor, walls and shelves, leaving no room for ants to crawl under. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Try making a barrier out of talcum powder. Talcum powder comes in several forms that are believed to be effective against ants, although the mechanism of action is unclear. Tailor powder and baby talcum powder often contain talcum powder, so you can use it as a barrier against ants. Whatever form you use, you should remember that talc has been warned as a possible carcinogen.

Many people recommend regular chalk; however this chalk is made from gypsum, not talcum powder. This misconception can lead to confusion with “ant pollen”, which is an insecticide that looks like regular chalk. This chalk was banned in the 90s in the US, but you can still find it on the black market.
Some brands of baby powder are made with cornstarch, so they are not effective against ants. You need to check the ingredients before making the ant barrier.

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Try non-toxic ant repellents. You can protect your home with scents and substances that ants don’t like. Try a combination of vinegar, peppermint oil, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves, and bay leaf. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Be careful when using ant repellant: keep peppers and chili peppers out of the reach of small children and curious pets.

Kill ants manually

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Kill scout ants. Ant nests often send solitary ants to find a food source. If you see an ant crawling across the table, don’t let it survive and return to the nest. It will tell the whole nest where you spilled apple juice. If the scout ant returns to the nest and returns with some of its friends, they will follow the trail in a row. Unless you’re ready to bait the ants and wait for them to appear, kill these ants, and act fast.

Spray the ant trail with an all-purpose cleaner or bleach solution, then wipe it off with a damp paper towel. Spraying the nest can also be effective, but you need to make sure to kill the entire nest. If you destroy only part of the anthill, you may be only encouraging certain species of ants to build new nests – which means you may not be able to prevent ants from entering your home.
A less convenient solution is to use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the ants. Then, add some talcum powder or diatomite to finish off the ants in the vacuum cleaner. This second step is very important: make sure the ants don’t survive to move into the vacuum cleaner!
When it’s urgent, you just need to use your hands or a wet towel. Kill the ants or wipe them clean. You don’t need to use any complicated methods to get rid of scout ants.

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Use water. If ants are crawling all over the floor, you can splash them with water and wipe them off with a paper towel. If ants crawl into bed, grab a handful of tissues and a glass of water. Dip a tissue in water, wring it out – you don’t want to sleep in a wet bed, do you – and then wipe away the ants.

Repeat this process if needed. You may need to do this several times to get rid of the ants in your home.

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Destroy the ant nest. If ants attack your house, you will have to attack their “home”. If you find an ant nest, you can pour several liters of boiling water into it to quickly kill most of the ants in the nest. If you don’t know where they come from, it’s best to use an alternative method of baiting. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Kill the queen ant. The most permanent way to get rid of ants is to destroy the source of the ants: the queen. The queen ant produces ants in large numbers, and at the same time it is the guide to the nest. Kill the queen, and you will scatter the ants. You can find the queen ant in the middle of the nest. Follow the ant’s path back to the nest, if possible.

Consider hiring a pest control service. If the trail of worker ants disappears in the kitchen wall, you will be very hard to find. An extermination service can do this for you. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Eliminate food sources

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Do not leave food outside. Ants enter your home because there is something waiting for them in the house: a food source or a warm environment. If your house is too dirty, ants will multiply; so you need to remember to clean the house every day. The cleaner the house, the less food the ants will eat and the more likely they are to go elsewhere to make a living. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Wipe all surfaces clean. Use a vinegar solution or mild bleach to spray the table and counter tops. Remember to maintain a regular cleaning regimen: sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming at least a few days a week.
If you accidentally leave food out, use this opportunity to track the ants to their source. It’s easy to be tempted to wipe out the ants immediately, but try to think beyond that.

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Remember that everything can start with an ant. If you see a lone ant roaming the table, it could be a scout ant. It is probing your kitchen for odors and food sources. If the ant discovers a food source; even just a sticky spot on the shelf; it will notify about the nest, and immediately your house will be full of ants.

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Store food in tightly closed containers. Even if you keep food in the cupboard, ants can still find their way through the tiniest crevices. If the ants sniff it and get there, they’ll swarm. Storing food in an airtight container has the added benefit of being able to keep food fresher.

Consider purchasing a Tupperware or another brand of food container with a tight-fitting lid. It will be easier for you to keep the containers (lid and bottom) if you use the whole set.
Consider rinsing resealable containers, then using them for food. It could be yogurt containers with lids, plastic containers, or even ziplock bags.

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Keep the sink clean. That means no dirty dishes, no standing water for ants to drink from, and no food left in the drain. If you wash your hands, food and dishes in the sink, make sure it’s a safe and hygienic place.

Place the pet food bowl in a slightly larger bowl, then pour some water into the large bowl. So you create a “moat” around the pet’s food bowl that the ants can’t get through.

Use ant bait

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Choose poison. Boric acid or borax mixed with maple syrup is the most common ant bait; Some common ant-repellents also use this mixture. Boric acid acts on ants both externally (when in powder form; similar to diatomite soil) and internally (when digested). Ants will bring poison (borax or boric acid) back to the nest and spread it around. With the right amount and time, you can wipe out an entire colony, but this can take weeks or months. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Mix the mixture carefully. A bait that is too strong will kill the ants before they return to the nest, while a bait that is too light will only temporarily weaken the nest. You should consider the amount of substances when mixing. The goal here is that the poison needs to be spread throughout the ant nest before it kills all the ants. ^{[8] X Research source} Boric acid has the effect of killing ants, water to dilute boric acid; and sugar to attract ants. You can try the following formula:

Mix 1 cup (240 ml) of water, 2 cups of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of boric acid.
Mix 3 cups of water, 1 cup of sugar, and 4 teaspoons of boric acid.

Advice

If you want to prevent fire ants, you should only use insect spray.
If the ant population is too large for you to handle alone, try asking a friend or an extermination service for help.
Most air fresheners can kill ants on contact. They act as insecticides, plus they make your kitchen smell good!
You can get rid of ants with a number of household products such as vinegar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, Windex cleaner, and chalk. ^{[10] X Research Source}
If you have to deal with fire ants, you may need to step aside and call an extermination service. Fire ants are very aggressive, and you won’t want to risk getting stung.
If you can’t find the ant nest, put some food on the table. An ant will see it and notify its companions in the nest. Follow the ant, but don’t kill it before it tells you the way.
Windex cleaner kills ants on contact.
Use borax laundry detergent. The kind you normally use to wash diapers. Use a plastic spoon to scoop the borax powder about 1/3 full. Try tilting the spatula and sprinkling into the crack/hole between the carpet and baseboard. Sprinkle around the perimeter of the room and the windowsills. Borax detergent will prevent ants from getting in until it’s sucked away when you vacuum, so it’s a good idea to sprinkle it under the carpet if needed. Close windows so that small children can’t touch and handle the floor when they can’t see and wonder what you do; Same goes for pets. This method is very effective with carpeted rooms; It not only deters ants, but also prevents other bugs from moving by crawling through floors and windows.

Warning

If you have small children at home, you should avoid setting up ant traps. Most of these traps contain poison and other harmful chemicals.
Glue traps are not poisonous.
Diatomite soil can cause allergies or difficulty breathing. You need to research carefully before using.
Beware of large fire ants.

Steps

Prevent ants from entering the house

Kill ants manually

Eliminate food sources

Use ant bait

Advice

Warning

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