Natural ant deterrent

When I lived in south orange county we had ants especially during the summer. they were looking for water and to get out of the heat i guess.

I used diatomaceous earth which you can purchase at most garden supply places.

place it along their paths and they will go away.

Now heres the thing, the reason they go away is the DE micro cuts their carapace and they basically will dehydrate and die. Then theyll note its not a good path to take.

So if you dont want to kill them, this is not for you. But if you want something highly effective...it will do the trick as well.

Good Luck!

~Thor

You need to be careful with DE, and always buy food grade. DE that is not food grade can be bad for the health of people and animals around it. Personally I wouldn't use it around animals at all because they like to sniff around and inhaling powdery substances in general is bad for your lungs, worse is one that is an abrasive powdery substance! As long as you're not sniffing the food grade stuff, it won't hurt your lungs. Handling it safely is key, just like baby powder. If I used DE, I would personally sprinkle it only under my house and around it, not inside because I have kids and an animal. And I would do so wearing a mask.

We are building a new hen house and getting chicks. If it harms animals I can not use it. I can not use anything poisonous as it could get into water table. What we have decided is to let nature take care of nature. The hens with eat all insects around the house. If ants or other insects get inside we will sweep them up and toss them back out. Even the hornets and scorpians will not be killed this year unless they sting someone. Much more Natural and humane this way. My family thinks I have become too Nature Concious but I dissgree.

That's why I let the spiders get them :D I know how to control spiders (they hate citrus on their feet because that's what they taste with). So I use natural cleaners with citrus added. Everything but the ants hate it. :p

DE is not toxic, you can eat it if it is food grade and it has many benefits that way. People add it to their cow feed as well. The concern isn't in ingesting it but in breathing it. So it really depends on the household as to whether it's safe to use or not. If anybody has their nose near the ground often, and the ants are in high traffic areas (not under sinks and in the basement where no one goes) it's probably a bad idea to use DE. If you live alone with a pet bird and have an ant problem, then DE is a good solution. Ants aren't stupid. They won't suicide themselves on DE, they go around it if they can. So hurting them is the same potential as you hurting yourself jumping a fence with barbed wire. The dumb ones jump. Smart ones don't.

Good to know. Thank you Raven. :-)

Washing with vinegar helps too, as does sprinkling cayenne pepper around the house and across doorways and window sills. Both are safe around children and pets.

Unfortunately two members of the household wheeze around ceyanne pepper so I would not be popular sprinkling it about but Thank you. I will try letting nature handle it. Many n0n poisenous spiders making webs around house. I sprayed lemon juice with water around wooden porch and they moved their nests away and under so that helped greatly.

cayenne not ceyanne and webs not nest

Horse spray works as well. Forked wonders for me. You can get it at co-op. Spray it around your entire him at base of base boards. Just as you would insecticide. It does not kill them, only deters them. They won't come near the house. Also works for spiders, flies, bugs,and any other insects. A tiki torch with citrinella oil in it keeps flying insects away as it burns...just a tip. both are animal safe so your furry friends have no need to worry. If u use both, you will have no problems with any insects... even fleas!!!! Also if your pets have fleas, get a can of OFF deep woods insect reppelent.. spray on your hands, rub your hands together, and rub thoroughly into your pets fur. The fleas die instantly... easy, cheap, and effective. Blessed be.