Prevent ants invading your home by simply using baking soda
Finding ants "invading" your home is neither rare or pleasant. Kitchen, bathroom, bedroom: there is no place where you can't find ants marching around. Common ants are harmless, but nobody likes to find an army of ants in the pantry, in the shower or even between the sheets on the beds. One ant counter-measure worth knowing about is based on using baking soda - read on to find out more:
Use baking soda to keep ants at bay
Let's say that we're not talking about a major ant problem in the home: in this case, you need to observe where the ants travel to determine where they are entering the home. Once you figure this out, spread some baking soda near these entry points, seal any access holes and vacuum the ants roaming in the vicinity.
Put down baking soda around other obvious access points: window sills, entrance doors, French windows, balcony/terrace perimeters, and so on. And don't forget to do the same for areas around your pantry.
Use baking soda as an all-natural insecticide
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You can also make an insecticidal trap for ants if the infestation is more serious. For this, you will need:
- Baking soda
- Powdered/icing sugar (you need icing sugar, and not regular, granulated sugar, because icing sugar prevents the ants from separating the sugar grains from the baking soda)
- A bowl
- One ingredient from either honey, peanut butter or jam.
The process to make the insecticide trap is simple:
- In the bowl, mix the icing sugar and the baking soda in equal parts;
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Add a tablespoon or two of the chosen, extra ingredient (either honey, peanut butter or jam);
- Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. If you need to make the mixture slightly creamier, add very little water slowly until you get the desired consistency.
- Spread this mixture in the areas of most ants traffic (and even in the cracks they are using for access).
Baking soda alters the pH of ants, causing them to perish. Ants will avoid baking soda (which is why it is best to use it as a deterrent). But if baking soda is masked by the other ingredients (as described), the ants will end up ingesting it and dying.
If you need to use this remedy outside - perhaps on a balcony and where pets won't eat it - you can put a little of the mixture in a tin can. But make sure cats don't get into this tin can!
