In summer, ants often crawl into the apartment en masse. Home remedies offer a safe solution for this. But they should be the right ones.
According to NDR.de
, around 100 species of ants live
in our latitudes. In the garden, these hard-working animals loosen the soil and destroy the larvae of pests. But unfortunately it doesn't stop there. Ants also like to come into the house or apartment in search of food. At times you can even find them on the balcony and in flower pots. And in masses. Once ants have located a promising food source, they create a scent trail that their fellow ants use to orient themselves. But how do you get rid of the little crawlers?
Which home remedies help against ants in the apartment?
Fighting ants with chemicals? That doesn't have to be the case. Finally, there are also numerous natural home remedies that can be used to effectively get rid of the animals:
Cinnamon:
Ants don’t like strong smells. Therefore, sprinkle strong-smelling spices such as cinnamon or cloves in front of the ant nest or on the ant trails.
Lavender:
Herbal concentrates with lavender or mint have also proven effective.
Vinegar:
The strong smell of vinegar also scares ants away.
Adhesive tape:
A strip of adhesive tape can work wonders against ants: The insects lose the scent trail they follow and can no longer find their way to the food source, according to
Oekotest.de
.
Lime or chalk:
Avoid ants
alkaline substances such as lime or chalk, as
NDR.de
informs. They will therefore not overflow a thick line of chalk or garden lime.
Baking soda against ants? Don't!
Although baking soda is a popular home remedy, you should stay away from it when it comes to fighting ants: the ants eat the baking soda and then die in agony. According to
Oekotest.de,
other household substances such as baking soda, coffee grounds and corn flour also lead
to an unpleasant death.
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How can you prevent ants in your home?
Have you discovered an ant in your kitchen? Then you have to be quick: “If you notice individual ants in your apartment, you should sweep them up as quickly as possible and take them outside,” advises
Ökotest.de.
And for good reason: “If an insect is attracted to a sweet, it marks the way there with scents, which the other animals follow.”
To prevent an infestation with ants, leftover food and crumbs should always be removed quickly. Leftover food from animals that is still in their feeding bowls can also attract ants and should therefore only be left if necessary.
The secretion of aphids often attracts the little crawlers on the terrace. Get rid of the aphids, for example with baking soda, and the ant trail should soon disappear. If ants are causing mischief in the raised bed, home remedies can also help drive the pests away.