While ants can kill and may clean your home from dead animals, food pieces but alas that soon turns into a colony of ants living in your room.
And finally we look for how to get rid of ants at home.
I will also share some of my personal tricks on how to get rid of red ants in India.
4 Easy way to how to get rid of red ants in India
- Use Laxman Rekha
- Using Borax
- Kerosene
- Turmeric and Cinnamon
Laxman Rekha
Laxman Rekha is one of my favorite items to use to get rid of red ants and all other ants in India.
We are used to drawing lines around tables, chairs etc in the kitchen so the ants do not climb up to hunt for food.
Sometimes we are used to drawing more than one circle around a table leg. This is a good insect repellents that will keep away crawling insects.
It worked for most of the time for all types of ants.
I also used laxman rekha around tree tubs as well. As we have seen ants making home in the tubs.
Laxman Rekhaa Insecticide Chalk does not actively kill ants but will surely be enough to keep them away from your valuable items.
Borax
Using Borax is a good idea if you want to kill off the entire ant colony.
This requires some time, patience and work.
You need to make a bait for the ants with borax.
You will need one tablespoon of borax, 3-4 tablespoon of sugar and water.
You can skip the water too, in this case you have to make dust of borax and sugar and sprinkle it near the ant colony or in the path of the ants.
If you use water then, mix the borax and sugar and leave the solution on a plate where ants can reach.
Best if you use indoors and near the places where you see the ants most.
You can also use cotton balls to soak in this same solution and place the cotton balls around your house.
But I would not waste cotton so only the mix with water would work.
This borax can help you get rid of ants permanently.
Ants will eat the sugar and borax and will take it to their colonies and within 24-48 hours they will die.
But maybe on the first go the entire ant colony will not.
Maybe the ants became aware that the sweet water is not safe.
In that case you have to change the bait and mix borax with something edible. You can sprinkle the dust also.
Borax messes up the digestive system of the ants and it spreads in the entire colony and kills every ant.
Kerosene
Spraying kerosene and mopping the floor with phenyl does seem to work.
I have seen kerosene killing ants quickly.
And pouring kerosene on ant caves does work. Kerosene starts an irritation like burning and quickly kills ants.
Spraying lots of kerosene is not safe. Kerosene is highly flammable, so you have to be very careful.
Kerosene should not be sprayed around potted plants, indoor plants, house plants, pet food and children. This is poisonous and is a good ant control solutions.
Kerosene is also a very costly fuel to use repeatedly.
Turmeric and Cinnamon
Turmeric smell and bitter taste to ants thus they usually will avoid areas where turmeric is.
We sometimes sprinkle turmeric powder on the windows to repel ants from coming in from outside.
But turmeric does lose its effectiveness after a day or two.
Also you have to dust off the turmeric away since it will soon start to turn into dust.
Cinnamon smell messes up with ants direction and they keep away. This will eliminate the scent trails and ants in search of food will get lost.
And many would also say that cinnamon oil will also kill ants.
I have used cinnamon powder, and it has kept ants away for some time as natural repellents.
As far as other natural insect repellent goes, you can use tea tree oil, orange peels, cucumber peels etc.
How to get rid of ants in the kitchen
In the kitchen I would not use strong chemicals like kerosene and other chemicals. I fear that it will smell bad to the food items also. For the kitchen I will use turmeric, it is readily available in Indian kitchen already.
You can use other herbal ant killers also. [STRATEGI Herbal Ant Repellent Spray]
For the kitchen floor you can however use phenyl to mop, it will kill bacteria and will also keep the ants away.
Drops of peppermint oil will work as natural remedies to repel ants from the kitchen. In the kitchen soapy water will work too.
How to get rid of ants in bedroom in India
Use borax traps as mentioned above and you can spray ant killers too. Those sprays do have a good scent and will be good for bedrooms.
I would not recommend using turmeric etc in the bedroom since it can make your sheets look dirty on touch.
But chemical based ant killers, borax baits should work just fine.
In the bedroom, warm water or hot water will help as well.
[Amish A Eco-Friendly Ant bait gel]
How to get rid of ants permanently in India?
Unitedly’s ® Borax Powder 100% Pure is a great option when you want to get rid of ants permanently in India. It is not a harmful chemical to humans but it is certainly harmful to ants and many other insects. You can use soap water to kill ants also, I do not know how but it works.
If you are not into using chemicals to kill or repel ants then you might have the best chance to get rid of ants permanently. But using salt, lemon juice you might be able to keep them away for sometime.
Other than this you might want to use laxmanrekha which can prevent ants from coming into your house.
What do I personally use?
I spray chemical based termite killers into ants nests which are not on the ground. I do not want the ground/soil to get contaminated. The termite killer I use is pidilite, and it kills the ants also.
Occasionally I also use kerosene oil to kill and repel ants.
For ants in the garden, I do not use anything as I feel they do contribute to the ecosystem. Those ants do eat up our mangoes, but still it is okay.
FAQ
How do I get rid of little red ants in my house?
Spray kerosene around the lines of red ants that you see and also on the nest if you can find. Other than this you can use soap water or laxman rekha as well. And as a general rule keep your house clean so ants do not find food in it.
How do I get rid of red ants without killing them?
Use STRATEGI Herbal Ant Repellent Spray to repel them, this is one of the best natural ant repellent sprays that you can buy in India. Other than this you can use lemon juice to repel them and even use citronella oil. Darchini dust also seem to work in some cases as I have seen in many videos.
What is the best Red Ant Killer?
Terro Ant Killer Liquid Ant Baits is good for killing red ants. On the cheaper side just use soap water, it should work for red ants both indoor and outdoor.
How do I permanently get rid of ants outside?
For garden ants firstly use bleaching powder, this will either kill or repel ants. Secondly you can use turmeric which is bitter tasting to ants and is an antiseptic. Spraying turmeric powder will keep your garden ant free and will not also harm the soil. Other than that if you spot the ant nest then you can pour down boiling water to kill those ants also. This method also does not harm the soil.
How do I get rid of ants overnight?
Amish A Eco-Friendly Ant bait gel is a good one to get for overnight use. It will hopefully get rid of ants overnight and will kill the colony. Borax Powder is also a good one to use if you want to mix water, sugar with it. It acts as a bait, and the borax gets spread in the ant colony and it may kill the entire ant colony as well.
Does baking soda kill ants?
Baking soda does kill ants but is not super effective. You have to mix baking soda with sugar to make baits. You may want to use borax for better effectiveness.
What attracts red ants into a house?
Dirt, food leftovers attract the red ants to your home. In India you will see them mostly around the kitchen and dining. They are always on the hunt for food and take that food back to their home. Keeping your house clean and spraying some chemical ant killers might work the best.
What scent do ants hate?
As a natural ingredient cinnamon scent is not liked by ants. For faster effects you can also use gamaxing, kerosene oil as well. Both are not liked by ants and are lethal to them.
What is the best homemade ant killer?
Surf and water mix is one of the best homemade ant killers. Otherwise you can use borax, sugar and water to make a bait, this might help you kill an entire ant colony.
Does vinegar kill ants?
White vinegar kills ants, but if you have a large number of ants then you will need a lot of vinegar which will cost you more money. Thus some do mix 50% vinegar and 50% water.
How do I get rid of little black ants outside?
What I would suggest is to look for the nest and pour down boiling water. For the natural way you can use turmeric powder, spray it on the nest and around the areas you see the ants. And it will help you repel them.
Ref: Ant Control Research