While ants have a higher purpose in nature’s food chain, they can be pretty annoying and harmful to humans. Many households are having issues with these pests because a lot of people don’t actually realize how ants enter their lives.

The main reason why ants enter your household is food. They don’t care if it’s a leftover or a newmade lunch – if they sense anything, they’ll starting coming.

Ants have a tendency to create solid mounds in backyards. These mounds are easy to spot, as some of them are known to reach over 50cm in width and 15cm in height.

When you notice ants in your home, the first thing to be done is to locate their source. Knowing where they enter your home will certainly make the fight against them way easier. This way, you can make sure that they won’t come back, at least not from the same spot. This can be easily done by tracking their trail.

When you find out where their entrance is, use a caulk to seal that location. Have in mind that ants are very small and they can fit almost every opening. So, in order to prevent further issues with them, be sure to apply weather strippers to doors and windows.

But, what happens if you’re deep into a problem where sealing the house won’t save you from ants? Well, in these cases, you should find a way to start killing them. Since a lot of people fight against pests, they came up with various homemade solutions for such issues.

If you have a pet, it can be dangerous to use some Ant Killers. In fact, insecticides are on the top 10 list of things that can hurt your animals. Therefore, here are some solutions that won’t harm any pets when confronting ants.

1. Mixture That’s Made Up Of Water And Dish Soap

This soapy mixture is one of the best ways to fight against ants. If you’re wondering how to use this mixture most effectively, follow next steps:

• Fill a bottle with water (It’s best to use a bottle that can spray)
• Thoroughly mix it with dish soap
• Spray the mixture onto a trail of ants

Soapy water is one of the best natural insecticides that is also pet-friendly.

2. Diatomaceous Earth

When looking for an ingredient that will kill ants, you certainly want to make sure that it won’t harm your pets nor kids. Diatomaceous Earth is considered to be one of those products. The main compound of this ingredient is fossilized diatoms.

A good thing about diatomaceous earth is that ants don’t have to eat it in order to lay dead. It is just enough for them to crawl over it. It works by sucking fat and oils from the ant’s exoskeleton, making them dry out immediately.

Diatomaceous earth can be used both for trails and mounds. You just have to spray over the area filled with ants. FDA considers this product to be generally recognized as safe. Just make sure to buy diatomaceous earth that is labeled as food. That way, you’ll know that it has passed through purification procedures.

3. Baiting A Trap

This is another great solution for infestation problems. If you’re dealing with worker ants, make sure that you use a product which kills slowly enough for them to feed their colony. Boric acid is considered to be one of the best baits. Although some pets can be hurt by eating it, there’s a small possibility that they’ll even try it out. In order to maximize your assurance, keep in mind to protect the boric acid so that animals can’t reach out for it.

Here’s how to make your bait most efficient:

• Mix up about 5-10 percent of boric acid with sugar
• Add up some vegetable oil to create more attraction for ants
• Spread the bait on entry areas where ants might crawl in

Due to its acidic nature, this bait will poison the ants and destroy their exoskeletons. It can also be sprinkled over the nests since it has an instant effect and will kill the ants that crawl out.

4. Other Pet Friendly Household Ant Killers

If you’re out of use of mentioned products, there are some that every household possess. For instance, black pepper is a very effective ant killer. You can sprinkle it around locations where ants enter your home. Because it is a nonpoisonous product, it is perfectly safe for your pets as well.

One more product that can also be used as a bait is cornmeal. Since ants are not aware of their digesting systems, they are quick to feed on it. Having some worker ants carry the cornmeal to the colony will save your day. Once they eat it, an explosion that causes death will happen inside their bodies.

5. Dealing With The Nest

This can be considered as the most effective way for fighting against ants. As mentioned earlier, by tracking their trail, you can find out where do they come from. Only by taking away their home, you’ll be sure that they won’t reproduce anymore.

If you’re willing to destroy the nest once and for all, consider preparing yourself for this action. You’ll be required to wear protective gear since you don’t want any ants to end up on your body.

There’s a chance that the colony is located underneath the ground. In this case, you’ll need a shovel in order to dig it up. But, before digging, you’ll have to carry some ant killers with you.

One of the commonest methods for destroying the nest is done by using boiled water. When poured on an ant hill, hot water can instantly kill the whole colony. Just make sure that your shovel is with you, so you can combine digging and pouring.

If you hesitate on using hot water to get rid of ants, you can exchange it for any solution that’s mentioned above.

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