Give an Ant Army the Boot

Are you up to your elbows in ants? If the little buggers seem to be everywhere lately—from your pantry to your garage to your garden—here’s what you can do to say "bug off!" and avoid future invasions:

A soapy solution. When anthills make a mess of your lawn, mix ¼ cup of liquid hand soap with 1 gallon of water in a bucket, and pour it over the mounds. Repeat the procedure about an hour later.

Bait ‘em with honey. Mix 1/2 cup of honey, 3/8 cup of baker’s yeast, and 3/8 cup of sugar in a bowl. Spread the mix on bottle caps or pieces of plastic or cardboard, and set the traps in the ants’ pathways.

Call in the cukes. Ants aren’t fans of cucumbers. So lay cucumber peels in their pathways to keep them from invading.

Chalk it up. If ants are all over your trees, shrubs, or flowerbeds, sprinkle powdered chalk on the ground around the trunk or the whole planting bed. If it’s your shed or garage they won’t stay out of, sprinkle the chalk around the door and window frames.

Fortify the front line. Ants won’t cross a line of talcum powder. So use it at the entrance to your pantry, your front and back doors, and anywhere else you don’t want them to go.

Offer some refresh-mint. Keep ants out of your house by laying sprigs of fresh mint in front of your doors, windows, and any cracks or holes that the ants could sneak through.

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6 Wacky Ways to Control Ant Antics

Are you up to your elbows in ants? The enterprising little insects seem to be everywhere lately — from your pantry to your veggie beds — and they’re bugging the ever-lovin’ heck out of you. Here’s what to do: First, take a deep breath. Then, pick a deterrent from the list below:

A soapy solution. When anthills make a mess of your lawn, bid ‘em adieu! Mix 1/4 cup of liquid hand soap with 1 gallon of water in a bucket, and pour it over the mound. Repeat the procedure about an hour later to make sure the liquid penetrates to the queen’s inner chamber.

Chalk it up. If the little rascals are “farming” in your trees, shrubs, or other plants, sprinkle powdered chalk on the ground around the trunk or the whole planting bed. If it’s your shed they won’t stay out of, sprinkle the chalk around the door and window frames.

Call in the cukes. Ants aren’t fans of cucumbers. So keep ‘em from launching an invasion by laying peels in their pathways.

Offer some refresh-mint. When you’re tired of seeing the little guys traipsing through your house, keep them out by laying sprigs of fresh mint in front of your doors, windows, and any cracks or holes that the ants could sneak through.

Fortify the front line. Ants won’t cross a line of talcum powder. So use it at the entrance to your pantry, or wherever you don’t want the tiny troublemakers to travel.

Bait ‘em with honey. When ants are driving you bananas, indoors or out — and you have pets or young children on the scene — send the puny pests packin’ with this formula. It’s so safe kids and pets won’t be harmed if they take a taste. Put 1/2 cup of honey, 3/8 cup of baker’s yeast, and 3/8 cup of sugar in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Spread the mixture on bottle caps or pieces of plastic or cardboard, and set the traps in the ants’ pathways. The enterprising insects will rush to the sweet feast, and that’ll be all she wrote. 

Put “Pest Peeves” in the Past!

Annoying insects come in all shapes and sizes, from munching mosquitoes to freewheeling fruit flies. Try whipping up a pest repellent from simple ingredients that you already have on hand.

Ants

To get rid of a colony, you need to eliminate the brains behind the brawn: the queen, who’s doing nothing but churning out eggs. And here’s an easy way to do it: Sprinkle instant grits on top of the anthill. The worker ants will carry the grains into the nest, where they and Her Majesty will have a feast. Within 48 hours or so, the whole colony will be history.

Earwigs

Drop dollops of bacon grease into shallow containers, like jar lids or cat food cans, and set them around your kitchen. Then all you’ll need to do is pick up the traps and dump the ugly bugs into a bucket of soapy water.

Cockroaches

Apply a liberal glob of petroleum jelly all around the inside of a glass jar, then partially fill the jar with some kind of bait, like beer-soaked bread or pieces of fruit. Wrap the outside of the jar with a paper towel, and set it where you’ve seen the bugs. They’ll crawl up the paper towel to get to the bait, fall into the jar, and then won’t be able to get back out!

Spiders

To prevent spiders from webbing up your windows, spray rubbing alcohol on the sills or scatter a handful of perfumed soap shavings on the sills. Either method will deter Miss Spider from spinning her web.

Fruit flies

Fill a small glass halfway with apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid. Mix well, then set the glass away from areas where people gather. The annoying flies will be drawn to the glass, fall in, and drown.

Mosquitoes

For my money, no commercial repellent can beat the ones that you can grow in your herb garden: lemon thyme, lemon balm, and lemon basil. To put them to work, all you have to do is crush the leaves to release their volatile oils, and rub them on your skin. You’ll love the strong, citrusy scent—but skeeters will avoid you like the plague!