Pet Friendly Way to Get Rid of Ants

Ants have started invading my house. Not the marching line of ants - just scattered all over the place. I have an indoor cat and do not want to use any kind of poison in my house or on my balcony. I have his food bowl sitting on a plate of water to keep them away from that, but how do I tackle the rest of the critters? I make sure and keep the counters clean, and they do not seem to be a problem there. It is the extreme dry season here (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico) and they are living on my balcony underneath my flower pots. How can I kill them and keep them from coming in the house without poison?

Help!!

Tags: Ants, Control, Pest

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Regalia, Whole Living on May 11, 2011 at 2:06pm

Hi Adriann!

Martha recommends this all-natural ant repellent to spray under those flower pots so you can cut them off from the source. You can even spray it on kitchen floors and other indoor water-repellent surfaces:

http://www.marthastewart.com/272808/all-natural-repellent

This one is for other types of bugs if they are ever an issue: http://www.marthastewart.com/273015/natural-pest-repellent

Let us know if these may work for you!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Corinne S on May 12, 2011 at 12:28pm

You should use peppermint oil I was told that it confuses the ants and disorients them. Just mix a few drops of the oil in a spray bottle with water and spray around the doors and where you have found them you can also mix in Eucalyptus oil which is a great bug repellent. Eucalyptus oil is really good to mix with water and spray on your mattress when changing the sheets it kills the dust mites!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Roxanne Nichols on December 9, 2011 at 2:38pm

You can also try periwinkle oil, which is in the mint family. Anything in the mint family works really well for pest control of ants! You can buy periwinkle essential oil at most natural foods stores! Its cheap and smells great!