Ant Warfare: Turning Back The Invasion
Ants are wonderful creatures: strong, self-sufficient, well-organized, and a real pain when they start crawling en masse into your home. Sure, they are tiny and relatively harmless until they grow into a mob that attacks your kitchen, swarming over every bit of food and making things unpleasant and unsanitary. Fortunately, you can safely control these pests and send them back to their own impressively engineered homes.
Natural Remedies
Some people swear by cinnamon as an ant repellant. They simply sprinkle regular cinnamon wherever ants are entering, and it repels them while making your home smell great. However, not everyone has success with this method. Some enterprising souls have discovered that natural oils can help rid your home of ants by interrupting the pheromone trail that the "scouts" leave behind to help the whole tribe find their way into your home. Putting tea tree oil or peppermint oil on cotton balls and applying it to the ant entry points confuses the pests and keeps them out of your home.
Sealant
Finding every tiny break or crack where ants may enter is difficult, but you'll limit their options if you invest in some caulk from a hardware or discount store and seal around all your windows and doors. Ants are like any creature: they will follow the path of least resistance. By making your home harder to enter, you have a better chance at sending the creatures next door, a fact you don't need to share with your neighbors. Also, sealing up your house helps lower your energy usage, which can save you some serious money.
Poisons
You can invest in some effective over-the-counter ant poisons, but these can be dangerous if you have pets or small children. The best time to use these substances is when you will be out of the house for a few days on vacation or during a holiday visit. That way, you can come home to an ant-free house, and your family will not be exposed to any dangerous substances. If your ant problem is out-of-control, consider calling in the professionals, such as at http://www.craigandsons.com. They can safely contain these pests quickly and efficiently.
If you have an infestation of ants, just walking in your kitchen and bathrooms can mean leaving behind a trail of crushed insects. Your kitchen counters may look like an ant battlefield, and any food left out instantly becomes a smorgasbord for the insatiable pests. You can get the problem under control by choosing from a variety of effective methods.