How to Get Rid of Fire Ants – Without Insecticides

Fire ants can invade your garden areas and even infiltrate your home. We’ll show you how to get rid of fire ants quickly and easily using natural ant repellents.

Ants are industrious little creatures that play a vital role in our ecosystem, essentially acting like little sanitation workers who break down organic matter that can decay, spread disease and attract other pesky wildlife like flies and vermin. Although their bites can be nasty and fire ants are classified as an invasive species in the US, killing off fire ants that have made their way into your gardens and home should really be a last resort, and ideally done by a professional. Natural insect repellents should be your first choice for minor infestations around your home, as chemical-based insecticides (if applied carelessly) can be harmful to other animals, the surrounding environment and even you and your family.

How to Get Rid of Fire Ants With The Cayenne Pepper Method

It’s really easy to repel fire ants using natural methods. There are quite a few natural fire ant repellents and simple tricks you can use instead of chemical products that are simultaneously much more environmentally friendly. Although baking powder has long been touted as an effective natural ant repellent, it actually kills ants rather cruelly, as baking powder will expand in their stomachs until they burst. Instead, give the Cayenne Pepper Method a try:

Ingredients:

• 1 quart of water
• 4 sliced cayenne peppers 
• Powdered cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil about a quart of water.
2. Put two to four sliced cayenne peppers in a large glass jar and pour in the boiling water.
3. Turn off the heat and let this mixture sit for 24 hours.
4. Remove the hot peppers and your homemade fire ant repellent is ready for use

Ants in general dislike walking over powdery material, so sprinkle powdered cayenne pepper around the colony to prevent them from escaping. If you don’t want to pour the cayenne water into the ant hill, which will kill the ants and make the ant hill unlivable, you can also put your mixture into a spray bottle to spray any ants you find around the home. You can apply the spray solution around your door ways and windows to deter fire ants from making their way indoors again.

Two Alternate Methods

You could also try these two natural ways to fend off fire ants:

Vinegar Solution

Mix equal parts white vinegar and water. Take your mix and pour it into a reusable spray bottle and apply it high-traffic areas where the ants are most prevalent. The strong scent of vinegar will repel the fire ants. This mixture will not kill the ants, but it will get them out of your home and drive them away from their nests so that you can destroy it.

Lemon Water

Mix up some lemon juice with an equal amount of water to get rid of fire ants. Add your mixture to a handy spray bottle and apply it high-traffic fire ant areas like their trails or entry points to your home. You’ll have to be diligent and spray the area repeatedly for this method to have any long-term effects.

How to Keep Fire Ants From Returning

Along with the methods already mentioned, you will need to take preventative measures in and around the home to keep any particularly diligent ants from returning.

Preventative methods:

• Use scotch tape: Tape over part of the ant trail with some scotch tape. The ants will lose the scent of the trail left by their fellow ants and they will quickly lose track of their food source.
• Contain food: Fire ants are omnivorous and will eat anything from meats to plant matter. They also love pet food so keep your pet food covered up and indoors if possible, and try to feed your pets somewhere that will not attract the fire ants further.
• Flood the nest: If you can locate the nest, you could attempt flooding it. Just bear in mind that this might be a time-consuming and wasteful exercise since fire ant colonies are notoriously large and given the amount of water needed to flood an extensive nest, it may prove to be a futile effort in the end.

Of course, if all else fails and your fire ant problem persists, you will need to seek professional advice. However, in most instances one or a combination of these methods outlined here should do the trick.

Read more:

• Natural Ant Repellent: How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally
• How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs Naturally: 4 Easy Methods
• How to Get Rid of Aphids: Helpful Home Remedies

** Links to retailers marked with ** or underlined orange are partially partner links: If you buy here, you actively support Utopia.org, because we will receive a small part of the sales proceeds. More info.

Tags: Animals Garden Guide