ants on sidewalk how to get rid of ants using pantry items

How to Get Rid of Ants with Pantry Items: 14 Easy Hacks

/15 Comments/in , , , /by Mary Hunt

Ants might be impressive little powerlifters—able to haul 50 times their body weight—but when they start marching across your kitchen counter like they own the place? It’s time to show them the door. The good news is you don’t need pricey sprays or a science degree to send them packing. Just head to your pantry. From vinegar and pepper to coffee and citrus, these everyday staples are surprisingly powerful. Here are 14 ways to show those ants who’s boss—using what you already have.

ants on sidewalk how to get rid of ants using pantry items

While ants are fascinating creatures, having them set up camp in your home isn’t just annoying—it can also pose health and safety concerns. If you’re dealing with a serious infestation, it’s wise to call in a pest control pro. But for those common household visitors—especially the teeny tiny ants often drawn to sweets (commonly called sugar ants)—you likely already have what you need to kick them out, right in your kitchen or garage.

Think of what follows as a buffet of methods to get rid of ants in your home, on your property, and perhaps even in the garage. Choose the solution that meets your immediate need using items you have.

1. Mop and Vacuum Daily

Cleaning is your first and best defense. Ants leave behind invisible pheromone trails to guide their buddies straight to the source, and regular cleaning wipes those away. Aim to mop high-traffic areas at least once a day and vacuum up crumbs, especially in the kitchen and around pet bowls. Be sure to tackle the less obvious spots too, like under the stove or along baseboards. Don’t forget the basics: no dirty dishes left in the sink and empty the trash often. If you make your home less inviting, the ants will get the message.

2. Soap and Water Spray

Grab a clean spray bottle and mix equal parts Blue Dawn and water. When you spot ants, give them a generous spritz. The soapy solution breaks down their exoskeletons (yep, that’s as grim as it sounds), killing them almost instantly. Bonus: it’s easy to wipe up and doesn’t leave behind harmful residues like commercial sprays do.

3. Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

This one’s my go-to—it’s natural, fast, and effective. Just make sure you’re using food-grade diatomaceous earth (not the stuff for swimming pools, which is chemically treated and useless for pest control). DE is safe around kids and pets, but deadly to ants.

Sprinkle it dry along baseboards, in cracks, and around the outside perimeter of your home. The powder sticks to the ants and destroys their exoskeletons—no chemicals, no drama. Just don’t get it wet; moisture cancels out the magic, so reapply if it gets damp.

4. Black Pepper

Who knew your pepper shaker could double as a pest deterrent? Sprinkle ground black pepper near entry points—like windowsills, doorways, and baseboards—where you’ve seen ants marching in. Sugar ants especially can’t stand the smell, and it helps disrupt their scent trails.

5. Vinegar

Ants hate vinegar—and your countertops won’t mind it, either (well, most of them). Mix equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and go to town on window sills, baseboards, and anywhere ants like to roam. Just avoid using it on natural stone surfaces like granite, marble, or slate—vinegar can damage those. Reapply daily or after cleaning for best results.

Fun Ant Facts to Impress Your Friends

  • Some ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight—even upside down on glass!
  • There are more than 12,000 species of ants worldwide.
  • If a second-grader had the strength of an ant, they could pick up a car. Yep, ants can lift 20 times their body weight.
  • Most ants you see are female workers who can’t reproduce — that’s the queen’s job.
  • Queen ants can live for years and lay millions of eggs.
  • Ants don’t have ears — they “hear” by sensing vibrations through their feet.
  • When ants fight, it’s often a battle to the death.
  • Foragers leave behind pheromone trails to map their path.
  • Queen ants have wings, but shed them when starting a new nest.
  • Ants don’t have lungs — oxygen and carbon dioxide move through tiny holes all over their bodies.
  • Male ants’ only job? Mating with the queen. (You can chuckle now.)
  • Ants are EVERYWHERE — the largest colony ever found stretched over 3,750 miles. That’s a lot of teamwork!

6. WD-40

Got a can of WD-40 in the garage? You’ve got an ant barrier. Spray it anywhere you see ants feeding or making their way inside—baseboards, entry points, even tiny cracks. It’ll kill them on contact and leave behind a residue they won’t dare cross. Not sure where they’re sneaking in? Try spraying a line along the outside perimeter of your house. Ants (and rabbits, oddly enough) can’t stand the smell. Reapply as needed, especially after rain or cleaning.

7. Chalk

Draw a thick line of ordinary blackboard or sidewalk chalk around entry points like doors, windows, or cracks in the foundation. The calcium carbonate in chalk disrupts ants’ scent trails, which keeps them from crossing. Reapply after rain or cleaning, and don’t be afraid to get creative.

8. Borax

To deter ants and roaches, mix equal parts Borax and powdered sugar—then sprinkle the mixture anywhere you suspect pests are entering. The sugar lures them in, and the Borax does the rest. It’s an easy trick that works well in cabinets, under appliances, and along baseboards.

Got fleas? Borax is also a popular remedy. While it’s odorless and generally safe to touch, it’s lethal to fleas. Lightly sprinkle it over pet beds, carpets, and soft furnishings where fleas may be hiding or laying eggs. Let it sit for an hour or two (longer if possible), then vacuum thoroughly. Just keep pets and kids away from treated areas until after cleanup.

9. Boiling water

Got fire ants turning your patio into a war zone? Grab a flowerpot, turn it upside down over the anthill, and pour boiling water through the drain hole. It’s brutal but effective. The hot water wipes out the colony, queen and all, without any chemicals. Just be careful—boiling water can scorch nearby grass or plants, and it’s no friend to bare toes. So gear up, pour slow, and let nature’s most budget-friendly pest control do the job.

10. Citrus

Want to ant-proof your kitchen without resorting to chemical warfare? Give it the lemon treatment. Start by squirting fresh lemon juice along door thresholds, windowsills, and anywhere you’ve noticed ants sneaking in. Got cracks or tiny gaps? Give those a squeeze of lemon juice, too. For extra power, toss a few small strips of lemon peel outside near entry points—ants can’t stand the scent, and it masks their trail. Bonus: Your kitchen will smell fresh and zesty, not like bug spray.

11. Coffee

Sprinkle used coffee grounds around the garden and along the outside perimeter of your house. The strong scent confuses their scent trails and sends them packing. Bonus: those used grounds are a great natural fertilizer, adding a boost of nitrogen to your soil while keeping your plants happy. Ants hate it. Your garden loves it.

12. Household Ammonia

A 50/50 mix of household ammonia and water in a spray bottle makes a powerful ant-kicking combo. Just spray directly on the ants or wherever they’re gathering—then wipe it all up. The strong scent masks their pheromone trails, which helps stop the rest of the parade from following. HINT: Don’t have plain ammonia? A few spritzes of Windex with Ammonia will do the trick in a pinch.

13. Fine Powder

One clever EC reader swears by cheap baby powder in a plastic shaker can. Just sprinkle it generously over the ants. They’ll get coated and won’t make it back to the nest—the fine powder clogs their tiny airways and dries them out before they can call for backup. You’ll need to vacuum up the mess afterward, but at least it won’t leave a smell behind. Just be sure to keep it away from food prep areas and curious pets.

14. Spearmint Gum

Here’s another clever tip from one of our readers: pop an opened stick of spearmint gum on each shelf and inside drawers where ants and pantry pests tend to hang out. She says, “Since doing this, I haven’t seen a single bug. I’m away about four months a year, and I always come home to bug-free cupboards and kitchen.” The strong minty scent seems to keep those unwelcome guests at bay—plus, it’s an easy, non-toxic solution you probably never thought of.

 

Question: What’s your go-to trick for kicking ants to the curb? Let’s hear it in the comments below.

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15 replies
  1. nana says:

    I had an army of ants in my freezer and dried fruit drawer. I put cinnamon in both places and they never returned.

    Reply
  2. Carole says:

    Please help. Neighbors let their cats out ALL the time. They pee and poop in my flower beds!! They want a cat keep it inside! Only thing they are good for outside is kill the mice. Sooooo, how do I keep cats out of my flowerbeds? Post an article Please! Thank You!

    Reply
  3. Captain Trips says:

    Find an ant trail inside your home and kill a few but leave them there. Others will get the message and stay away. Don’t laugh.

    Reply
  4. Maria R says:

    Mary,
    Thanks for all the options but i find that liquid Ant Kill, which is really cheap, works best for my indoor ant infestation. I always have it under my sink for whenever they show up. Try it!

    Reply
  5. Kristin says:

    Hi, I recently discovered a few tiny ants in my mailbox, when I looked closer I could see a mass of them clumped on the inside curved top of it…yuck. I Googled the problem and someone mentioned dryer sheets, ants not liking the scent. I put some in the mailbox last night and this morning no ants! I pushed the dryer sheets to the back of the mailbox so the scent can keep deterring them.

    Reply
  6. Sandra C Wegmann says:

    For outdoor windows I use Windex that comes in a sprayer bottle that you screw onto your hose — it sprays up to two stories on my house and you should see the dirt running off the windows and screens! You switch the lever to rinse, and you are done! Indoor windows, I do with your homemade mixture!!

    Reply
  7. Tracy says:

    Just wanted to make a comment about the spearmint gum. Make sure there isn’t XYLITOL in the gum. Extremely toxic to dogs!!! It lowers their blood sugar and will kill them if not caught in time. Please look this information up and/or talk to your vet. I’m not sure if it is toxic to other pets or animals. I also am not sure if there might be another name for xylitol on gum packaging.

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      Of course pet owners need to be cautious with items that might be toxic in the same way parents are careful to keep such things where children cannot reach them.

      Reply
  8. Sue says:

    Hi Mary, I love your column. Please mention that using coffee grounds, they are very toxic to dogs!
    Thank you.
    Sue

    Reply
  9. Donna Bosink says:

    I found a ton of ants in the dog’s food dish in the dining room near the back door. Sprinkling cinnamon over the area took care of the problem. Ants can’t seem to deal with fine powder. Don’t use turmeric, though. It will leave a yellowish stain.

    Reply
  10. Judith Rettich says:

    I’m surprised that the easy and effortless solution was not listed first! I’m in Amish Country and learned from the Amish to mix 1/2 Borax and 1/2 regular sugar (not powdered sugar!)
    and put it in any areas where ants have been seen. Ants take it to their nest and it kills the whole colony. Usually within two days. No need to vaccum, no need to wipe up with vinegar, no need to use black pepper which could irritate the eyes and noses of curious cats or dogs. Just put down this mix and problem solved! I use this one time successfully every spring and sometimes need to do this again one time in late July or August. Why list all the other time consuming and fussy things? I’ve helped many neighbors who try other things for weeks and this eliminates their ant problem in several days. Keep it Simple!

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      You would not want to spread borax and leave it if you have pets, especially when laced with sugar. In that case you would definitely want to vacuum it up. And not everyone has borax on hand in the face of an unexpected ant invasion. That is the reason there are 15 options, not only one.

      Reply
  11. Suzanne J Schulz says:

    I have a problem with geckos. They get in the attic and leave poop everywhere. I have to vacuum before I can walk in. Do you have a solution to deter them?

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      My first defense would be food-grade diatomaceous earth. It is a marvelous option as it is not harmful to pets, children. Easy to use and very effective. I don’t have specific info regarding geckos (except those that sell insurance) but I’d give that a try.

      Reply

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