Getting Rid Of Ants - Natural Ant Killers

Apologies for the violent sounding title of this post, but the fact is I’ve officially declared war against ants!! Well, at least the ones that have invaded my new compost bin!!

I take worm composting (aka vermicomposting) VERY seriously and its been a keen interest for several years now. You mess with my worms - you mess with me!!

I’ve been aware of the high ant population on my property ever since moving here last year, but I tend to be the type of person who is pretty laid back about insects in general and don’t get too riled up when I see ant hills in my yard. I’m a little more annoyed when I see them in the house (ants, not ant hills), but still I don’t get majorly stressed. I have a huge appreciation for nature and
fully realize that all critters have their purpose, and are important in their own way (ok that sounded WAY cornier that I wanted it to).

That being said, I always want my compost bins to function as efficiently as possible, and I know from past experience that a large number of ants can really be a pain. If you happen to have a bin without composting worms, then don’t worry too much about it - your ants may cart off a LOT of your food materials (and thus you will likely end up with less compost) - but at least you are still recycling it back to nature! If you are really keen on maximizing your compost output you may want to take action.

In general, ants typically only become an issue in a compost bin when its allowed to dry out too much, but in some cases (as appears to be the case on my property), if there is a massive population of ants in the area you may need to do more than simply adding water.

Ok - so lets focus on some home remedies for getting rid of ants! I know I implied that I was going to slaughter the poor little guys, but thats not always necessary. Lets break things down into 1) natural ant killers and 2) natural ant repellent, and you can then decide what you need to use based on the severity of your ant problem!

In searching for some answers I came across a nifty little book online, which includes a great exerpt relating to dealing with ants. The book is called Tiny Game Hunting: Environmentally Healthy Ways to Trap and Kill the Pests in Your House and Garden. I love the title - made me laugh!! I think I might actually snag a copy at some point, since it sounds very interesting.

Here are a few of their suggestions:

Natural Ant Killers
- soapy water (teaspoon of dish detergent in a water spray bottle)
- water mixed with citrus peels

Natural Ant Repellent
- powdered charcoal, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinammon, citrus oil are great ant “barriers” (ie they apparently won’t cross over these substances).

Interesting stuff…ok - I hate to say it, but I think I’m going to leave it at that for the time being. This post is getting a little long!
I will definitely do more research, and will be back soon with a follow up post!

B.

Written by Bentley on August 2nd, 2006 with 6 comments.
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