Ants have a highly sophisticated sense of smell. It allows them to pick up odors that dictate how they behave. Ants have four to five times more odor receptors than most other insects.

There are several home remedies that can keep the little creepy crawlies from invading your home. Here’s how to get rid of ants and keep them from invading your home.

Try White Vinegar

White vinegar can be used for just about anything but works especially well on ants because they hate the smell.

It also removes their scent trail so they have nothing to follow.

Put equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray anthills and anywhere you see ants.

You can also wipe down your counters, kitchen table, and wherever you see a trail of ants.

You can even spray the wall near your garbage can if you find ants feasting on your trash.

Use Spices as a Deterrent

Ants hate the smell of several spices including peppermint, sage, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves. Ants love to get into sugar, flour, and paprika.

By putting a bay leaf inside the container, you can keep the little critters from feasting on your cooking essentials.

You can also use salt as a barrier to keep ants from crossing into your home. Sprinkle it in a door frame or even right in their path to disrupt their march.

Cayenne pepper also works well to keep ants at bay. Sprinkle it on the back of your countertops to keep them from looking for sugar and along the baseboards to keep them out of your house.

Cinnamon works well for this purpose too.

Chalk Barriers

For some reason, ants don’t like chalk. You can draw lines at entry points in your home and the ants won’t cross the barrier. It’s unknown why chalk works so well.

One theory states the ants don’t like the calcium carbonate in the chalk.

Another theory says it covers their scent trail.

Regardless of why it works. Sprinkle the powder around plants in your garden to repel ants. It works well on slugs too.

Toxic Borax

Get rid of ants permanently with borax. It’s toxic to the little pests and can be mixed with jelly to attract them.

Once they eat the borax, it kills them. If you don’t want to use jelly, you can mix borax with sugar using a ratio of 1:3. Then add water to make syrup and put it wherever you see ants.

Keep in mind borax is toxic to pets and humans, so be careful where you put it and make sure everyone knows what the mixture is and to avoid it. If you have small children, make sure it’s out of their reach.

Ants can be a frustrating problem whether you have fire, carpenter, or sugar ants. But knowing how to get rid of ants can help you prevent the problem (and the frustration) from beginning in the first place.