Ants!

Our part of the country has been suffering from ant issues. We had a mild winter and a dry summer, so the ants are coming in. I prefer not to use bug sprays when we don't have to, especially with a little crawler around the house. Here are a few things we are using to keep the ants out.

Borax:
This wouldn't be good at all for little ones to get, but we use it outside our front and back doors. Borax destroys the digestive system of the ant. It has worked really well at keeping the ants out and killing the mound. Generally when we put this right outside our door, we see dead ants right around it.

Vinegar based cleaners:
Ants hate the smell of vinegar, so using vinegar as part of cleaning solutions helps. Check out my homemade cleaning solution post for a recipe.

Cinnamon sticks and/or cloves:
Ants don't like the smell of cinnamon sticks and cloves, so I put either (or both) at any cracks or places at the doors where ants tend to come in. I've literally seen ants stop and go back to avoid a cinnamon stick.

Soap and warm water:
I've been told that ants rely on a scent trail to know where to go. If you wash away their trail, they won't know to come back in. I regularly mop our floors with a mix of vinegar, baking soda, dawn dish liquid and hot water. This has been really effective as well.

I hope this helps anyone else who is having problems with ants. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them. Anything to get rid of ants!