Stopping ants from coming in, without killing them?

blizeH

Hi, we had a few ants coming into the utility room through a tiny gap in the skirting board... I filled it, but they’re just getting in through the kitchen now - there were lots this morning going for the cats food

I’ve sprayed lots of vinegar about (outside along the side of the house, and under the kitchen cabinets) which seems to have temporarily deterred them - but I need to stop them getting in somehow.

My plan was to cement between the patio slabs and the house since a lot of it has cracked... but as for filling inside I don’t know where to start. Here’s a picture under the kitchen cabinet where they’re getting in: https://i.imgur.com/jUip0nt.jpg

It’s awkward as hell to get under there, and it’d be so much to fill... I’m wondering if there’s a suitable spray foam I could use which ants can’t chew through?

Any other tips would be fantastic too please. Thanks

PipneyJane

I've deterred them in the past by sprinkling sodium bicarbonate.  In our house, they come in through the sliding glass door into the kitchen.  We used to annually have an invasion.  The bicarb has stopped that.

HTH

- Pip

blizeH

Thanks Pipney Just done a quick Google and found this:

As natural scavengers, ants take this homemade poison back to their nest and infect the rest of the colony. When ingested, baking soda produces bubbles of carbon dioxide, which explode the infected ant from the inside out.

I'm not going to rule it out, but will probably just put some down as a last resort. Would love to keep them out somehow as I'm also worried that if we just kill them, more will come in the future unless we keep putting the poison or whatever down. But I do much prefer that to poison, especially since we have 3 cats and a baby on the way!

blizeH

Oh, my bad! Just found this:

To use it for infestation prevention, you just need some baking soda. Ants know to avoid pure baking soda, so you can sprinkle it around doorways, window sills, and other entry points to keep them out of your home. You can also sprinkle some in cabinets, under sinks, and in other dark, moist places where ants may find shelter in your home.

That could be a huge win. I'm guessing sprinkling some down the side of the house wouldn't hurt either Thank you!

tiddles

I sprinkled some ground cinnamon next to the skirting board under which ants were coming into our kitchen. I left it down for over a week, and swept it up yesterday, and the ants have not returned.

ToastLady

Make up a spray bottle with some clove oil in and spray around anywhere they get in. It will kill them on contact, but does deter them. I add a few drops to my kitchen counter spray, and it does seem to deter the little blighters. Spray round window sills, doorways, anywhere they are likely to get in.
Washing up liquid stops them, but it's quite messy.
Similarly drawing a line of chalk will stop them crossing over, a bit like the bi-carb method. 

Rosa_Damascena

Borax, if you can get hold of it. This commercial product has helped me in the past, and lasts for years (I think it was about £2 when I last bought it, which must have been at least 7 years ago):

Apply liberally around the threshold of entry. Yes it does kill the ants but it saves many more because it deters further entry. They certainly don't return the same year.

Slinky

We had them getting into our dining room, marching all round the edges of the skirting. Couldn't work out where they were coming in. We had to use a large amount of bathroom silicon to fill the gap between the skirting and the concrete floor.

Missus_Hyde

We had ants coming in under our back door; my husband painted a wide strip of thick bleach along the back step, up to the bottom of the door and it does seem to have deterred them.