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Cleaning Tip of the Day
Instead of toxic poisons, plants can be used to prevent ants from entering homes. The ants aren’t harmful. They merely come to feed on sugars and other crumbs and are a nuisance.
If ants have been coming into your house, just lay several springs of catnip where they have been coming in. Soon, there will be no ants because ants do not like the pungent odor of catnip.
Ants will scram if you place bits of cucumber skin around places where they congregate.
Citrus peels are toxic to fungi that ants feed on, so strewing citrus peels around outside where ants enter the home will deter the ants.
All kinds of mint are repulsive to ants. Scatter peppermint leaves where ants are found. Plant peppermint around the house where ants are known to enter.
Some homeowners have found lavender to prevent ants.
Washing the area where ants are seen with peppermint or lavender oil mixed in a 1 to 10 parts vegetable oil will prevent the ants from returning.
Soaking a cotton ball with peppermint, catnip, or lavender oil and leaving it in the area where the ants were found will keep them from revisiting.
Author Marilyn Pokorney
Copyright Marilyn Pokorney 2021
