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How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Home

How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Home - Better Homes & Gardens

A white vinegar and water solution is a common method to wipe out ants for good. Ants don't like the smell of vinegar. It not only repels them; it can also kill them. Depending on how strong you want your solution to be, mix at least one part vinegar and three parts water.

 
Use peppermint oil

Using a spray bottle made from peppermint oil can help repel ants in your home for up to a week.

The method is very simple: Just take a spray bottle, fill it 3/4 with water, add 12 drops of peppermint oil, shake well and spray in areas where ants often appear.

Peppermint is a natural ant repellent. Ants use pheromones to communicate and navigate, while the strong smell of peppermint will disrupt the "workflow" of ants and make them lose their way. In addition, peppermint also contains peppermint oil, which ants hate.
 
Will any of these suggestions work on fruit flies. When I moved here three years ago they were here and so far cannot get rid of them with conventional methods.
Getting rid of fruit flies can be frustrating, but here are some effective methods to help eliminate them:

1. Clean the Area

  • Remove Food Sources: Clean up any spilled juice, overripe fruit, or food scraps, especially in areas where fruit flies tend to gather (kitchen, trash, countertops).
  • Wash Dirty Dishes: Fruit flies are attracted to food residues on dirty dishes and in the sink. Make sure everything is washed and clean.
  • Take Out the Trash: Dispose of garbage regularly, especially organic waste. Fruit flies breed in decaying food.

2. Use Traps

  • Apple Cider Vinegar Trap:
    • Pour some apple cider vinegar into a small bowl or cup and cover it with plastic wrap.
    • Poke small holes in the plastic wrap to lure flies in but make it difficult for them to escape.
  • Wine or Beer Trap: Fruit flies are attracted to the fermenting smell of wine or beer. Pour a little into a cup and leave it out to attract them.
  • Fruit Trap: Place overripe fruit in a jar and cover the top with plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band. Poke holes in the wrap. Fruit flies will get trapped inside.

3. Use Fly Paper or Sticky Traps

  • Hang fly paper strips or place sticky traps near areas where fruit flies are most active. They will get stuck to the adhesive.

4. Use a DIY Vinegar and Dish Soap Solution

  • Fill a bowl with vinegar and add a few drops of dish soap. The soap reduces the surface tension, so fruit flies will sink and drown when they land on the liquid.

5. Clean Drain Pipes

  • Fruit flies often breed in moist, organic matter that can build up in drains. Use a drain cleaner or a natural mixture of baking soda and vinegar, followed by hot water, to flush the pipes.

6. Use Essential Oils (Optional)

  • Certain essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender are known to repel fruit flies. You can dilute them with water and spray areas prone to fruit fly activity.
By combining these methods and removing the sources where fruit flies can breed, you should be able to get rid of them.
 
Getting rid of fruit flies can be frustrating, but here are some effective methods to help eliminate them:

1. Clean the Area

  • Remove Food Sources: Clean up any spilled juice, overripe fruit, or food scraps, especially in areas where fruit flies tend to gather (kitchen, trash, countertops).
  • Wash Dirty Dishes: Fruit flies are attracted to food residues on dirty dishes and in the sink. Make sure everything is washed and clean.
  • Take Out the Trash: Dispose of garbage regularly, especially organic waste. Fruit flies breed in decaying food.

2. Use Traps

  • Apple Cider Vinegar Trap:
    • Pour some apple cider vinegar into a small bowl or cup and cover it with plastic wrap.
    • Poke small holes in the plastic wrap to lure flies in but make it difficult for them to escape.
  • Wine or Beer Trap: Fruit flies are attracted to the fermenting smell of wine or beer. Pour a little into a cup and leave it out to attract them.
  • Fruit Trap: Place overripe fruit in a jar and cover the top with plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band. Poke holes in the wrap. Fruit flies will get trapped inside.

3. Use Fly Paper or Sticky Traps

  • Hang fly paper strips or place sticky traps near areas where fruit flies are most active. They will get stuck to the adhesive.

4. Use a DIY Vinegar and Dish Soap Solution

  • Fill a bowl with vinegar and add a few drops of dish soap. The soap reduces the surface tension, so fruit flies will sink and drown when they land on the liquid.

5. Clean Drain Pipes

  • Fruit flies often breed in moist, organic matter that can build up in drains. Use a drain cleaner or a natural mixture of baking soda and vinegar, followed by hot water, to flush the pipes.

6. Use Essential Oils (Optional)

  • Certain essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender are known to repel fruit flies. You can dilute them with water and spray areas prone to fruit fly activity.
By combining these methods and removing the sources where fruit flies can breed, you should be able to get rid of them.
Spray soapy water to get rid of greenflies on roses
 
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Reactions: BeautifulMousey
Ok mix it and then what? How is it applied?
And spiders, dear heavens, this place is Spider Farm from now to mid-winter, when only the toughest still taunt me. They take over the windows, cornices, doors and screens, places I can't reach ( not difficult to note as I am now under 5')My patio pots also have families hiding in the crevices.
I know the spider has many formidable and recommendable purposes and I would prefer to deter than to murder, but the webs they weave just after you have swept them down are back en masse the next morning! Then soon, the mozzies.. oh happy days, my energies are fading.
 
Last edited:
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Reactions: BeautifulMousey
Thank you for all the tips on how to get rid of ants. Barely even hot weather again and the little mongrels are invading my kitchen yet again. So hope one of these hints works as I am going through a can of spray a week to no avail.
 
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Reactions: BeautifulMousey
Getting rid of fruit flies can be frustrating, but here are some effective methods to help eliminate them:

1. Clean the Area

  • Remove Food Sources: Clean up any spilled juice, overripe fruit, or food scraps, especially in areas where fruit flies tend to gather (kitchen, trash, countertops).
  • Wash Dirty Dishes: Fruit flies are attracted to food residues on dirty dishes and in the sink. Make sure everything is washed and clean.
  • Take Out the Trash: Dispose of garbage regularly, especially organic waste. Fruit flies breed in decaying food.

2. Use Traps

  • Apple Cider Vinegar Trap:
    • Pour some apple cider vinegar into a small bowl or cup and cover it with plastic wrap.
    • Poke small holes in the plastic wrap to lure flies in but make it difficult for them to escape.
  • Wine or Beer Trap: Fruit flies are attracted to the fermenting smell of wine or beer. Pour a little into a cup and leave it out to attract them.
  • Fruit Trap: Place overripe fruit in a jar and cover the top with plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band. Poke holes in the wrap. Fruit flies will get trapped inside.

3. Use Fly Paper or Sticky Traps

  • Hang fly paper strips or place sticky traps near areas where fruit flies are most active. They will get stuck to the adhesive.

4. Use a DIY Vinegar and Dish Soap Solution

  • Fill a bowl with vinegar and add a few drops of dish soap. The soap reduces the surface tension, so fruit flies will sink and drown when they land on the liquid.

5. Clean Drain Pipes

  • Fruit flies often breed in moist, organic matter that can build up in drains. Use a drain cleaner or a natural mixture of baking soda and vinegar, followed by hot water, to flush the pipes.

6. Use Essential Oils (Optional)

  • Certain essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender are known to repel fruit flies. You can dilute them with water and spray areas prone to fruit fly activity.
By combining these methods and removing the sources where fruit flies can breed, you should be able to get rid of them.
Or you can buy a fruit fly trap in Bunnings.
 
Where do you buy peppermint oil , supermarket or Bunnings perhaps?
Thanks for everyone sending in tips, always worthwhile to try , as long as they are not harmful for humans and your pets.
 
That's something you don't easily come across in shops, is the coils of sicky fly paper. I may have to look a little harder. I suppose that it maybe still stocked with a "?"
 
To effectively get rid of ants in your home, a simple and natural method involves using a white vinegar and water solution. Mix one part vinegar with three parts water in a spray bottle and apply it to areas where you've seen ants. The strong smell of vinegar repels ants and can kill them upon contact. For best results, thoroughly wipe down surfaces, including countertops and entry points, to eliminate ant trails and prevent their return. Additionally, keep food stored securely and clean up spills promptly to discourage further infestations.
 

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