How to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen: Complete Guide To Pest Control

The kitchen is the hub of all the pantries and food items in your house. So, it’s obvious it attracts numerous flies, insects, and ants. Moreover, having a hygienic and insect-free kitchen is always important to maintain the entire family’s health.

So, the kitchen is a very important part everyone should focus on. The most common problem in the kitchen is an infestation of ants. We commonly see a uniform line of ants marching toward cabinets, pantry shelves, or food items.

Step-by-Step Solutions: How to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen

In addition, these trails of ants can be a great problem as they carry pathogens and mess up your food. It’s essential to control the ant infestation as these are very persistent and difficult to control when in large numbers.

However, if your kitchen has numerous ants all over the place, and you have no idea how to get rid of ants in kitchen, then here are a few tricks to stop ants in the kitchen.

Understanding The Ant Problem In The Kitchen

Ants enter the kitchen in search of food, water, and warmth, and the kitchen offers them all. Ants have strong smelling senses and can sense any food crumbs, sweet food items, and moisture from far away and get attracted towards them. In addition, there are the following things that attract ants to the kitchen.

1. Food – Ants are attracted towards any food sources that include:-

Dirty plates in the sink or the corner of the kitchen
Sugar and honey jars, cereal boxes, and butter
Leftovers in garbage cans
Spilled food and drinks
Piles of crumbs.

2. Moisture – Ants like the warmth and moisture content in places and get attracted to it. The moisture sources such as dripping faucets, leaky sink pipes, wet kitchen towels, damp sponges, and many more.

3. Nesting spots – There are many spots in the kitchen where they live and grow. It includes clutters in the kitchen corner, cracks and crevices in the floor, and inside many appliances.

Common Types Of Ants Found In The Kitchen

Ants are the houseguest that no one wants ever in their kitchen. Moreover, before learning how to get rid of ants in the kitchen, we must know the common types of ants that are found in the kitchen. It includes:-

Odorous House ants – These are dark brown ants nesting in cracks and crevices of kitchen floors and walls. Moreover, these ants contaminate food items in the kitchen causing health-related problems. In addition, they smell like rotten coconut when crushed so they are called odorous House ants.
Carpenter Ants – These ants are reddish black and found in damp areas, with cracks around doors or windows, and holes in the kitchen. They destroy the kitchen’s wooden structures whether it’s doors, windows, or wooden cabinets.
Argentine ants – These are dark brown ants that are found in wet places near any food source. However, they are not life-threatening, but these ants contaminate food items.
Crazy ants – These dark brown ants are found in both moist and dry places. Moreover, they run in an erratic manner searching for food.

How To Get Rid Of Ants In Kitchen: Step-By-Step Guide

A kitchen is a place where there is a maximum invasion of ants, insects, and other bugs as it is filled with food and water. Moreover, ants make their house in the kitchen and they are not just few in numbers, but hundreds and thousands. So, it becomes very important to deal with them and get rid of them. However, if you want to get rid of ants in the kitchen, then you need to start step by step to effectively remove the entire trail of these ants.

Initial Inspection And Identification

Before thinking of remedies, it’s important to locate the ants where they are coming from. And, to do so, it’s important to follow the trail of ants which they usually make to travel and identify the spot. However, if you are unable to find the trail, put some food crumbs and in a few minutes you will be able to monitor the trail and their starting point.

Moreover, once you have inspected the source, you must identify the type of ant in your kitchen so that you can use remedies according to that.

Natural Remedies To Get Rid Of Ants

Natural remedies are always cost-effective and environment-friendly ways to get rid of ants in the kitchen. It includes:-

Sprinkle powders – There are many naturally scented powdered items such as powdered cloves, cayenne pepper, garlic, baby powder, cornmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, and many more. These are the best way to get rid of ants as they are highly scented and ants don’t like these smells. Moreover, cornstarch, cornmeal, and baking powder damage the outer layer of ants eliminating them.
Spray with vinegar – Make a solution mixing equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Then, spray the solution directly over the ants. Moreover, you can also wipe the area with the solution to get rid of ants. However, the solution helps to get rid of ants only till the smell of vinegar remains. So, you need to reapply the solution at regular intervals.
Borax – Make a solution by mixing borax with sugar and one cup of warm water. Stir the solution until sugar and borax are completely dissolved in the water. Then, dip the cotton balls and place them in areas with ants invasion.
Spray essential oils – Essential oils have a strong smell which helps to get rid of ants in the kitchen. Moreover, you can spray peppermint, cinnamon, citrus oils, and tea trees on the ant trails to keep them away from the kitchen.
Diatomaceous earth – sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the common areas of ants as they cause difficulty in breathing for ants and absorb oil from their exoskeleton.
Spray with dish soap solution – Make a solution of dish soap or liquid detergent and water in the spray bottle and spray on the ants directly.
Coffee grounds – The coffee grounds help to repel the ants naturally and stop them from entering the kitchen area where it is sprinkled.

Chemical Solutions And When To Use Them

Ants are very persistent pests which are very difficult to remove. Moreover, if natural remedies are not enough to get rid of ants in the kitchen, then commercial chemical solutions are the option. There are a few chemical solutions you must try to get rid of ants.

Commercial chemical repellent – There are non-toxic chemical sprays and repellents that help to repel and kill the ants. Moreover, these are very effective and long-lasting but have harmful chemicals that should be avoided from inhaling or ingesting.
Bait traps – Bait traps are the most effective way to remove ants from the kitchen. These contain pesticides in enclosed form which is safer than the sprays and repellents. Moreover, bait traps attract ants and when ants eat them they die.

Moreover, the usage of these chemical remedies is not safe for children, pets, and plants. So, these should be stored and used with safety. These are more effective and faster than the natural remedies. However, natural remedies are safer for the kitchen environment.

What Is The Fastest Way To Get Rid Of Ants In The Kitchen?

Ant infestation is very common in the kitchen and spreads very quickly, messing up the food and other kitchen structures. Thus, it’s important to get rid of ants as quickly as possible.

Immediate Actions To Take

There are a few things you should immediately do to get rid of ants in the kitchen. It includes:-

Emergency Solutions

If the natural and chemical remedies are not enough to get rid of ants, then the most effective solution in an emergency is hiring a professional exterminator. Professional exterminators use the least toxic products such as green, organic, and eco-friendly chemicals. Moreover, before hiring an exterminator, know what chemicals they are going to use in your kitchen.

Before hiring professional exterminators, try different DIY methods such as peppermint essential oils, lemon peels, and many others to get rid of ants in the kitchen.

How To Stop Ants In A Kitchen: Prevention Tips

There are a few prevention tips you need to follow to prevent the ants from returning to the kitchen. It includes:-

Regular inspection and monitoring – Consistent monitoring and inspection are necessary to prevent the ants in the kitchen. Use natural ant traps to kill them and prevent their further entry into the kitchen. Make a DIY ant bait station by mixing baking soda with sugar and warm water. Thus, ants are attracted to this solution and wipe out the entire colony.
Seal entry points – Ants usually reside in the cracks and crevices of the kitchen floor or wall. So, seal all the entry points around the doors, window frames, and corner of the wall. In addition, check the sink area and seal if there is water seepage. Thus, to seal the entry points you can use door sweeps and window screens.
Maintaining a clean kitchen – Clean the kitchen countertops and floor regularly and after every use to remove the food particles and debris. Clean the appliances and food crumbs under appliances and cabinets.
Store food – Food when exposed attracts ants. So, keep the food items in an airtight container. Use zip-lock plastic bags and containers to store used food items.

Moreover, there should be proper inspection seasonally for ant prevention. Every season has different reasons for ant infestation which should be treated differently.

How To Stop Ants In Kitchen Naturally: Long-Term Solutions

Ants are the most common invaders which are found in almost every household in India. However, these carry pathogens and cause diseases or infections. Moreover, it’s very difficult to kill these one by one, as they are present in large numbers. So, using natural methods to get rid of ants in the kitchen seems to be a long-term solution.

Creating An Unfriendly Environment For Ants

A kitchen with food debris or food crumbs all around, damp and moist areas, and wet faucets are the most favorable environments for ant invasion. However, to get rid of ants in the kitchen permanently, we need to make sure there is cleanliness all around.

Moreover, fix the faucet and sink area while maintaining a dry area. Check for cracks and seal all the gaps. In addition, the natural methods you need to use are:-

Wipe the kitchen with natural insecticides such as vinegar and water solution, lemon juice solution, neem extracts, and others.
Spray neem oil or cinnamon leaf oil as a natural insecticide to get rid of ants in the kitchen for the long term.
Use peppermint, tea tree oil, lemon oil, and other citrus essential oils in the kitchen.

Gardening And Landscaping Tips

Plants in yards should also be such that it helps to prevent the entry of ants. Clean the debris from the garden at regular intervals. Cut off the plants that lean on house walls as it makes it easy for ants to enter the house. Moreover, check for the plants that are not infected as they provide shelter for ants underneath the soil. So, discard any plants that are dead or infected. In addition, many houseplants repel ants, small flies and other insects. Also, citrus plants repel ants.

Conclusion

The kitchen is an integral part of every house that feeds people. Moreover, it is the center of food and water that attracts a large number of ants. Ants are not life-threatening, but they carry pathogens that can cause health problems for people.

However, killing a few ants in the kitchen is not a solution as these infest the kitchen in large numbers forming a trail.

So, if you want your kitchen free from ants, then it’s important to know how to get rid of ants in the kitchen. There are natural remedies such as essential oil sprays, diatomaceous earth powder, boric acid, vinegar solutions, and many more to get rid of ants in the kitchen.

In addition, you can use chemical sprays and baits to remove the ants and kill them.

However, if these methods don’t help, then you can call for professional exterminators to permanently remove the ants from the kitchen.