We all find ants nothing but little mischievous pests when they sneak in our kitchens and homes. We don’t like the ant invasion, do we? To get rid of these ants we end up spraying harmful chemicals at them. Just as these chemicals are harmful for them, likewise they are harmful for the humans as well. So here are some natural ways to get rid of ants.

1. Vinegar: Ants communicate with each other through the use of sound, touch and pheromones. Pheromones are chemical signals. The ants get all the signals through the antenna. They perceive smells with their antennae, and can determine direction and intensity of scents. If an ant finds some food, it marks a trail leading back to the colony. And then the other ants follow it. Each time the trail is traveled, the smell is intensified. You could use white vinegar by all the entrance. This will disrupt their scent trails and make it harder for them to creep back to the food source they have been invading. You just need some vinegar, water and cloth. Mix the vinegar and water well and spray or wipe it at all the entrance.

2. Chalk line: Have you ever noticed outside in the summer the way ants and sidewalk chalk just don’t seem to mix? That’s because they don ‘t. Ants that stumble through chalk get covered in the stuff, while some people suggest minerals in the chalk (such as talc) actually kill the ants. You will be needing a chalk. All you have to do is draw a thick heavy line around the entrance.

3. Honey: Are the ants still not ready to leave your house? Try this diversion technique. This diversion trick not to attack the ant colony but to divert them some place else, some place far away from your house. Once they’ve decided the honey pot you lay out is better than that hard to reach food you’ve locked up, it’s easier to lay something to deter them from coming back in. After you’ve got their scent trails cleaned up, food sealed tightly, and some kind of deterrent by the entrances, they aren’t nearly as apt to coming marching in again. Even if they try, they’re going to find you’ve made it a lot harder by then! All you need is a small paper bowl and a spoonful of honey. If not honey, you can go with sugar and water mixture. Place a little paper bowl with the honey outside, a little ways from your house but not so far that the ants won’t find it. Once they find the sweet stuff, they will happily go to that, rather than try to battle their way into your house.