If you don't want to use toxic or environmentally unfriendly ant poisons and bug sprays to control your ant problem, you can make a greener bug repellent using household items and natural ingredients. Salt, chalk, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, white vinegar, oranges and petroleum jelly can all be used to keep ants out of your house, yard, garden or picnic.
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FINALLY! Someone NOT praising the use of baby powder - These are products that make sense. I can see why the cayenne pepper, petroleum, vinegar & oranges would work. It makes sense. But I'm curious why salt, lemon juice would work. Anyone know?
I'm suspicious of the validity of the chalk because I tried several brands/generic brands of baby powder (4 to be exact) and none of them worked. I also tried different ways of placing it around the garden as well, e.g. walls, mounds, scattered everywhere completely surrounding the area and the ants just kept on coming and particularly infested my lemon cucumber plants. What does chalk have in it that's better than baby powder?
I also tried other organic bottled products to no avail. Finally, I gave up and used a pesticide. (a safe one) I used liquid concentrate 7-Dust mixed with water in a spray bottle and soaked the area around my plants - which are in containers on the patio. I also sprayed cucumber plant because they were all over it and I had spider mites on it as well which I hadn't been able to get rid of with the other products either. I had been diligently washing the leaves with a mixture of water and dawn detergent - every two days sometimes everyday and they kept coming back.
So the 7-Dust did it but next year I will try these other methods first. I've was so frustrated with the pests this year. I've never had this much of a problem. I am living in a new home but in the same area where I've been for the past 8 years so it was really frustrating not being able to figure out the problem using natural non-harmful ways.
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