There are over 12,000 species of ants across the world. Most of them live between 45-60 days. Ants have tiny brains and perform most of their actions based on pheromone scent cues. It would take the brains of 40,000 ants to have the same brain capacity as a human being.
As you may have personally observed, ants surface and breed less when it is rainy and multiply in larger numbers when it is dry. Something as simple as keeping the weather in mind can help you get ahead of a problem. Did you know that ants are very close cousins to wasps and bees?
A natural irritant to ants is mint. Just leave some fresh mint leaves in areas where you see ants congregating, and they will leave in a hurry. Putting them as close to the nest as possible is most effective.
If you have found the nest, sealing it is a good no chemical way of eliminating the problem.
Remember being a kid and trying to kill ants with water from the garden hose? We had a heavy infestation under our front porch stairs that my kids used to constantly try to kill with that cold water, to no avail. The key is to use boiling water. Ants can survive for a long time under cold water, but boiling water will drown them.
You can also bait the ants without having to use harsh pesticides. You can feed them Cream of Wheat! Put it where they can easily access it. When they eat it, it will expand in their stomachs and they will explode!
A good way to get rid of an ant hill is to take 1/4 cup of liquid hand soap and 1 gallon of cool tap water. Mix well and pour half of the gallon into the ant hill. Wait some time and pour the rest in there to make sure you get all those little tunnels.
Ants are a nuisance. But with a little effort and some patience it is possible to get rid of them without having to resort to harsh chemicals and pesticides.
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