{"id":15154,"date":"2019-04-04T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/?p=15154"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:55:27","slug":"how-to-get-rid-of-ants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get rid of ants in the house"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How can you get rid of ants in the house?&nbsp;Like many pests, ants swarm indoors once they find a good food source. They usually move inside looking for better conditions, moisture, food, shelter, favourable temperatures and shelter. Word spreads quickly around the ant colony, and soon you could have a tiny army following the scent trail into your home. However, because the kitchen is a food-preparation area, you\u2019re likely to be reluctant to use pesticides or sprays to&nbsp;get rid of ants, for fear of contaminating your food. By taking practical steps to eliminate the ants and then ensuring you prevent a re-infestation, you can soon take control of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ant Observation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, make sure you know the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/species\/\">ant species<\/a> you\u2019re dealing with. Most likely, they\u2019ll be pavement ants, but carefully observe them and note their characteristics. A quick online search should help you to correctly identify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/\">Ants<\/a>\u00a0don\u2019t emerge out of thin air. They must be getting in somewhere. So your next step is to find their entry point. By simply observing their movements, you\u2019ll be able to identify where they\u2019re entering your house. They might be coming in through an open door, a window or even small cracks and holes in the building structure. They are usually located somewhere in inner house walls, window frames, indoor or in hidden places. Once you find the entry point, take action to seal it and clean it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as finding the entry point, you should try to find the source. Where\u2019s the&nbsp;ant nest? Again, following their movements should lead you to the colony next. The ants leave a scent trail from the nest to the food source, so they\u2019ll follow the same trail back and forth from the colony to your kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve found the source, you can take steps to effectively eliminate the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 Steps to Get Rid Of Ants Naturally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The next question is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/\">how to get rid of ants<\/a> quickly and effectively. Because ants travel back to the colony, you can use their movement to deploy a poison to&nbsp;kill the ants<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/\">&nbsp;<\/a>in the colony. The 5 steps to get rid of ants naturally are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Set up pre-baits to attract a large number of ants.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Experiment to see which pre-bait attracts most ants.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Choose the correct poison bait (solid or liquid)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Observe the change in the ant population<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Try using non-toxic solutions to kill the ants<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The following 5 steps are mentioned in detail below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First, set up some pre-bait to attract large numbers of ants. Remember, the more ants you have carrying the poison back to the nest, the more ants you can eliminate. So don\u2019t be alarmed if you notice a sudden spike in the number of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/\">ants<\/a>&nbsp;in your kitchen. They are being attracted to the pre-bait and this is all part of your strategy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pre-bait can be a plate of sweet, sticky food (such as honey or syrup) or fried food (such as chips or fried meat). Experiment to see which pre-bait attracts the most ants. Remember that different baits are more effective at different times of year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once you have found an effective pre-bait, you can set up your poison bait. This can be solid or liquid bait. Again, observe and experiment in order to find the solution that works best for you. Also, make sure that the ants are taking only the bait. Don\u2019t leave other food sources easily accessible to them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can take a few days, or even a couple of weeks, for the bait to fully eliminate the nest, including the cocoons, larvae and eggs. If you find that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/\">ants<\/a>&nbsp;are still swarming in after a few weeks, however, it\u2019s time to consider using a different bait. Or call in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\">pest control specialists.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you\u2019re reluctant to use toxic baits, you could create a soapy solution to&nbsp;kill the ants. Simply mix a capful of liquid soap (or melted soap shavings) with water in a spray bottle, and spray the solution on the swarming ants. Once the ants die, clear them away.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 Natural Ant Killers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/ants\/\">eliminating the ants<\/a>, you need to take steps to prevent any future re-infestations. Remember, ants leave scent trails when they find food. You need to erase these trails using cloths soaked in disinfectant or bleach. (Water alone will not remove the trail.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use a mixture of water and vinegar to destroy their trail.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use home solutions comprising of citrus.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Try using spices and herbs to repel ants.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use diatomaceous to seal cracks and small holes<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Seal entry points.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Check these steps out in detail below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>A simple mixture of water and vinegar can also effectively erase the trail. Your aim here is to destroy the trail; you aren\u2019t actually killing any ants.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>You can also use some home solutions to repel&nbsp;ants. For example, ants don\u2019t like citrus smells. You can create a repellent by blending lemon juice, orange peels or cucumber rinds with warm water. Then dip a cloth into the solution and use it to wipe down your surfaces. You can use a similar solution to mop the floor.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Spices and herbs are also known to&nbsp;repel ants. Effective options include garlic, mint, basil, cayenne or chilli pepper, cloves or black pepper.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Diatomaceous earth is another effective preventative measure. You can use it to seal up cracks and small holes, or apply it to edges where there has been ant activity. You can also spray wet diatomaceous earth on walls.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Caulk can also be used to seal up entry points. Use it to seal cracks around doors and windows.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember that food is what attracts ants into your kitchen. The less food there is lying around, the less likely you are to see ants. Keep your kitchen clean and tidy at all times. Carefully wash all crockery and cutlery, ensuring there\u2019s no food residue left on them. Pay particular attention to your floor too, making sure there are no crumbs and scraps hiding in the corners or edges of the kitchen. If ants have already travelled across your floor, remember to remove the scent trail. If you have mats or carpet on the floor, vacuum them to remove any tiny particles of food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pay attention to your rubbish bins too. Empty them regularly, and wash out the bins to remove any leftover liquids that might attract ants. You could also add some baking soda to the rubbish to repel the ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If your house has an ant infestation in your house, you should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/contact-us\/\">contact&nbsp;pest control expert<\/a>&nbsp;as soon as possible to avoid a larger infestation. Pest control experts will be able to provide you with further advice on how to prevent and get rid of ants quickly and effectively.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can you get rid of ants in the house?&nbsp;Like many pests, ants swarm indoors once they find a good food source. They usually move inside looking for better conditions, moisture, food, shelter, favourable temperatures and shelter. Word spreads quickly around the ant colony, and soon you could have a tiny army following the scent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[2406,2405],"tags":[63,333],"class_list":["post-15154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ants","category-insects","tag-ants","tag-how-to-get-rid-of-ants"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ants in Winter: Prevention &amp; Removal | Pest Control Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ants in winter? Learn where ants go and why they swarm indoors for food. Discover ways to prevent and get rid of ants in your house.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ants in Winter: Prevention &amp; Removal | Pest Control Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ants in winter? Learn where ants go and why they swarm indoors for food. Discover ways to prevent and get rid of ants in your house.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"deBugged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-04T11:00:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T13:55:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants-in-garden-rentokil.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"421\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@debugged\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@debugged\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/\",\"name\":\"Ants in Winter: Prevention & Removal | Pest Control Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/how-to-get-rid-of-ants-in-garden-rentokil.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-04T11:00:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-21T13:55:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7db989bebd3291c60b3cb37cdedb87e3\"},\"description\":\"Ants in winter? 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