Keep Ants Out Of Your Home With Clove Oil

Ants are perfectly harmless outside, but they're a pest when they make a beeline for your home. Seeing one rogue ant sniffing around your countertop might not be a big deal, but where there is one, a colony is waiting to invade. Rather than waiting for its friends to show up in your kitchen, you can take preventative measures to repel the insects away. While commercial bug repellants usually do the trick, few people want to use them inside their homes. Whether you have pets, kids, or don't feel safe spraying chemicals in the areas you prep food and rest, most people want to choose a natural bug repellant when battling pests inside their homes. Luckily, clove oil can help discourage ants from getting too comfortable.

Clove oil is an essential oil that comes from clove trees. It's usually used as a flavoring in the kitchen, added to everything from meats to teas to desserts. If you have a bottle handy in your pantry, grab it and make this useful repellant hack. 

Creating your clove oil repellant is extremely easy. All you will need is a spray bottle, water, and clove oil. It's also encouraged to couple your clove oil with other pest-repelling essential oils to strengthen its effectiveness. For example, you can also use peppermint oil and ground cinnamon. To create the spray, fill the bottle with water and add 35 drops of clove essential oil, followed by 35 drops of peppermint oil. Shake it well, and spray down the areas you habitually see ants. 

You can spray it across your countertops, by window ledges and door jambs, near cracks in floorboards, and anywhere else you see them milling. Another simple method is to add two or three drops of clove oil to a few cotton balls and place them where you've seen these insects. Just be careful to keep this substance away from pets. Clove is toxic to both cats and dogs, so you don't want them to accidentally lick an area that was sprayed with this repellant.

Clove oil is a tried-and-true pest repellent because it contains eugenol, a known natural insecticide. So not only does it repel pests, but it can also kill them on contact. While scientists don't exactly know what makes it so toxic, it's believed to be neurotoxic, attacking the bug's nervous system. This makes it highly effective, especially if you keep reapplying the spray weekly. In addition to its insecticide properties, the spicy scent also repels the ants from coming in. It's overly pungent for them, and since ants rely on their sense of smell to navigate, they will steer clear. 

However, you shouldn't rely solely on clove oil to eliminate your ant problem. You should also take some preventative measures to ensure a new wave of ants doesn't return inside. This includes sealing any holes and cracks along window frames, door frames, and floorboards. You also want to ensure you clear any crumbs from countertops and immediately clean up food spills. This will make it a less inviting environment for ants.