Forget The Traps And Bait: Help Repel Ants With A Simpler DIY Solution

Traps and bait are the gold standard when it comes to controlling ants in your home, but it's understandable to want to avoid them. Whether it's curious children, a pet that's always getting into something, or simply preferring natural solutions over chemicals, there are a multitude of reasons to seek out natural pest control remedies for at-home ant control. As a bonus, you can often reuse what you already have and avoid buying yet another specialty product. And, coffee lovers rejoice: The leftover grounds from your morning cup of Joe could help curb the ant activity around your home and garden.

While you can't use coffee to kill ants, those used grounds could discourage them from infiltrating your home in the first place. It could be the strong aroma overtaking the ants' scent trails or the insects' aversion to coffee grounds in general, but there has been some evidence that suggests this pantry staple can provide an easy, short-term solution against these invaders. One study by the entomology department at Texas A&M University even found that coffee grounds were the best repellent among other household products like baking soda, vinegar, and black pepper.

After brewing your morning cup, repurpose the used grounds by running them through a second brew cycle with plain water. Then, spread them in a dry skillet over low heat until they're completely dry. You can also lay them on a newspaper-lined cookie sheet and leave them in the sun to dry or spread them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and put them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around 15 to 20 minutes. This will create a stronger-smelling barrier.

Once the grounds have cooled completely, sprinkle them anywhere you've noticed ant activity, such as along trails, around doorways and patios, in foundation cracks, or throughout garden beds. They can also be used around vegetables and ornamental plants to help discourage slugs and snails from wandering in. Since the aroma of the coffee grounds fades pretty quickly, refresh the barrier with a new layer of dried coffee grounds after heavy rain or every few days to keep it as effective as possible.

While coffee grounds shouldn't replace proven ant-control methods for a major infestation, and they may not work on all species of ants, they're still an easy way to reuse what you have. If you're already making coffee anyway, it's worth trying if you're looking for a more natural first line of defense.