Why ants dont like salt

Put cinnamon and cloves on the entrance of the house and the areas from where you think the ants can enter. This a good method to also keep your house smelling fresh and earthy. Cinnamon is often regarded as an effective DIY ant control option. It is believed that cinnamon acts as a natural repellent as ants can't stand strong smell.

For more effective results, you can add some essential oil to the cinnamon powder, so that is busts with stronger smell, keeping the ants away. Peppermint is an insect repellent, which can help you get rid of ants. Ants don't like the smell of peppermint and are likely to avoid areas that contain traces of it. Peppermint has a strong fragrant that cannot be tolerated by the ants, which keep them away from entering the home.

Prepare a mixture of 10 drops of peppermint essential oil and a cup of water and sprinkle it wherever you find ants. Repeat this twice a day. You can even sprinkle dried peppermint instead of the liquid mixture. Try these easily available home remedies and say goodbye to ants.

The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Listen to the latest songs , only on JioSaavn. Story Progress Back to home. Like humans, ants require a mixture of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in their diets. Because sugar contains high amounts of carbohydrates, a number of different ant species are attracted to food items that contain sugar. Artificial sweeteners, however, do not contain these carbohydrates and as a result, do little to attract ants.

Some people believe that artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are effective ant poisons. This is not the case. Since ants are not attracted to artificial sweeteners, they make poor baits. And according to Sociobiology , an academic journal published by California State University, consuming aspartame has no effect on the mortality rate of ants. While this may seem like an odd question, its origins is strongly rooted in the history of diabetes.

Indian physicians first observed that ants were attracted to urine when studying patients who had frequent urination problems. The study, detailed in the Oct. The "cafeteria experiment" offered the ants a choice of cotton balls soaked in salt or sugar solution.

Ants that lived more than 60 miles kilometers inland preferred the salt solution which was less concentrated than the sugar solution. Unfortunately, there is no more evidence for Epsom salts as an effective ant control method than there is for salt. Some online sources suggest that sprinkling them around either dry or mixed into a solution may repel pests , but there is scarce evidence to suggest that this actually works.

Salts may not be the answer to your ant woes, but there are plenty of other natural remedies you can try. Peppermint oils contain menthol, a compound known to repel a variety of insects — including ants!

Sprinkling drops of oil along windowsills, under doorways, and around any other potential ant entry points can help to keep them away from your house. Alternatively, you could leave out cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil, or even plant peppermint in your herb garden to repel bugs. This is because soap destroys the scent trails that ants use to communicate with one another, making them less likely to wander indoors. Sprinkle black or cayenne pepper around ant entry points and household appliances to keep them out.