I always have this scenario in my kitchen: I cooked a meal and left in on the dining table to let it cool down before covering it, then after a few minutes I went back to see an army of ants feasting on my food. They are just too many it’s really a challenge to remove them one by one from the food.

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Now, I have two options: it’s either I eat the food with the ants (I think they’re edible) or I find a way to repel them so they don’t get into the food. Of course, I will choose the second option. However, I don’t want to use a chemical pesticide because I just want to repel them, not to kill them. Also, I don’t think it’s a good idea to spray chemical pesticides on places where you store your food.

After doing some research on the Internet, I read some articles saying that ants don’t like the smell of peppermint essential oil. I decided to put this to a test. I put a drop of peppermint oil on a cotton ball and placed it on kitchen countertop just few inches away from the food I just cooked. I waited patiently until I saw some hungry ants marching toward my food. To my surprise, the ants moved back away from the food and they seemed to have a migraine from smelling the peppermint oil. I think the peppermint oil somehow interferes with their scent trails. In other words, this solution actually works! Aside from the cotton ball method, you may also try creating your own ant spray by filling in a small spray bottle with water and about 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake the bottle before use and spray this solution to areas where you would normally see a trail of ants.

If you don’t have peppermint essential oil, then another cheap and easier-to-find alternative is Efficascent Oil or any liniment which contains menthol, eucalyptus and camphor. It has the same effect on ants as the peppermint essential oil.

Do you know other ways to repel ants naturally?

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