This Natural Oil Can Silently Win The Battle Against Ants In The Kitchen

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There's nothing like welcoming a brand new day, sprinting into the kitchen for a cozy cup of coffee — and being greeted by a parade of ants marching quick-step across your counter. Infestations turn from mildly annoying to battleground invasions in no time at all, calling for immediate action in one way or another. It's tempting to attack the ant problem with chemical-based sprays, but there's a viable alternative: neem oil.

Natural solutions to insect infestations can be underrated, including the centuries-old plant extract called neem oil, sometimes known as cold-pressed neem oil or margosa oil. It's a powerful agent for disrupting indoor pests, including those pernicious colonies of ants that love your kitchen. This oil is native to India, extracted from the seeds or fruits of the tropical evergreen neem tree (scientifically named Azadirachta indica). It's been widely used as such for hundreds of years in India, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa.

A big plus is that neem oil isn't considered dangerous to human health, food, pets, and indoor environments. It's also eco-friendly and exhibits low toxicity levels for helpful insects like honeybees, which play an important role in food chains. With all those benefits and few drawbacks, it seems a mystery how such a natural product could be effective for indoor ant control. But it's really just the inherent marvels of Mother Nature. Neem oil harbors a compound called azadirachtin, which interferes with ant hormones, molting process, reproduction, and growth — leading to a wipeout of invading ant colonies.

First of all, you need to locate neem oil that's appropriate for eliminating ants inside your kitchen. Varying forms of the oil appear in dozens of commercial insecticides, but what you want is neem oil in its pure form. It's available in natural- or health-food stores and online vendors, including this ready-to-use Bonide Captain Jack's Neem Oil spray from Amazon. You can also find versions that incorporate peppermint oil, like RobiGuard Neem Oil & Peppermint Plant Spray. An item like this may help mask the somewhat unpleasant smell of neem oil alone, which tends to have a garlicky sulphur odor.

It's entirely possible to create your own neem-oil spray for both indoor and outdoor use. After all, those ants are coming from outside, so tackling their habitat of origin is a pretty good preventive tactic. To create a spray, purchase pure cold-pressed neem oil, then mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of neem oil with an equal amount of mild liquid soap, plus a gallon of warm water. Spray directly on ants, trails, and entry points. After spraying, don't crush the insects, as they can release pheromones, thereby attracting more of their cohorts.

For large ant concentrations in specific areas, soak cotton balls with the neem-oil mixture, and place strategically as needed. Not only will it affect the insects on hand, but they'll carry that oil back to the nest, aiding in colony control. The process of total elimination can take several days, so be patient — and remember to keep counters clean and food stored in airtight storage containers.