The best part about these life hacks is that the ingredients you need are things that you already have in your cabinets or around your home. If not, they can be found at almost any store.

Draw a Chalk Line
If you have a door in your kitchen that leads directly to the outside of your home, this could be where the ants are coming from. To stop them dead (but not literally) in their tracks, draw a chalk line on the ground on the exterior side of the door. Ants dislike calcium carbonate, so it's an excellent repellent and they won't go over the line and into your kitchen.

Sprinkle Flour or Cinnamon
Similarly to chalk, ants are repelled by flour and cinnamon, and these are great options if you don't want to use any chemicals in and around your kitchen. While this can be a little on the messy side, sprinkling some flour or cinnamon in and around your pantry, or even along your windowsills, can help deter ants from eating the rest of your pantry goods.

Use Citrus
Repel ants and make your home smell like a tropical paradise! By harnessing the power of citrus fruits like lemons, you can keep ants at bay. Lemon juice is particularly useful around windows and doors, and a quick squeeze on the thresholds and window sills can prevent them from coming inside. You can also put a couple of lemon peels outside your kitchen door to prevent them from coming in.

Herbs as a Defense
Ants love sugar, and from the biggest container to the smallest spill, they can smell it from miles away. This means your pantry and kitchen cupboards can become a hotbed for a new ant colony, even if you leave the smallest trace of a sugary substance. Herbs like sage and bay leaves can help deter ants from getting into your sugary treats, and you can put the herbs directly in your sugar container or next to your honey to keep ants away.

This next one is one that has been around for awhile and anyone familiar with gardening will know how great it can be!

Diatomaceous Earth
If you're looking for a natural insecticide that doesn't contain chemicals, look no further than diatomaceous earth (DE). DE kills insects like ants, bed bugs, and cockroaches by entering their outer skeletons and dehydrating their bodies — it's not pleasant, but it works! To avoid inhaling any yourself, just use a small amount and sprinkle it anywhere you suspect ants may be getting into your kitchen. It can be toxic, so follow the directions on the label.

I will say in my research I found out a lot about ants that I had no knowledge of before. For example, did you know that when they leave your home they actually leave a scent trail behind them so they know how to get back in! That surprised me. This leaves us with a simple fix and that is to clean the area where you see them walking in groups. Obviously, get rid of the ants first but then clean the area with either a cleaner or a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water.  This will stop other ants from following.

Then there is the final, tried and true method of making sure all of the cracks are sealed. This will stop them from coming inside and keep your food fresh and ant free!

Do you have any tips or tricks that were not mentioned here? If so let us know in the comments below!

Source: Popsugar