Are you suffering from an ant problem? It’s one thing to get rid of them, and another to keep them from ever getting in. Here I suggest 5 best products with different brands for your consideration. If you require additional information, just look at the links provided next to each product’s title.
Our Recommended Best 5 Ant Repellents in 2024 Comparison Table
| PREVIEW | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
Our #1 Rated  | Spectracide Ant Shield Ready-to-Use Insect Killer
| Check Price |
 | AMDRO Ant Block Home Perimeter Ant Bait Granules
| Check Price |
People's Choice  | TERRO Waterproof Ant Killer Dust
| Check Price |
 | Tree Tanglefoot Care Kit Insect Barrier & Tangle-Guard Wrap
| Check Price |
 | Orange Guard Home Pest Control
| Check Price |
Top 5 Best Ant Repellents Reviewed
After much research, there are definitely some products that stand out more than others. And the winner is Spectracide Ant Shield Ready-to-Use Insect Killer.
Along with natural solutions, there are also store bought ones. Most often, these include pesticides using chemicals as a repellent:
1. Spectracide Ant Shield – Best Ant Repellent For Indoor and Outdoor Locations (Editor’s Choice)
This spray uses a chemical insecticide to not only kill ants and other types of insects but to keep them from coming back. And not only does it come in a spray, its product line includes garden spikes to plant in your yard, keeping a barrier between it and your home.
Keep the containers away from children and pets, as it is poisonous.
2. AMDRO Ant Block – Best Outdoor Ant Repellent For Long-Term Use
This product is meant to be used around the perimeter of your house to prevent ants from getting inside. They are attracted to the smell of the granules, then carry them back to their colony where other ants will eat them. The poison in the granules then kills the ants and prevents them from coming back.
3. TERRO Dust
This powder won’t wash away in the rain and is meant to be used outside your home as a perimeter barrier. Sprinkle the insecticide-filled dust all-around your house and ants will turn right around as soon as they come into contact with it. Most will die afterward.
Let’s take a closer look at top organic products made specifically for ants that are known to be organic as well.
4. Tree Tanglefoot Kit
This product uses an incredibly sticky compound to keep insects from being able to cross it. It comes with a roll of banding that you apply the compound too. For example, if you’d like to keep ants away from a tree, wrap the band around the tree trunk, then apply the sticky compound onto the band. Ants won’t be able to cross, getting stuck instead, keeping your tree free of ants.
To keep ants away from the outside of your home, roll out the band along the base of your house and apply the compound to it.
5. Orange Guard
An all-natural solution, Orange Guard uses orange peel oil as its main ingredient. The strong smell of the liquid is unappealing to ants and will keep them away for weeks. This product comes in a spray that you apply to all areas of your home and yard. Although the smell of Orange Guard is a repellent to ants, it’s the citrus smell is pleasant to us!
What is the Best Ant Repellent? – Your Expert Buyer’s Guide
Ants are social and live in colonies underground, spanning anywhere from a ten-foot radius to twenty-five feet underground. The large ones can house hundreds of thousands of ants. And they can dig tunnels through the dirt time and time again.
So how do you get rid of them? There are many products both on the market and homemade that are effective at killing the ants once you notice them. You can even destroy the colony itself. But how do you keep ants from ever coming into your house or yard in the first place? Sometimes you want to keep them away rather than trying to kill them all.
What Kind of Things Repel Ants?
Repelling something is different than destroying it. Killing ants will get rid of the ones that are already around. Repelling ants will keep them from coming into your house or yard in the first place. Just like ant killers, there are many different types of ant repellents, from store-bought chemicals, to homemade solutions, to organic remedies.
Borax
Also known as Sodium Borate, is the salt from Boric Acid. It is a white powder that dissolves in water and can be found at the grocery store. When ants ingest Borax, it destroys them from the inside out, as the insects’ digestive system cannot handle it. To get them to ingest it, mix Borax with water and add some sort of sugar to it like white sugar, honey, or corn syrup.
You can deliver this repellent in different ways:
- Putting it in a spray bottle and spraying it all around the perimeter of your home and yard, inside your kitchen and pantry.
- Soak cotton balls in the mixture and set out around your yard and home. Any ants will swarm it for the sugar and ingest the Borax.
- Using small jars, put the Borax mixture inside and set out in areas around your yard and home. Any ants that might come inside will be attracted to the sugar and come eat it along with the Borax. They’ll die before they ever infest your house.
Plants
Something great about nature is that plants not only look beautiful, but they can also have many different uses as well. Many are used for medicinal purposes, and perhaps a little known fact is that they can be used for pest control.
- Mint: This plant is a fragrant one and can be planted all around your home in sunny locations. It can ward off ants from coming near the house.
- Tansy: This bush has clusters of yellow flowers that have a pungent smell to them. The oils from these flowers are known to repel insects, including ants. Plant them around the yard, wearing gloves to protect yourself from the toxic oils, and take care to keep them regularly trimmed, as the plant can grow quite quickly.
- Garlic: This plant is known for its extremely strong aroma. Its oils can be so pungent that insects don’t want to be anywhere near it. For ants, they’ll avoid crossing paths with it, which includes building colonies near it. The smell also confuses ants so that they can’t smell the food that might be in your house or patio. Plant garlic around your home in sunny locations. You can also make a garlic spray by crushing cloves into a paste and mixing it with water. You want to avoid spraying this inside your home, though, as it will make the entire house stink!
Diatomaceous Earth
This white powder is actually the crushed up remains of marine phytoplankton. To humans and pets, it’s completely non-toxic. But to insects, it’s a death sentence. Sprinkle the powder around your home and yard and let the natural ingredient do its part. Once the ants come into contact with it, the substance destroys them from the inside out. You can use DE as a powder, or mixed with water as a paste.
Not all ants are alike. Along with house ants, there are red ants and carpenter ants. These winged ants can prove a huge problem for your home and yard. For more information on how to get rid of carpenter ants, go here.
Repelling Ants the Organic Way
What if you don’t want to use a harsh chemical or anything unnatural to repel ants? Luckily for you, there are many options available that are completely organic.
An Herbal Solution
Herbs have been used for thousands of years for various purposes. Even the ancient Egyptians used them regularly. When it comes to pest control, they are quite useful.
- Peppermint: This herb is extremely fragrant. Its pure oils can also be irritating to organic tissue. When ants smell peppermint, they naturally want to turn right around and escape the odor. You can plant peppermint in your yard, use peppermint oil and water in a spray, or sprinkle dried peppermint leaves all around your house and yard.
- Sage: The smell of sage is a natural ant repellent. Grow it in your garden or yard, make a spray out of sage oil and water, or keep an herb garden on your counter. Just the smell of sage from a pot on your counter is enough to keep the ants turning around in the other direction.
- Lavender: Just like Peppermint, lavender carries a strong odor that pests hate. Fortunately for us as humans, we enjoy the smell! You can plant lavender outside, make a spray of lavender oil diluted with water, or sprinkle dried and crushed lavender around your home, including cupboards, the pantry, and closets. One more added benefit to this herb is that its smell has soothing properties.
Something great about organic products is that most are safe for your beloved pets to be around. More details on the best pet safe ant killer can be found here.
The Most Effective Methods Possible
You don’t just want something that kind of works, you want an ant repellent that really does the job. To ensure the most effective ant control, make sure you use a product that is extremely deterring to ants.
You can combine methods, using a scent-based repellent along with a granulated barrier, or perhaps growing ant-repelling plants and also using a perimeter spray.
Additionally, you should use the best ant traps for greater effectiveness. I will provide you with detailed information on how to choose the best commercial product in my review.
Ants don’t just stay in your yard. If they find a way into your home, they’ll love to invade anywhere with a food source, most often the kitchen and pantry areas. To discover how to get rid of ants in your house, click here.
Conclusion: Keeping Ants Out of Your House
To keep ants out of your home, you need to start the outside. Choose a repellent method and apply it to the perimeter of your yard, repeating the process directly around your house itself. If ants try and cross into your home, they’ll reach the repellent first and turn around before they can get in. In addition, check out my review of the best outdoor ant killer.
Things to think about before choosing a method of any repellent:
- Safety: Make sure that if you’re using a toxic product, you keep it away from children and pets.
- Location: Are the ants in your house already? If so, you’ll need to both kill the ants already inside your home and also apply a repellent to keep new ones away.
For those of you who suffer from ants problems, look no further for a solution. Getting ants to stay away from your home and yard is possible now with all the many options available. Don’t just kill the annoying insects – repel them, and keep them from ever entering your home again.
I’m still not finding anything to put on ME. I have gotten so many bites that I’m allergic to them. I have ordered diatomacious earth for my dog but what about me? The order us coming Wednesday but that is 2 days away. It isn’t fire ants.