Overview

Ant invasion is a very common issue that is usually faced in households. Ants easily get into our houses and it becomes difficult to get rid of them instantly.

So, one of the natural ways to get rid of ants is by using essential oils. Using essential oils help in keeping ants at bay so that they do not return back to your house. People try to find natural ways instead of chemicals to deter ants from entering their houses. Experts recommend using an essential oil to repel ants naturally.

Essential oils are extracted from different parts of plants and have properties that help repel ants. Essential oils are used in many ant repellents. Pure essential oils are free from chemicals and are non toxic, and thus are being widely used for different purposes.

Read below to find out some of the best essential oils that can be used to get rid of ants and repel them.

Best Essential Oils To Repel Ants

1. Peppermint Essential Oil for Ants

Peppermint oil is one of the best essential oils for ants (1). Peppermint oil has a strong scent which is unpleasant to insects and thus repels ants. The use of peppermint oil will disrupt the scent of food that ants are trying to locate and thus will make them return to get rid of the unpleasant scent that they are not able to bear.

2. Cinnamon Essential Oil for Ants

Cinnamon oil being on a sweet scent side for humans, its scent is not pleasant for ants and can repel them. Its fragrance acts as a natural ant repellent. Inhalation of cinnamon oil can also kill ants by instantly choking them. Cinnamon essential oil can help kill ants (2).

3. Citronella Essential Oil for Ants

Citronella oil is another essential oil that can kill ants. Ants coming in contact with this oil can die immediately. Citronella oil is used as repellents against many insects like ants, wasps, ticks, fleas, etc. The scent of this oil helps repel ants and keeps them away (3).

4. Clove Essential Oil for Ants

Clove oil has a strong scent and is one of the powerful essential oils that is hot. The smell of this oil conceals the scent of the food trail that the ant follows. Clove oil is also used as a natural ant repellent. Clove oil can also be used to kill ants because it is a warm oil. Clove oil can also be used to repel and kill other insects as well (4).

5. Orange Essential Oil for Ants

Orange oil is one of the most effective essential oils that can kill ants. Orange essential oil belongs to the citrus oils category. Orange essential oil can be used to get rid of both indoor and outdoor ants (5).

6. Eucalyptus Essential Oil for Ants

Eucalyptus oil has a rich and powerful aroma that can easily conceal the smell of food trails and can repel ants. This oil is used as ant repellent in some products, It is non toxic in nature and thus can be easily used to get rid of ants.

7. Tea Tree Essential Oil for Ants

Tea tree oil has a strong fragrance and ants do not like strong fragrances, thus this is one of the most effective essential oils to repel ants. Tea tree oil has an overpowering scent that is unpleasant to ants due to which they flee away. Tea tree oil can be used as ant repellents.

8. Lavender Essential Oil for Ants

Lavender oil is one of the most friendly insecticides. Lavender oil has a strong scent that helps repel ants and other pests from the home, keeping our house's insects free. This is one of the best oils to be used as ant repellents.

9. Cedarwood Essential Oil for Ants

Cedarwood oil has natural insect repellent properties that can be used to keep ants away (6).Cedarwood essential oil has a strong scent that can confuse ants and repel them from entering houses. This oil is also effective on fire ants. It can be used to make your own ant repellents.

10. Lemon Essential Oil for Ants

Lemon oil has a strong scent that can help get rid of ants from houses (7). The scent of this oil can conceal the scent of food trail and can confuse the ants. Also, as it has a strong scent the ants want to get rid of the scent and thus goes away.

11. Lemongrass Essential Oil for Ants

Lemongrass essential oil contains a citral constituent that is commonly used as insect repellent (8). Lemongrass oil has strong scent that is very unpleasant to ants and thus repels them.

12. Thyme Essential Oil for Ants

Thyme oil contains a component called thymol which is used as insect repellent (9). The potency of thyme oil is highly effective and can help get rid of ants and other insects at our houses. This essential oil is effective at repelling ants.

13. Patchouli Essential Oil for Ants

Patchouli oil is used in some of the commercial insecticides (10). It has properties that can be used to repel ants and other insects. Patchouli oil can also be used to kill ants.

How To Use Essential Oils To Repel Ants Or Get Rid Of Ants?

There are different ways in which you can use essential oils to get rid of ants

Ant Repellent Sprays

This is one of the most convenient ways to get rid of ants by using essential oils. You can use essential oils ant repellent sprays at your doorways, near window frames, or where you witness ant infestation.

Directly Targeting Specific Areas

If you notice that there is a specific place at your house where continuous movement of ants are witnessed. Then you can add a few drops of strong scented essential oil on a cotton ball and keep it near that area. This unpleasant scent will repel the ants and will make them leave your house.

Washing Away Scent Trails

Ants leave a scent trail and to make sure that the ants do not come back to your houses its recommended to use essential oils to wash away their trails. Essential oils have components like eugenol, d-limonene, etc. that helps to repel ants and also erases trails of ants swarming the scene.

Ant Killing Spray

There are certain essential oils that can kill ants and if you are facing issues because of the large number of ants and are not able to get rid of ants, you can use essential oil ant killing spray. Some of the essential oils that can kill ants include cinnamon oil, clove oil, citronella oil, orange oil and patchouli oil. By using these oils you can make an ant killing spray.

DIY Essential Oil Recipes To Get Rid Of Ants Naturally

You can create your own essential oil blends to attack ants.

Recipe #1

DIY Essential Oil Ant Repellent Spray

Ingredients

• 10 drops clove oil
• 10 drops citronella oil
• 10 drops cedarwood oil
• 10 drops lemon oil
• Spray bottle
• Distilled water - 60 ml
• 25-30 drops of alcohol

You can use this essential oil spray to keep ants away naturally from your home. Just spray this blend where ants are present or the most common areas from where ants can get into your house.

Recipe #2

DIY Essential Oil Blend To Wash Away Ant Scent Trails

Ingredients

• 10 drops of lemongrass oil
• 10 drops of cedarwood oil
• 15 drops of peppermint oil
• 1/2 cup of vinegar
• 1 cup of distilled water
• Air tight bottle

This essential oil ant spray can also be used to kill and repel ants along with washing away ant trails.

Recipe #3

DIY Essential Oil Spray To Get Rid Of Ants Overnight

Ingredients

• 5 drops of orange oil
• 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops of clove oil
• 5 drops of eucalyptus oil
• 10 ml Glass spray bottle
• Water

If suddenly you see a line of ants in your house and you don't have time to get your hands on insect repellents or want to use a natural way to get rid of them overnight. You can use this blend to repel ants from your home. This blend works well on different ant species including fire ants, carpenter ants, etc.

Conclusion

Naturally using essential oils is one of the most effective ways to restrict pesky ants from entering your home. Essential oils are good options to keep at home as it can come handy for many different purposes. Few drops of essential oils can do wonders when it comes to getting ants out of your home.

Essential oils being plant extracts are safe to use for humans. You can use a single essential oil or can mix with your favorite essential oils to make an essential oil spray to keep ants and fire ants away from your indoors and outdoors.