3-Ingredient DIY Ant Spray
This DIY Ant Killer is nontoxic, easy to make with 3 household ingredients, and works better than store-bought sprays! Safe to use in a home with kids and pets!
DIY Ant Killer (That Works!)
If you live in a warm climate, then chances are you’ve dealt with pesky ants. Whether they’re sneaking onto your countertops or terrorizing your garden, ants are major pests super stubborn and hard to get rid of.
That’s why this natural ant repellent spray is so amazing— it’s safe, easy, cheap, and IT WORKS!
Do you have an ant infestation you’re trying to get rid of? Or, maybe you wonder if there are other (more natural) ways to keep the ants from coming back? You are in the right place.
Here’s how I came to create this natural ant killer…
Last Valentine’s Day, an army of ants invaded our bedroom. A small box of candy had fallen behind one of our nightstands, unnoticed, and by the time we figured out what the ants were after, they were well settled into their path.
I tried all sorts of things to get rid of them, from home remedies, to bleach to strong commercial cleaning sprays, but they always came back. Then I did a little research for natural remedies and put them together in a spray bottle.
The best part about this ant killer recipe is that it is safe to use around kids and pets (unlike a lot of the toxic store-bought varieties or other DIY recipes that use borax or boric acid).
Related: Be sure to try our all-natural Soothing Homemade Itch Relief Spray for Bug Bites too!
What real-life readers have to say about our homemade ant spray:
“Worked almost instantly!” – MH
“It worked for us and was safe for my dog.” – TL
“Sprayed it outside on the deck and so far the ants are gone.” – FS
“I tried this and it really worked! Thanks for suggesting it!” – FR
“I just used it and it works GREAT!!! The ants DO NOT like it at all!” – NF
Note: One of the most common reader questions I’ve gotten from this post is “what about roaches?!” Here in the south, roaches are a thing, whether or not you have a messy house! That definitely came as a shock, but you can do things to keep those yucky roaches in check. Try our new 2-ingredient natural homemade roach killer too!
Ingredients
For your convenience, I’ve provided shop-able ad links to products used to make this natural ant repellent spray; read our disclosure policy here.
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons liquid dish soap
- 2 Tablespoons baking soda
- Water, as needed
Instructions
One of the most common household pest problems is ants. Learn how to quickly solve an ant problem with just a few common ingredients!
- Combine vinegar, dish liquid, and baking soda powder in a large bowl and stir gently. Pour mixture into an industrial spray bottle. Add water as needed to fill the remainder of the bottle.
- Make sure you mix this ant repellent spray over the sink — when you add baking soda to vinegar it creates a lot of foam! I add ingredients slowly, allowing foam to settle before adding more. (Kind of like pouring soda over ice).
- We use a large industrial spray bottle because they don’t clog and they last longer than the cheapie bottles. I can’t even tell you how many cheap plastic bottles I’ve thrown away in the past. The industrial bottles last for years though! Make sure that the foam has completely settled before securing the bottle’s lid.
A printable copy of our non-toxic ant killer recipe is available at the bottom of the post.
How to Use Our Homemade Ant Repellent Spray
- Spray on any ants you see, as well as the ants’ trails and surrounding area. Allow to sit for a few minutes, then wipe clean with a damp rag.
- I always spray into the ants’ entry points too: cracks in the floor, windowsills, etc. You can spray and let sit over entry points to keep the ants from coming back.
- Clean up any crumbs or food source that may be attracting the ants.
This is such a simple concoction, but it works so well — and it smells nice! Even better, you don’t have to worry about getting harsh chemicals everywhere (definitely a plus in a house with kids and/or pets!)
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does the Ant Spray Stay Good?
I find that it lasts pretty much indefinitely! I always keep a bottle of my homemade ant spray under the sink, so it’s handy when I need it. I usually go through a bottle in a few weeks or a couple months, so it definitely stays effective for that amount of time. If it’s been a year since you used yours, you may want to mix up a new batch.
How Do I Keep Ants From Coming Back?
This depends on the type of ants you’re dealing with. Sugar ants and kitchen ants will usually stay away once you’ve disrupted their scent trail. You also want to make sure that you’ve removed the food source that is attracting them and cleaned the area thoroughly.
Fire ants are trickier, because they have a nest somewhere outside. In order to get rid of the colony, you have to kill the queen ant and she is usually hiding deep within their underground mound. Fire ants are extremely common in the part of Texas where we live and they are a horrible pest. I deal with them in a 2-step process: kill any that I see with my spray. I also use fire ant bait on the mound itself to keep them from returning.
Can I Use this Ant Spray in My Garden?
Yes, but I always recommend spot-testing first when working around plants. Some plants may be sensitive to the ingredients used and we’re not trying to harm our plants after all!
What I usually do in the garden is to spot-kill fire ants with my spray. Then I sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the soil around the plants to protect them from any ants that may return.
Keep in mind that many ants are beneficial to your garden as they stir up and aerate the soil. However, fire ants can be destructive, not to mention painful if you accidentally stumble upon them!
Learn More: For more tips and tricks (cinnamon, peppermint oil, etc.) check out this post about natural ways to keep ants out of the garden.
Printable Copy of Our Homemade Ant Killer Recipe
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The Best Homemade Ant Killer (Kid & Pet Safe)
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons dish liquid
- 2 Tablespoons baking soda
- Water as needed
Instructions
- Combine vinegar, dish liquid, and baking soda in a large bowl and carefully mix to avoid foaming up over the bowl.
- Pour mixture into a spray bottle.
- Add water as needed to fill the remainder of the bottle.
Video
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What about spraying where cats will be? How safe is it?
Everything is natural and non-toxic– plus I would imagine that cats would have zero interest in eating vinegar 🙂 I had a cat when I first tried this stuff and he could’ve cared less about what I was doing.
Hi Stacey/ I came across your blog from back in 2015 on vinegar, dish soap to kill ants. Won’t the dish soap harm pets?
The spray dries quickly and you can wipe away any excess. It doesn’t leave a harmful toxic residue like many bug killers made with poison. I would imagine that most pets would stay away from it anyways because the vinegar smell 🙂
Don’t use Baking soda /ACD you will kill your plants, I lost my plants all burnet , because stupidity of people posting wrong things
I’ve used this spray on our plants, with no ill effects. In the directions I do recommend spot testing first, as some plants may be more sensitive that others.
Can this spray be used near a koi pond with out harming the koi’s?
Perhaps NEAR the pond, but take extra care not to get any in the water. I used to have a koi pond and they are so fragile!
Could I use white vinegar?
I would imagine that would be fine too– I used apple cider vinegar for my first batch because that’s what I had on hand. Since it worked, I stuck with it 🙂
I have used vinegar (white) for years in Spring when the ants are looking for a dry place (from rains). I also wipe my kitchen counter, windowsills, and on the floor around all the appliances and table and cabinets. I never see any ants. My daughter also sprays around the foundation of the house to kill spiders, so we are virtually free of critters in the house.
I’m looking for a deterrent to stop a certain dog from using the railroad ties around the tree in front as his urinal. I’ve tried different urines like fox, etc., but the little bugger still stops in the same spot every blessed time he goes walking by. The tree is surrounded by railroad ties and both they and the grass around them have been bleached out. His owner is oblivious. We work hard to keep the grass nice. Its frustrating.
That’s a tough one! We’ve had issues with neighbor’s dogs, but they are usually unattended so we scare the dogs away (I have chickens I don’t want harmed). You best bet may be to catch your neighbor next time they’re on a walk and explain that their potty breaks are harming your yard. Otherwise, we’ve used chili pepper/oil to prevent our own dogs from digging. Maybe this will keep the neighbor’s dog away too?
I used white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. It kills sugar ants but they keep coming back. But it does kill on site. Thank you for this information.
This is a relief. I’ve been battling ants in my kitchen the past several days. I’ve been trying to find a treatment that will work and keep them away, but I swear, the second my husband drops a chip they’re on it in seconds. I happen to have all these ingredients as well, so I’ll make this mixture when I get home and give it a shot. Thanks for sharing!www.stewartspestcontrol.com.au
Ok I’m not sure what I’m going wrong but every time I add baking soda to the apple cider vinegar/water/dawn dish soap mixture it starts foaming/pouring out of the bottle. I put the lid on the bottle and noticed that the bottle was getting round. I loosened the lid and it exploded!??? Please help!!
Hi Amanda, try adding the baking soda bit by bit. Everytime it starts to foam up, stop and let the bubbles go back down before adding more baking soda. (Kind of like if you were pouring soda into a glass of ice.) I always mix over the sink just in case, but if you go slowly it should be ok.
Yes mine exploded everywhere too! I ended up putting everything in a large bucket to mix then transfer to spray bottle. I live in Ohio, we have had a mild winter. I’m just starting to see some ants, it is earlier than normal so I’m hoping once the weather really warms up I won’t see any! I’ve used the corn meal, sugar, water paste mixture to attract them and they are supposed to take the “food” back to the nest and eventually it kills the colony, but it takes so long, and it’s disgusting how many ants come and cover the mixture. thanks for this recipe!
The mixing bucket is a great idea– thanks for sharing Cathy!
Your site says “ant killer” and then it says “ant repellant”. Which one is it?? I need to kill them so they are not in my kids sandbox and on the play set.
Both! It kills them on the spot and discourages them from returning.
I’ve been looking for non-toxic and homemade way to kill and repel ants. This looks promising! Thanks for sharing!
Do you have a recipe for getting rid of spiders? Thanks
Mix cinnamon in with the sand in the sand box. Ants hate the cinnamon & it’s not toxic for the children.
If you are lucky enough to find the hill/colony in or near the sandbox pour boiling water on it a few times. They were under my patio when I found were they were coming from. Two days, twice a day about two gallons of boiling water and they haven’t come back in two years.
This is a LIFESAVER. I came home and there were ants all over my kitchen, but I just made this in a minute, put it all the way around the door. One more tried to come in and turned right back around. Thanks so much
Awesome! So glad you were able to keep them out!
How often do you have to re-apply it?
Also if an ant walks into it after the area has been sprayed will it still die, or does every any need to be hit directly?
They usually die when they walk into it, or they will turn around and attempt to avoid the spray. If you hit them directly it works almost instantly.
I reapply as needed, if I see ants again. Sometimes it gets them the first time, sometimes they are pretty determined and I might need to apply a second time. It also helps to find where they are entering the house and spray outside as well.
I used this on my vegetable garden and it burned my plants ?, looks like they’re dying now .
I haven’t heard of this happening with this formula, but maybe it is possible that some plants are more sensitive? I’ve used this spray on my lemon and lime trees, as well as my herb garden with no ill effects.
Vinegar is an effective weed killer when used at full strength, so if tender or sensitive plants are soaked with even a diluted mix of vinegar, they may suffer or die. That shouldn’t happen if the soil is wetted, and most trees or bushes shouldn’t be affected.
What does the baking soda do in this circumstance? I understand the pther ingredients, but i am not sure how the naking soda affects the ants….
Why spray ants on your plants? If they walk across the flower it will pollinate. Ants do not eat plants.
I use it on fire ants because the DO eat my sprouts and kill plants when they are little. Otherwise I’d leave regular ants alone in my garden.
No, they may not eat plants but WILL tend to their aphid slaves, milking them as the aphids suck plants dry. If you see ants on a plant they may have set up an aphid farm!
Invasive fire ants do sometimes eat plant sprouts. I had a lot of issues with fire ants this year (which required more than a spray), including them setting up an aphid farm lol.
I need a home remedy to kill mosquito larvae in rain barrel. Something after we use it we can use the water on plants.
Which Dawn is this? Have you always used the red one or tried another.
Hi Kristie – To be honest, I can’t even remember. I just use whatever I have on hand 🙂
Will this work to keep ants away from ankles and feet and keep them from stinging if sprayed on the skin directly?
Hi Brenda – I’m not sure how it would affect skin. Nothing in the spray is harmful or toxic. My only concern is that vinegar is acidic and perhaps might irritate sensitive skin if sprayed directly on it. I’ve only used this spray on household items and plants.
Wanted you to know I made this ant killer and realized it is a great cleaner too. Thanks,
Wonderful! Glad you found it so helpful!
hey, i just remember the best BEST Flea killer!!.. if u have pets, or peeps in and out all day, mix DAWN (blue) Dish Soap, with water, (dont take much Dawn), and spray EVERYTHING, clothes, shoes, kids, (even wash your pets in it), rugs, etc. till it fills alittle damp. boom! DEAD FLEAS.. every time!!!!!.. And it cleans 😉
Is this effective for cockroaches as well?
Hi Terry – I haven’t tested this out specifically on cockroaches. They’re usually pretty fast and resistant to almost everything except smashing, but it could be worth a try!
So if I mixing this in a bucket how much water am I adding?
I would mix all ingredients except water in the bucket, then slowly pour into your squirt bottle. Then you can top off the remaining space in the bottle with water. Hope this helps!
I have been invaded with sugar ants. I saw your recipe and just mixed it up and sprayed them. It did kill them and hope I got all of them. I will keep spraying them if they come back. I sure hope it keeps them at bay. Thank you.
We came home from our Yellowstone vacation to find ants everywhere in our kitchen, refrigerator and even freezer. I looked up natural remedies and seen your recipe. It’s a true miracle this recipe works!!! I’ve tried natural and the regular poison stuff and nothing ever works. My husband said that stuff you made was a miracle. Thank you for this recipe! I don’t ever have to waste time/money on other stuff. Ants are dead now, thank goodness.
Wonderful! I also found that many of the store bought ant killers didn’t actually do the job, which is what led me to experiment and create this natural ant spray to begin with. Thank you for letting me know it worked for you!
Hi! Any idea if this is safe on hardwood floors? Thanks in advance!
If they are sealed, it should be ok, but to be safe, I would definitely spot test on an inconspicuous area first.
Hi. When you say wipe clean, is it with a wet rag or a dry one?
I use a dry rag or paper towel, just to dry the excess liquid.
Thank you so much! It worked almost instantly!
Wonderful! I’m glad to hear that!
Oh my goodness! I made the spray EXACTLY like your video directions! I had no problems with the bottle exploding or anything like that! I sprayed it ONCE between my patio door and living room and the ants are G O N E finito — although it is a little “slimy” so you do need to eventually mop it up. Thanks so much! It works great.
Hi Stacey,
How large, in ounces, was your spray bottle? Is it necessary to put water in solution?
Thanks,
Diane
Hi Diane, I believe my spray bottle is 24 ounces. But you could use something slightly smaller if that’s what you have on hand – just add less water. I do recommend adding some water to dilute (it will leave less residue), but the other ingredients are of course the most important. Hope this helps!
Hi-
Out of curiosity, does this just work on the tiny sugar ants or will it also be effective on those stubborn carpenter ants also? Thanks!
We’ve used it on any kind of ants we see – even fire ants! They all hate it 🙂
Is it taken back into the nest, killing the ants at the source or does it only only kill the ants it contacts directly?
Hi Steve – This kills ants that it contacts directly and keeps them away from that location in the future. However this is not something that the ants are able to carry back to the nest, as it is a spray.
You have anything on DIY kill fleas in the home clothes furniture an pet that’s safe
Hi Vanessa – I’m working on that actually! Bugs are big problem here in the south, so I’ve been testing homemade recipes to get rid of different pests. Today I published this homemade roach killer: https://thesoccermomblog.com/homemade-roach-killer-all-natural/ Stay tuned for our flea products!
I use a 50/50 mix of Dawn dishwashing detergent and white vinegar heated in the microwave to spray the walls of my shower. Spray it on, walk away for 45 minutes or an hour. Come back and rinse it off.
Job is DONE!
Do you have to add baking soda ?
I haven’t tried the mixture without baking soda – if you do, let me know how it goes!
Do you know if it can be used to clean stained mattress
Hi! I tried this today and the ants keep coming back as soon as the solution dries up. In fact, the number of ants seems to increase after I spray and the solution dries up. Am I doing something wrong? I followed the recipe.
Sometimes it takes a few rounds of spraying to get rid of them all. It’s also crucial to make sure you’ve identified and removed whatever is attracting them. Sometimes there is a scrap of food that we miss and the ants keep finding it! We also make sure to spray deep into whatever crack or hole is their entry point and seal it if possible. Hope this helps!
A few notes 1 dawn soap is used to clean animals so wouldn’t worry about using it around pets.. 2 It’s the vinegar that kills the ants so if you are still worried about your pets you could just use half vinegar half water mix. 3 there is a similar mix that’s used to kill weeds but use salt instead of baking soda. 4 this mix didn’t call for it some dobut NEVER use essential oils with pets Around most can harm dogs and kill cat.
Thank you for the additional tips! Though I do want to point out that dish soap is an important part of the mix because it penetrates the ants’ exoskeleton and kills them immediately. I’m not sure if the spray would be so effective without it!
The best thing I’ve ever used to get rid of ants is definitely Borax and sugar. Nothing gets rid of an entire ant colony than that! Thanks for sharing these recipes!!
Any idea if I can use powdered laundry detergent for this recipe? I live in Central America and it’s hard to get my hands on liquid dish soap 🙁
I haven’t tried it that way, but if you do, let me know how it goes!
This concoction works 100%, don’t waste money on any Commercial Ant Killer products, they do not work at the best of times.
This almost in all cases kills instantly ….
I just mixed it up today and tried it. Yes, it does foam alot, and yes it works terrific! Kills them where they stand, very good product. I will keep checking back for more great ideas from you Stacey. Keep up the good work and I’m sure you put alot of time in to this site and elsewhere . It shows.Thanks
Glad it worked well for you too! It’s still my go-to for ants!
I was wondering if you can use this on grass without killing it? We seem to be getting ant hills in our yard the last few years
It probably wouldn’t harm the grass. However, it’s not going to eradicate an entire ant hill unless you somehow get to the queen. This spray is best for getting rid of ants on contact. Hope this helps!
All I have to say is daaaang! This sh*t works! We had a little ant issue happen overnight and they were EVERYWHERE!! I panicked and googled a pet safe killer as I have a cat and traditional ant killers aren’t an option (and they don’t really seem to work either). I made this stuff (I did it in a bowl and let all the foam settle then it was really easy to transfer to the bottle and I didn’t have any exploding issues) and sprayed the crap out of the ants and the door the were coming in. It seriously killed all the ants that I sprayed directly, and no new ants have started coming in. Thank you SO much for this!!! A total life saver!
I’m so glad it helped you!! I created this recipe years ago and it is still my go-to when ants appear!
I’m so excited to try your ant killer mix. We have carpenter ants showing up in one area of the house (hopefully not others) and wondered if this mix was for regular smaller ants or also the carpenter ants? I’m assuming both but thought I’d check first. It’s weird because carpenter ants are supposed to be around damp wood, rotting wood but this is in the newer part of our house where we hang out the most
It works for all of them, as far as getting rid of them on the spot. It doesn’t necessarily get rid of an entire colony or ants you can’t see, as you have to kill the queen to eradicate a colony.
I just made a batch and it seems to kill ants instantly! So far so good!
Dang! That really worked. My cats are so happy to have their nighttime dry food bowls down again!
So glad it worked well for you! It’s my go-to for ants!
Oops, I spoke too soon, they came right back with a vengeance. I’ve sprayed the mixture like 6 times and didn’t even wipe it up, they walk across it like a White Walker across snow. I give up, I’ll have to find an actual pet-safe chemical and hope that it really is. Either that or move to the moon.
Thanks for this. You mention a demo video, but there doesn’t seem to be one in the post.
Hi Pat, the video should play when the page loads. If you’re on desktop, the video will load right under the title of the blog post. On mobile, the placement varies. There should also be a “jump to video” button near the top of the post.
I am not an entomologist, but found a 50/50 mixture of borax ( used for laundry and for short term salmon/trout roe eggs cure/storage for freshwater sports anglers) laced with syrup, icing sugar or honey works well to wipe out ants for weeks. They are resilient nuisance pests and you should see results soon after an application. Ants will be attracted to the sweet smelling lure, and the borax will get mucked in the food and they’ll take it down to their nest and wipe out most. This idea is useless in wet weather because it obviously washes away the mixture and is best during summer time or late spring. Ants are known to crawl into homes and linger in pantries and gardens so try 50/50 mix of borax and icing sugar about a Tbsp. of each in areas these creatures are seen to travel, including visible ant trails and their nest hills.
This homemade recipe is better than most chemical commercial products like sprays that could have negative affects on children, pets and those with respiratory illnesses. I make no claims this will work on foreign ant species, but in North America it will get results.
Against my better judgement I followed the recipe and got what I expected, an overflowing mess of soapy, vinegar foam which results when you combine vinegar and baking soda.
Which is why the instructions recommend mixing in a large bowl and letting everything settle before putting in a bottle.
I tried the other diy ant killer that uses sugar and borax. After two days it didn’t do anything! So I went back to the internet and found yours. I mixed it up, put it in the spray bottle and sprayed my kitchen counter that the little black ants had been feasting on. They are all gone with one spray! And, when I checked the counter in the morning it was still clear! Thank you!
So glad you found my recipe and it helped! Thanks for letting me know!
Be careful on wood floors. The ants are gone but my floors may be wrecked. On the fourth cleaning to try to get them back to normal. I 100% will never use this again on my wood floors.
Have you tried the mixture without baking soda? I was wondering if it’s okay to use baking powder instead of baking soda since I only have baking powder available in my house? plus is baking soda necessarily needed? Hoping to get a reply ASAP, thanks.
You can try it with just the vinegar and dish soap — those are the two most important ingredients.
I was looking forward to seeing some major results with this, like I had read in some of the other comments. But it didn’t faze the ants at all and, in fact, they started getting into the damp rag I had used to wipe down the already-sprayed areas. I live in Hawaii, and I wonder if we have different ants than the mainland. Nothing seems to bother them, they just keep coming….
Every time I click print on this page or try to comment an ad pops up (cosequin) and it’s driving me nuts. Please do something about this. I couldn’t print the recipe and I couldn’t screen shot it because more ads got in my way. This is a problem, and I recommend you put them somewhere else. Thanks!
There shouldn’t be pop-up ads (I don’t allow them and my ad network doesn’t use them) but I will look into it. You may also want to scan your computer for malware in case the pop-ups are coming from your web browser.
Is this safe for kitchen countertops?
You should be able to use anywhere that you would use a vinegar based cleaner. I always spot test first just in case!
We almost always just do store bought chemicals, but we had the tiny ants coming into our kitchen here and there for a few days and then one morning I woke up to a ton of them all over. I found this page and quickly put this together. After a few hours of spraying all over (repeatedly whenever I saw them in a different area), and wiping everything up they seemed to stop. This morning I woke up to see zero ants anywhere 🙂 I like that it is actually a cleaner as well so I can use it as needed and not worry about stinking up our kitchen with chemicals. Thanks for sharing and explaining why it works!
So glad it worked for you too and the ants are gone!