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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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!