NATURAL ANT REPELLENTS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:
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Bay leaves
"They are OK for pets but be sure to keep bay leaves off floor from children. Add to corners in cupboards etc very safe and effective."
Black Pepper
"My wife says first to clean all surfaces well and then spread black pepper."
Buy
"If you live in Jerusalem there are two health food stores on Rechov Agrippas (in back of the Mahane Yehuda market--TevaNet is one, I forgot the name of the other) that sell bug REPELLENT that is all natural--it's not exactly edible, but it isn't toxic either."
Chalk
Chili powder
"I heard it works like a charm. Just put it by their hole."
Cinnamon
1. "Try sprinkling cinnamon where you see the ants. I did it on my counter-tops and the result was amazing! I was told that the ants will not cross the line where the cinnamon is. So I sprinkled a thin line all along the counter-tops and the ants didn't show up."
2. "What I do is look for where they're coming from. Usually it's some sort of crack in the wall or floor, and tape over it. You can also sprinkle cinnamon powder along where they walk and at the opening to the crack if it's on the floor level. They don't like it."
Cloves
"I found ground to be best."
Cornstarch
"Put down corn flour they take it back to the nest, it expands and kills them. It takes awhile but it does work."
Olive Oil
"Clean all surfaces well and then spread a thin layer using a paper towel. You'll likely have to repeat this process in a few days after Olive Oil evaporates."
Peppermint Oil
“I have tried peppermint oil with great success.”
Add one drop of peppermint essential oil onto a cotton wool ball and place where ants enter. Or simply add one drop of peppermint oil to the ants’ entry source Ants do not like spearmint, tansy, pennyroyal or peppermint plants. Grow these plants in pots and place around your doors.
Powdered Sugar + Boric Acid "Cocktail"
"Mix a 1:1 combination of powdered sugar with (bait) with powdered boric acid (a bit tough to find, and expensive, but a little goes a very long way) but we found it at the NOT Superpharm regular drugstore in Maaleh Adumim; you would do best to inquire by phone at pharmacies or chemical suppliers before hitting the stores in person. It gets taken back to the nest by the ants, and it (sorry) eats their guts out. Does not raise issues of increased tolerance. Is not toxic in the amounts which are needed (we have kids and pets), and though it has not made them disappear completely, they are at least 80% less than they were at this time last year, and we believe that it has affected the nests as well."
Red (cayenne) Pepper
"Find where the ants are entering from, and then sprinkle the cayenne powder there. The ants won't pass it, it burns them."
Rosemary
"Add rosemary to window sills and behind doors etc."
Salt
Soap
"Try to locate the holes that the ants come from and squirt some dishwashing soap into the holes. If you can seal the holes it's even better."
Tabasco
Talc
"Sprinkling talc at the doorway kept an army of huge ants from coming in."
"Be careful about inhaling it."
“Sprinkle it on your clean, dry, chametz-free kitchen counter BEFORE you lay down your Pesachdik counter cover. Ants will likely avoid your counter during Pesach.”
Vinegar
"Either white or apple cider vinegar can wipe out ant trails."