“The most effective method for controlling an ant infestation is using ant baits—set them out anywhere you see ants and expect a party,” Gangloff-Kauffman says. “If you still see ants around the house, try a few different brands of baits until you find one that’s appealing to this particular colony.”

Here’s how to get rid of ants at home:

1. Chalk. One of the home remedies to get rid of ants is to use chalk.
2. Lemons. Squeeze a lemon or place lemon peels in places from where the ants enter.
3. Oranges. Oranges are same as lemons; they keep the ants away from visiting your house.
4. Pepper.
5. Salt.
6. White Vinegar.
7. Cinnamon.
8. Peppermint.

Ants usually come indoors in search of food or nesting habitat. Even small amounts of food, like pet food crumbs, can attract hordes of industrious ants. Ants are one of Earth’s most successful animals, and comprise more than 13,000 species.

Why do ants come inside? Ants are constantly on the hunt for food and water (moisture, in general) for their colonies, so your kitchen and bathroom are the most common spots to find ants. “Ants have a sweet tooth, just like many of us, which leaves our kitchens particularly vulnerable to an infestation.

These are the common ants that you’ll find indoors, referred to as “nuisance ants” or “odorous house ants.” The bad news is you have an ant infestation and need to eliminate it before populations increase. The good news is that nuisance ants don’t cause structural damage to your home or bore through wood.

In other words, deceased ants are identified by the absence of signs of life—a sort of chemical pulse falling silent—rather than the presence of signs of death.

White vinegar If you see ants, wipe them up with a solution of 50-50 vinegar and water, or straight vinegar. White vinegar kills ants and also repels them. If you have an ant problem, try using diluted vinegar to clean hard surfaces, including floors and countertops, throughout your home.

Getting rid of ants is easy with Dawn Dish Soap. Spray a mixture of water and Dawn directly onto countertops, floors, sinks, or wherever the ants seem to be. If you spray the solution directly on an ant, Dawn will penetrate their exoskeleton and kill them on contact.

Apple cider vinegar won’t kill the ants, but it could inhibit their hunt for food. Ants leave behind little scent trails that send signals to other members of the colony that there’s food nearby. (That’s why you see them marching in a line along your kitchen floor.) The smell of the vinegar can send them off track.

Pine-Sol will kill ants on contact and destroy the sent trail ants follow. Or put borax/Terro near that area and watch the ants feed from the stuff closer to home without getting as far as the place you are seeing them in the first place.