Vinegar against ants: does it work? I guidance & experience

When it gets warm again outside, people are not only happy, but ants can also be observed more often. The small black, red or yellow crawling animals can then become quite annoying when looking for food. They just stop at nothing. Although they are not dangerous for humans and animals, they should still be put in their place. The use of tried and tested home remedies can be helpful here.

Fight ants

The black garden ant is mainly found in the garden and in the house. They can react very aggressively in the event of malfunctions. However, the insects not only are we talking about pests, they are undoubtedly hardworking workers. In nature they perform an important role in the ecosystem such as

• Loosening of the soil
• Fertilizing the soil
• Introduction of biomass into the earth
• Eating pests such as snails, caterpillars, spiders and wireworms
• Elimination of dead animals and plants
• Improve plant growth
• Spread of plant seeds

However, they can also be very annoying in the garden. The black garden ant in particular lives mainly from the excretions (honeydew) of the aphids and even breeds them itself. Which is not exactly appreciated by gardeners, as they damage the plants. Likewise, they dig their tunnels directly around the roots of the plants in the vegetable patch or flower bed with devotion. As a result, the affected plants can hardly absorb nutrients, and ultimately they dry up over time. In addition, there can also be underground nests under the terrace and paved paths, also in the race be very angry. As a result of the construction work, there is an undercutting and finally the slabs sink in.
But not only in the garden can ants really annoy the hobby gardener, they also penetrate the house unhindered when looking for food. This is where the crawling animals can get really annoying.

Formicidae in the house

The animals' nests are usually outside the house, in the open air. They can often be found under stones, in crevices or damaged wooden parts. Especially when it gets warmer outside, the insects are drawn into the house, where a large food supply is available for them. Since they love particularly sweet foods such as sugar or honey, they can get by

• open doors
• leaky windows and
• the smallest cracks get into the house.

At first only individual specimens come, so-called scouts. They leave a scent trail and communicate with other residents of their colony and attract them quickly. The so-called ant route is created.
The insects can cause a lot of damage in the house. They are considered storage pests and particularly love foods that contain sugar and protein. They can transfer germs very easily, so contaminated food must be disposed of. Because of this, the crawling animals should not be tolerated in the house.

Note: Ants have immense powers and can transport many times their weight.

Chemical agents should not always be used to combat or drive away the small animals, because tried and tested household remedies such as vinegar are also useful here. Especially when babies, toddlers or Pets live in the household, chemicals should be avoided.

Vinegar against ants

It is sometimes debatable whether vinegar is really suitable for combating it. The effect doesn't leave much to be desired. The little crawlers have a keen sense of smell and are therefore very sensitive to smells. When searching for food, they orientate themselves on the smell of the food. The animals are irritated by extreme smells. You therefore avoid foods with a strong odor. So the strong scent of the vinegar can be used in the best way to drive away. There is no radical fight against the insects, they are simply driven away and vinegar is also environmentally friendly. In other words, vinegar has proven itself in the fight against the hymenoptera. Below are brief instructions on how to use it.

Note: Others can also use it Home remedies such as various essential oils, cinnamon, garlic, cloves, thyme, lemon or marjoram come.

Vinegar can be used pure or as a vinegar essence to prevent ants from being driven away. The procedure is as follows:

• Fill the pure vinegar into the spray bottle
• Dilute vinegar essence in a ratio of 1: 4 with water
• first fill 50 ml of essence into the bottle
• Fill up with 200 ml of tap water
• shake well

The solution produced can now be used in different ways. Either the ant route can be sprayed directly with it. However, the pungent odor only lasts for a short time. If it has blown, the procedure should be repeated. Only a repeated spraying of the ant route guarantees the complete dissolution of this. Alternatively, small bowls filled with vinegar can be placed along the street.

In addition, the agent can also be poured in places where the ants get into the apartment. The addition of a little washing-up liquid is particularly suitable here. This combination can then be sprayed into all corners and small crevices and cracks. It also makes sense to apply this solution in the entrance area and on windows in order to prevent the ants from entering the apartment. Alternatively, you can also place small bowls with the solution on the window sills. However, you should replace these after a rain. You can also keep the little animals off your neck at picnics if you rub the tablecloth with a few spritzes of vinegar solution.

Clean with vinegar

Regular cleaning of the floors with vinegar water has proven to be particularly effective for permanent protection against ants. Use a mixture of 10% vinegar and 90% water. This not only makes the floors really clean and shiny, but also drives away all the animals. The disadvantage, however, is that dogs and cats do not love this smell either. Such cleaning should therefore only be done when there are no pets.

Since the scent is not very pleasant even for the human nose, it is advisable to leave the room after use until the smell has finally evaporated.

tip: The more intense the vinegar smell, the more protection there is against the insects.

Experience with vinegar against ants

Does vinegar really help against ants? Based on the experiences of other ants afflicted, you can form your own opinion.

Note: For reasons of better readability, small spelling errors (spaces, inverted letters, etc.) have been corrected in the quotations. The exact sources are linked under the specification of the respective forum.

"I either use vinegar with a syringe from the pharmacy to shoot into the holes or sugar, baking powder and beer. [...]"

Source: www.forum.frag-mutti.de, User: puschel515, 05/31/2005

“Spray with vinegar (essence). They absolutely can't stand that and stay away. I only did it recently. And was absolutely thrilled!!! "

Source: www.chefkoch.de, User: Margie_S, 05/15/2007

“Vinegar essence was really a good tip! Did it pure in a spray bottle, sprayed and see and be amazed, all destroyed! The smell is really disgusting, but just tear open the window and get away with it. ventilate! "

Source: www.forum.frag-mutti.de, User: kuckie66, March 26, 2008

"[...] Soak the sponge in vinegar and place it next to the ant road, after a while, dip the sponge in hot water to kill the ants [...]

Source: www.hausgarten.de, User: Monika W., April 23, 2009

“I would have given vinegar as a tip now. So we got rid of our ants that were in the shower (had eaten their way in from outside). But it took... "

Source: www.forum.frag-mutti.de, USER: shenja, 07/22/2010

“[...] Another tip is boiling hot vinegar water, but mixed very strongly (1: 1). Pour that into all the holes. But you are not allowed to do it near plants, only on the path where no one else is harmed except the beasts. "

Source: www.forum.frag-mutti.de, User: Die Bie (e) ne, June 15, 2010