First of all, you have to consider the cause of the problem to be able to control ants. Ants like food. Ants are attracted to the crumbs, sugars, and liquids mostly in your kitchen area.

The best place to start is to keep the kitchen area clean. Are the counters wiped off? Are the floors mopped? Is there any visible food around? Can you see a trail of ants moving towards a location? Keep these things in check and it should help with much of the ant problems you have. Also note that since ants need water they tend to hang around leaking plumbing like under the sinks. Make sure those don’t trip to cut off their water supply and make them move elsewhere.

Another natural rememdy is peppermint. Ants dislike peppermint as it’s a very harsh and strong smell. If you ever see an ant, put a little peppermint oil on the end of a cottonball and dab the trail. This makes it so that this ant can’t make a trail back to the others, so they won’t come back in greater numbers into your kitchen.

Two more effective options are Boric Acid and Diatomaceous Earth. These are methods for killing as opposed to repelling ants. Boric acid specifically made for ants has a mixture of sugar in it to attract ants specifically. They take it back to their hive and end up killing more than just the one that finds it. Diatomaceous earth is useful to sprinkle around baseboards or even in your garden. This will kill an ant who comes into contact with it. Both serve a useful purpose in getting rid of your ant problem.