Moms, especially those that cloth diaper their little ones usually worry about the presence of ants during ant season – which in the Philippines, happens to be almost all year round.
And while there are a lot of insecticide and spray solutions that can address this concern, not all are safe to be used in the home, especially when there are babies around.
I have rounded up some baby safe and natural ways to get rid of ants. Some are using a DIY Solution, some homemade sprays, and some are meant to prevent them from inside the home – especially on our baby’s cloth diaper stash! So here are:
Natural and Baby Safe ways to kill ants:
- White Vinegar Spray Solution – This could just be the best and most baby-friendly ant-prevention solution there is. Just pour some white vinegar in a spray bottle, and spray where the ants are. If you see a trail? Spray on and watch them leave the trail and get dizzy. Do not worry about the sour smell as well, because it will dissipate, and in fact help deodorize a room. If the smell is too strong for you, you may want to add in 10-12 drops of either lemon, tea tree, eucalyptus or peppermint essential oil (buy it here), and then dilute the solution a bit with water, then shake before spraying.
- Use Baby Powder – While inhaling baby powder is definitely not safe for your little one, you can carry out this ant-killing experiment when your baby is not in the same room. Just sprinkle some powder on the ant trails, and watch the pesky creatures get disoriented.
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You may also want to read:
- Local Information on Cloth Diapering (Where to buy BumGenius Diapers, Shops where you can order custom made cloth diapers, where to buy Fabrics for DIY Cloth Diapers)
- How to get kids to sleep early
- Where to buy Wooden Toys
- Baon Ideas for your pre-schooler
- Where to buy Fabrics for DIY Curtains
- Where to buy Essential Oils
- How to make DIY Detergent
- Make your own Fabric Conditioner
- Homemade Dishwashing Soap Recipe
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- Sprinkles of Cinnamon Powder – Ants love sugar, but they hate other spices, especially Cinnamon and Pepper. And since pepper should be out of the question when babies are around as t may trigger allergies, and can even be ingested, cinnamon should be a great solution. Sprinkle in the ant trail, and you will soon see the ants disappear.
- Bay Leaf Plug – Bay leaf or what we locally call as “Laurel” can be used to prevent ant infestation the natural way. Just put some fresh or dried bay eaves in areas where you see ants converging, or in areas where they seem to come from.
If all else fails, and you would really want a strong and effective ant infestation solution without using really heavy chemicals then you might want to give Borax a try. Again borax is poisonous and should be kept out of children’s reach. Here in our country, Borax can be purchased from local hardwares (not ace, not handyman, and not True Value, but your neighborhood hardware). In the recipe that it shared, DIY Hangout says all you need is sugar, borax, warm water, cotton balls, and shallow containers. Of course you will need to KEEP THE CONTAINERS OUT OF CHILDREN’S REACH, but this promises to be an effective solution. Check out the step-by-step procedures here.
So there you have it, I am sure there are other Natural and Baby Safe ways to get rid of ants. I will be updating this post as soon as I learn more.
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Leaving you with this video on chemical-free ways to get rid of ants:
