RECIPE #36 REPEL ANTS                           
Categories: Garden, Bugs, Repellents                        
 
  Things that repel ants... Cinnamon, charcoal, mineral     
  spirits, boric acid, ginger, borax, bone meal,            
  pennyroyal (that's a plant), citrus peels, ant lions      
  (they eat ants but not sure about fire ants). Some         
  other things that work on ants that have been reported    
  to have success is coffee grinds, lemon juice,            
  vinegar, ammonia.. Building up soil through proper pH     
  control, fertilizing will discourage ant activity..       
  Letting grass grow a little taller helps. A healthy       
  nonacidic lawn has been documented to have less           
  problems with ants than an acidic lawn. But we know       
  many places such as Fl with naturally acidic soil plus    
  many plants prefer acidic soil, so it seems we might      
  have to learn to just keep them out of areas we prefer    
  them not to be in.. They are also indicators of other     
  insects, such as aphids, scale insects to name a          
  couple. Any that excrete (honeydew) a sticky substance    
  that the insects leave behind that the ants love...       
  Marion H says ants don't like mint either pour mint       
  tea around or plant some mint(careful though mint will    
  take over given a chance.
          
  Another recipe for ants: fill a spray bottle 1/3  with Ajax       
  dishsoap, add some Dr. Bronners peppermint soap and a     
  few drops of pet flea shampoo. Top off with water.        
  trace the ants back to their source and apply             
  liberally until they give up and move away!               
                                                            
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