There are several home remedies for ant repellents that are as effective as those you can buy in stores and are safe for your babies as well as for pets. Some of the ingredients might already be in your kitchen, like cayenne pepper, vinegar, dishwashing soap, and many more!
Ants love to chase after babies, or should I say they love the milk and the food that our babies spill and drop everywhere. So you can almost be sure that if you see an ant or two in your house, then there are probably more of them hidden somewhere.
Common areas are the kitchen, your countertops, dining table, or even your sofa if your family eats snacks while watching the television.
The thing with ants is that they are hard to completely terminate, especially if they were well settled into their path. Good thing there are natural ant repellent ingredients that are easy and safe to use around the house even if you have babies or kids.
Homemade ant killers
Here are some of the easy and safe DIY homemade ant killers that you can try at the comfort of your own home without worrying about any harmful effects that it might cause for your family, especially for your little ones and your pets if you do have them.
- Cloves, bay leaf, cayenne pepper – Place one of the following at the entry for the ants into your house. Clove contains eugenol which will kill ants and other insects on impact, but the effectiveness fades quickly. Clove oil is very strong mix a few drops in with a glass of water and tips it over the ant nest. Ants don’t like the smell and taste of bay leaf while the capsaicin in cayenne pepper is an irritant to ants, making them stay away.
- Vinegar, water, tea tree oil – Combine these 3 ingredients with just a couple of drops (8-10 drops) of tea tree oil and put it in a spray bottle. White vinegar kills ants and also repels them while tea tree oil will not only kill the scent trails but will also slow down ant infestations, the oil kills ants off.
- Baby powder – Sprinkle powder to the pathway ants made in your house and watch it do its magic. Since ants breathe through something called spiracles on the sides of their bodies, the attached baby powder will clog their airways, killing them quickly.
- Dish soap and water – Make soapy water and put it in a spray bottle. The solution will stick to the ants and the dish soap suffocates the ants to death, it will kill the ants but will not be harmful to your baby, pets, or even your plants.
- Coffee grounds – Ants are very inclined to caffeine. This safe material confuses the worker ants because they lose their scent trails. Leave coffee grounds where the ants are and they will carry them home and eat them. This method will take a few weeks to take effect, but after a while, you’ll notice a decrease in the ant population.
- Baking soda and sugar – The sugar attracts the ants, and the baking soda is what kills them. The baking soda reacts with the acid in the ants’ digestive system and they explode. Place the mixture in strategic locations and wait for the baking soda to do its thing.
Insect/Ant repellant safe for babies and toddlers
But what if the ants or other insects are directly biting your baby?
In my case, they usually attack at night when everyone is asleep, and all the lights are off, the next morning comes, and pinkish insect bites are on my baby’s arms or legs.
It’s frustrating as a parent, and it’s irritating for our babies. It will lead to a whole day of itchy fussiness, not to mention the other possible illnesses carried by insects like dengue, malaria, yellow fever, and many more.
Good thing there are insect repellents that are proven to be effective and at the same time safe for babies as young as 2 months old. There are multiple natural insect repellant ingredients, but only a few are proven effective and have longer effectiveness.
Here are some of the most commonly used insect repellants that are available in the market.
DEET
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates and approves insect repellents for their safety and effectiveness. DEET is approved as a safe and effective insect repellent.
The concentration of DEET in a product indicates how long the product will be effective. A higher concentration works for a longer time. For example, 10% DEET gives protection for about 2 hours, and 30% DEET protects for about 5 hours.
Concentrations of more than 50% DEET have no added effect. You can choose the lowest concentration to provide protection for time spent outside or inside but unsupervised. For example, if you plan to be out for one hour, you can choose 10% DEET.
Insect repellents for kids should contain no more than 30% DEET and are not recommended for children younger than 2 months old. DEET-containing repellents should be safe if parents follow the directions on the label to use the product safely.
DEET products can cause skin rashes, especially when high concentrations are used, but these reactions are rare.
Picaridin and other natural insect repellents
Besides DEET, picaridin and other products are considered safe and effective by the EPA. Natural insect-repellent ingredients including citronella, geranium, peppermint, and soybean oil.
These are safe but have not been approved for effectiveness by the EPA. In addition, most of these keep insects away for only a short time.
Also, some natural repellents can cause skin irritation.
FAQs
What is the best insect repellant safe for babies in the market?
Repel Insect Repellent Scented Family Formula – $23 on Amazon
This 15% DEET bug spray, one of Slaughter-Atiemo’s favored mosquito repellent for babies, fights off mosquitoes, ticks, gnats, biting flies, chiggers, and fleas (as all repellents made with DEET do). It’s also non-greasy and sweat-resistant, which is great for active kiddos who are constantly on the move.
OFF FamilyCare Insect Repellent – $6 on Amazon
Here’s another 15% DEET bug spray liked by Slaughter-Atiemo and parents alike. It’s made with a powder-dry formula, meaning it’s not oily or greasy.
Badger Anti-Bug Shake & Spray – $9 on Amazon
This 100% natural and certified organic bug spray for babies and kids uses citronella, rosemary, and wintergreen essential oils to repel mosquitoes, and it’s been lab-tested for effectiveness.
Is borax safe for babies?
Borax is marketed as a green product because it doesn’t contain phosphates or chlorine. Instead, its main ingredient is sodium tetraborate, a naturally occurring mineral.
While borax may be natural, that doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. Borax often comes in a box with a caution label warning users that the product is an eye irritant and may be harmful if swallowed.
While people are mostly exposed to borax in their homes, they may also encounter it at work, such as in factories or at borax mining and refining plants.
Conclusion
Insects and bugs are pests and are the last thing that you need to worry about when you have a little one playing around the house all day long.
Ensuring that your home is the safest place for your baby is probably our second priority next to what and how much they eat.
I hope these home remedies for getting rid of ants works for you and finally end your worries over these insect, let us know how it goes in the comment section below or shares other useful tips that we missed to include in this article. Stay safe!
