The sight of an ant in the home sends people running for their insecticide sprays. However, that is not a very environmentally-friendly solution.
Some say you can get rid of them using coffee grounds. Let’s explore how true that is.
Will Coffee Grounds Kill Ants?
People have different opinions about ants in the yard, but no one can argue that even the thought of ants inside a house is simply gross.
That said, ants have plenty of reasons to be attracted to the food fest they see indoors, such as crumbs or sweet items in the house. You may see more of these ants during the spring or summer season.
Now, if you want to kill these ants using coffee grounds, we’re afraid that is impossible. However, you may use coffee grounds to keep ants away from your home.
Of course, insecticides can also work well against these tiny creatures, but using them inside your home isn’t a safe option.
The spray will not only harm your indoor plants, but it will also affect everyone living under the roof, including pets.
Hence, it is better to use a natural alternative that can give you good results. Ants have a powerful sense of smell. In fact, they are said to have the strongest sense of smell among most insects.
This makes coffee grounds an excellent deterrent since ants can smell the pungent aroma due to their heightened senses.
Is Using Coffee Grounds a Fool-Proof Method?
Surprisingly, coffee grounds do not work well for all kinds of ants. You may notice that some ants stay far away from coffee grounds, but some will pick the pieces up and take them back to their ant hill.
However, if you place some coffee grounds near an ant hill and put some inside their home, it does give them a hard time getting back to their nest the next time.
This is because the scent confuses them and they feel lost in the yard. They eventually die after roaming around looking for their ant hills.
Hence, this still makes a great repellent for ants, even for those ants that may actually be attracted by it.
How Can I Use Coffee Grounds to Repel Ants?
There is no scientific proof that coffee grounds can repel ants. However, many people have had positive results.
Since it is an inexpensive and natural hack, you can easily try it to see if it works well for you. If you are a regular coffee drinker, you can utilize the used coffee grounds to keep the ants away.
This is because dry coffee grounds are not as strong in aroma as used ones. The hot water releases its potent scent, which is what you need to drive the ants away.
Most of the time, it is the dry coffee that the ants pick up and take back to their ant hill. Hence, soaked coffee grounds are a better and more effective alternative.
You simply need to sprinkle the coffee grounds around areas you want to keep safe from the ants. By sprinkling the coffee in specific places, you ensure that the ants’ access to these spaces is restricted.
Use the coffee grounds liberally to ensure the grounds will throw them off the scent of resources. Using the coffee grounds this way will create a scent barrier for the ants.
It is essential to use a generous amount of coffee grounds. Only sprinkling small bits will create a no-go zone for the ants.
They will turn away from the barrier of coffee grounds but will easily create another path or ant hill to continue their workings.
Remember to keep sprinkling the coffee grounds with water. You can do so on alternate days since this will ensure that the coffee grounds do not completely dry up.
As mentioned, the ants will remove the coffee grounds from their path as soon as they dry up. Moreover, regularly using water to keep the coffee grounds damp and moist will ensure the scent remains strong in the air.
Once a week has passed, and you still see ants in your surroundings, sprinkle some more coffee grounds in the areas.
Repeat the process for a few weeks until there is no sign of ants crawling around.
Where Should You Sprinkle Coffee Grounds to Ensure Ants Do Not Return for a Long Time?
Coffee grounds are natural repellents and are entirely safe to use outdoors. You can use them anywhere, unlike chemical insecticides that can cause harm to plant life outdoors.
You also need not remove them from the ground since they decompose naturally over time.
Use Coffee Grounds on Your Lawn
Now, ants are making their way into your home from somewhere outside. Hence, the first place to utilize the coffee grounds is outdoors.
This is because a yard or garden is the first place ants browse to look for food. The different scents from the fruit-bearing plants attract them to invade your space.
If you have fruits and vegetables in your garden, you can sprinkle coffee grounds generously in these areas. This will ensure they turn their back before they can get access to food.
The scent of the fruits, vegetables, and coffee grounds will confuse their sense of smell and keep your plantation safe.
Use Coffee Grounds around Structures in Your Yard
Many people have different structures, such as sheds in their gardens. If you have one in yours, you would know that you can often find ants in there. Some have even made ant hills around the shed.
Such structures are excellent places to spread coffee grounds. Sprinkle the grounds around the structure to ensure they do not enter the premises.
Use Coffee Grounds on Your Patio or Porch
To access the yard and the house easily, ants create ant hills on your patio or porch. Furthermore, they use the posts or the steps to make their way onto the porch. Since they are climbing up from the ground, you can spread coffee grounds around every space that connects the land to the porch or patio.
This way, they will not be able to find any way to get up on the porch.
Use Coffee Grounds around Entryways
You can use the coffee grounds around the entryways to prevent the ants from coming indoors. Cover up any places you think ants can possibly use to enter your home.
Ants are very small and can easily find spaces to get inside. The best thing to do is to seal the tiny holes and openings that can help them get inside your home.
Apart from that, you must sprinkle coffee grounds on all entryways to ensure they are blocked, such as windows and doors.
Remember to also sprinkle some water over them so the coffee aroma is in the air. One of the best things about this method is that your house will be filled with an aromatic and delicious coffee scent.
Use Coffee Grounds on a Scent Trail
You must have noticed that ants follow each other in a single line. Crawling one after the other like they are following a path they see.
The truth is that ants do not have a great sense of sight. However, as mentioned earlier, they have a heightened sense of smell.
When you see them trailing along a path, they are actually following a scent trail.
If you have seen ants following a particular path inside or outside your home, you can cover up the scent by spreading coffee grounds along the path they have been following.
This is the best way to ensure they are thrown off the scent they are following.
Make a Coffee Ground Circle around the Ant Hills
If you are unsure about where the ants are coming in from or if you cannot find a scent trail, you can target their ant hill. That is one place you can be sure the ants will return to eventually.
Also, sometimes you spot an ant hill way before you see any ants roaming around, especially in yards where they have plenty of space to hide.
Use the coffee grounds to create a circle around the ant hill. Some people also like to pour coffee grounds over the ant hill to cover it up.
Use coffee grounds generously in this area, and make sure to moisten or wet it. This will make the ants lose the trail back to their home.
The Bottom Line
An ant infestation can be problematic whether it happens indoors or outdoors. Coffee grounds are excellent resources that can help you keep them away.
It certainly won’t kill the ants, but the intense aroma will ensure they stay away.
Scattering coffee grounds and using water to dampen them will make the ants turn away since the smell can be overpowering for the little insects.
You can sprinkle used coffee grounds on the lawn, around yard structures, the patio, or the porch. Furthermore, you can scatter the coffee grounds on entry points to block their way into your home.