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16 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Ants Around Your Pool

16 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Ants Around Your Pool

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It can be very frustrating to have to deal with insects on your property. It’s going to be inevitable that you will have to deal with things such as ants every so often, though.

In many areas, ants are so common that ant infestations will happen on many properties. You might need to take action to keep ant issues from getting too severe on your property.

It can be problematic when ants show up anywhere on your property, but it can be even worse when the ants are hanging out in areas that you use all the time. If you recently started spotting lots of ants near your pool, then you’re likely a little bit annoyed by it.

Is there anything that can be done to get rid of ants around the pool area? Keep reading to learn about the best methods for getting rid of ants that you’ll be able to rely on.

1 – Clean the Area Really Well

Cleaning the area really well is a good idea if you want to ensure that you don’t keep attracting ants. Ants are going to come near the pool area looking for things such as water and food.

If you take the time to clean the area up, then the ants won’t have things to eat around the pool area. Many people enjoy snacks near the pool in-between swimming sessions, and this means that there could be crumbs around that you haven’t been good about cleaning up.

You might also have food from nearby trees and bushes that you’ll need to consider. Some people have trees and bushes in their yards that will drop fruits and other things that ants might be attracted to.

Taking a bit of time to clean all of this up will do you a lot of good. You’ll be able to at least make your pool area less appealing to the local ant population with a little bit of elbow grease.

Do your best to keep your pool area as tidy as you can moving forward. It’s worth the effort that it takes, and it’s just one of the best prevention methods that you’ll find.

2 – Try Using Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous Earth Can Deter Ants

Diatomaceous earth is something that people use to kill various pests, but it isn’t a type of poison. This is simply the fossilized remains of underwater creatures known as diatoms.

This can help you to get rid of ants by killing them, and the diatomaceous earth does this by drying them out. It will absorb all of the oils in the ants’ bodies and this will dry them out to such an extreme length that they will die.

Placing the diatomaceous earth around your pool area could help you to get rid of ants passively. It’ll be easy for you to do, and getting the diatomaceous earth to use is not difficult either.

You will want to avoid breathing the diatomaceous earth in or exposing it directly to your skin since it can cause minor irritation. It’s actually possible to buy food-grade diatomaceous earth that is safe to consume, but it will still kill the ants.

It’s a type of powder that you can sprinkle in certain spots. You don’t have to put it in the main paths that you’ll be using in your pool area, but it could be a good way to get rid of ants by placing it away from traffic.

You can decide just how useful this idea is, but some people have used it to great effect. If you don’t like the idea of using diatomaceous earth, then there will still be a plethora of other options to explore.

3 – Try Spraying a Mixture of Glass Cleaner and Liquid Detergent

Glass Cleaner Mixed With Detergent Can Deter Ants

Did you know that you can keep ants from coming back to an area by getting rid of the trail that they leave behind? You see, ants know to send other ants to an area due to a trail of pheromones that they leave behind.

If you can eliminate this scent, then the ants won’t have anything to follow back. This is why many people are combining glass cleaner and liquid detergent to make something that will eliminate the scented pheromone trail that they follow back to the pool area.

Take a bit of time to mix some glass cleaner and liquid detergent together. Keep the mixture in an easy to use spray bottle so that you can spray it on spots that the ants seem to go to. Try to wipe down the area with a cloth using the spray.

This should work to eliminate the scent on tile or cement as well as other standard types of surfaces that you will find in pool areas. This idea might not work to solve your ant issues by itself, but it can help to keep ant problems from getting out of control.

Simple hand soap might work just as well as combining glass cleaner and liquid detergent, though. Some people think that the scent of glass cleaner is a bit overbearing, but it’s up to you to decide which route to take.

4 – Spraying Pepper

Spraying pepper-scented spray might work well to repel ants. It has been found that ants dislike the smell of pepper and they will attempt to avoid it if possible.

You could try to spray either red or black pepper around your pool area to keep ants from coming around. Some people have used crushed pepper to do the same thing, but it’s a lot easier to create a pepper spray than it would be to do that.

Spraying the pepper spray around certain spots of your pool area should make a difference. You could also sprinkle pepper on specific spots if you wish to go that route.

Just note that this won’t always completely solve your ant problems. Ants can be persistent and they might just work around the spots where you’ve sprayed or placed pepper.

5 – Peppermint Spray

Peppermint spray is another thing to consider that will work the same way as the pepper spray mentioned above. Essentially, you’re going to be mixing peppermint essential oil with water to create a spray that will be simple to use.

Once you have the spray mixed up, it’ll be time to go around the pool area spraying it in various spots. It should help to keep ants at bay, and it can work to make your pool area more peaceful.

There are some things that you should know about peppermint spray before moving forward, though. If you have pets that hang out in the pool area with you, then you’ll want to keep them away from the peppermint essential oil.

This essential oil has been known to make cats ill, and it won’t be good for your dogs either. For this reason, many people don’t see using peppermint spray as a truly good option.

6 – Boric Acid

Some people have decided that using boric acid is a good idea when looking to kill ants. Boric acid can work nicely because it will kill worker ants and the queen at some point.

Generally, it’s said that boric acid can take up to three weeks to get the right results after initial exposure. It erodes the ants’ outer shells and stomachs, and this is admittedly somewhat gruesome to think about.

Of course, boric acid can be dangerous to work with, and it can harm your kids and pets if they come into contact with it. This is why you don’t just go pouring boric acid everywhere in the pool area.

The practical way to use it is to place the boric acid in ant traps. The ants will want to check out the traps due to something sweet being inside, and they’ll wind up getting exposed to the boric acid.

Some recommend mixing the boric acid powder with maple syrup when using it in traps. This type of acid should be easy to buy from your local hardware store, but remember to wear gloves when using it.

7 – Borax

Borax can be used in the same fashion as boric acid. They aren’t the same thing, but they will get you the same result, at the end of the day.

This should also be able to be found at the local hardware store, but you could order some online as well. Once again, the most practical way to use borax in the pool area will be to implement it along with ant traps.

You should be able to kill large numbers of ants over time using this method. It works well, but you must keep it away from pets and children.

If you’re at all nervous about using things such as borax or boric acid, then you should simply look for safer options. These two things can work nicely, but there are many ways to kill ants that you might be more comfortable with.

8 – Sprinkle Brewed Coffee Grounds Near the Pool Area

Coffee Grounds May Deter Ants

This next idea isn’t going to do anything to kill the ants, but it might keep them at bay. Brewed coffee grounds have been shown to keep ants away, and you can use this to your advantage.

Brew up some coffee and then sprinkle the brewed coffee grounds around the perimeter of your pool area. It should help you to keep ants out so that you can simply enjoy your day at the pool.

This won’t do anything to truly solve the ant problem in the area, but it can give you some peace. If you’re just trying to host a pool party, then this might be a quick fix option to consider.

The downside will be that parts of your pool area will smell like brewed coffee grounds. Many people enjoy the smell, but it’s possible that you might find it to be a bit off-putting.

9 – Neem Oil

Neem oil is another thing that people use to repel ants from getting near an area. Once again, this won’t take the ants out, but it’ll keep them from getting near the pool area if you use it.

This is a natural type of oil that is extracted from neem trees in India. You can use strong neem oil that hasn’t been diluted to keep ants from coming around.

Some people say that diluted products that contain neem oil work well as ant-repellents, but full-strength neem oil will be even better. Either way, it’s good to have something that’s easy to use that will keep ants at bay.

Most people buy neem oil at local health food stores, but it might be easier to purchase it online depending on your location. You might like this idea better than using brewed coffee grounds.

10 – Cinnamon Essential Oil

Cinnamon essential oil should also be considered since it can work as an ant-repellent that can also kill ants. This is an essential oil that can even kill the more dangerous types of ants such as red ants (also colloquially known as fire ants).

The idea is to go out and buy some cinnamon leaf essential oil that you can turn into a spray. You combine it with water in a spray bottle and spray the perimeter of the pool area.

It’s also possible to just go spray areas that you know are spots that the ants seem to go. It should get pretty good results overall.

11 – Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil May Deter Ants

Tea tree oil works as an ant-repellent that can also kill ants, too. You just need to mix the tea tree oil with water to create a handy spray as usual.

You’ll be able to spray this on areas that you know the ants like to go to get rid of them. Some people spray the perimeter in an effort to keep ants from entering the pool area at all.

12 – Cornstarch

Did you know that cornstarch can be used to kill ants? To kill ants with cornstarch, you’re going to want to smother groups of ants with it.

Just pour some cornstarch on a group of ants that are hanging out in your pool area. Add a bit of water to the cornstarch and you’ll take the ants out.

This will make a bit of a mess, but it’ll also kill a group of ants. If you see many ants around your pool area, then this can be a handy trick for killing a lot of them at once.

It’s certainly better than trying to smash ants individually. After the ants have been killed, you could either wipe things up or vacuum the ants up using a shop-vac of some sort.

Just remember to dispose of the contents of the shop-vac if you go that route. This might not be as good as some other ant-killing methods that you’ll read later, but it is nice to know that cornstarch can be helpful since it’s so common.

13 – Vinegar

Vinegar is great to use when you want to kill ants, and it can be used as a repellent as well. Many people will mix up vinegar and water to create a handy spray that can keep ants away from your pool.

White vinegar can easily kill ants, and you can use this to your advantage. If you’re able to track down the anthill in your yard, then you might be able to kill the ant colony by pouring white vinegar directly down the anthill.

You will want to be careful if you’re dealing with ants that bite such as red ants. Even so, it’s good to know that something as simple and readily available as white vinegar can do the trick.

Locating the anthill isn’t always simple, but you can try to do some detective work if you’d like. Try to observe the ants and see where they’re going to get an idea of where they are taking food back to.

If you just want to keep ants out of your pool area, then spraying vinegar around the pool area should work nicely. Just know that vinegar can be effective when it comes to killing ants if you want to try to take them out.

14 – Boiling Water

Boiling water is great when you’re trying to take out an ant colony. If you have located an anthill, then you should be able to kill the ants inside using boiling water.

Just go take some time to boil water and then carry the water out to the anthill. Pouring the boiling water on the anthill will take out many ants at once, but it won’t kill every ant or completely eliminate the colony.

Generally, anthills are entrances to large ant colonies, and you’re going to want to do this boiling water trick on every anthill that you spot on your property. Taking the ants out is the best way to ensure that they don’t keep bothering you in your pool area.

15 – Chemical Ant-Killing Sprays

Chemical Ant Spray Can Deter Ants

Of course, you could simply go to the store and purchase chemical ant-killing sprays. Many people will do this first before thinking twice about it, but not everyone is comfortable using chemicals.

The chemicals in these ant sprays can be kind of harsh, and you might not like using them near plants or certain other things that you might have in the pool area. However, it’s going to be one of the most efficient ways to take care of an ant issue that has been plaguing your pool area.

You can easily get ant-killing chemical sprays that will take out the ants that are giving you problems. If you’re able to locate the anthill, then you can try to spray the hill down to get good results.

Getting rid of the local ant population might only be possible if you use methods like this. Natural methods can also get results, but the chemical sprays are known to be efficient and effective.

16 – Calling Exterminators

Finally, calling exterminators will be a good idea for anyone who wishes to just get the ant problem taken care of. Dealing with an ant infestation yourself is possible, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be an annoyance.

It’s also true that not everyone has a lot of free time to dedicate to killing ants. If you’re a busy professional, then it might be better to just call local exterminators to handle this issue for you.

Professional exterminators can come out to your home and assess the situation. They’ll look at your pool area as well as other areas around your property.

The good thing about hiring experts is that they’ll be able to track the ants down and get them using their years of knowledge. Finding the anthills and taking the right steps to eradicate the ants will be simple for people who do it for a living.

Of course, the downside to this is that you will need to pay for their services. Hiring exterminators will be the most expensive option available to you, but it’ll also be the best way to ensure that the ants get taken care of once and for all.

Weigh the pros and cons of hiring exterminators so that you can move forward with confidence. If you’d rather try to handle things yourself using sprays or other methods, then that’s completely your decision to make.

Final Thoughts

There are so many different things that you can do to get rid of ants that are infesting your property. No one wants to have ants bothering them when they want to use the pool, and you can keep this from happening.

There are a number of different natural ant-repellent ideas that you can utilize mentioned above. You’ll also be able to take steps to kill and eliminate the ants using the advice that you’ve read about.

Which ideas you should utilize will depend on what you want to do and what you’re comfortable doing. Some people will turn right to using chemical ant-killing sprays, but others will gravitate toward using the natural options.

If you’re having a tough time with eliminating the ants, then calling professional exterminators will make a lot of sense. This will give you a chance to just get the problem handled so that you can move on and enjoy your pool area again.

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