This is the tip agains ants: a piece of chalk!

Have you spotted them marching past already? If the ants have chosen your home to be on their ant route, you’ll probably see a bunch of them walking around in a column. They’re probably on their way to your trash can for a nice dinner. They might not do you any harm, but nobody likes having these black critters rummaging around on their kitchen floor. Luckily, there’s an easy way to get rid of them. Did you know that a simple piece of chalk can be the solution to your ant problem?

We’re going out to get some chalk right away.

Chalk

So, how does keeping out ants with a bit of chalk work? It’s very simple. Use the piece of chalk to draw a line beneath the door or window the ants are using to get inside your home. You can also draw a line of chalk around the entirety of your home, but that sounds like a whole lot of work. The best thing to do is to find out what direction the ants are coming from exactly, because they always walk in a straight line. All you need to do is draw a line in the spot the ants usually walk through.

How does it work?

Scientists aren’t exactly in agreement about how this trick works exactly. Some say it’s because of the talcum inside the chalk. This talcum powder interrupts the ant trail which means they can’t cross the line of chalk. If this is true, you could also sprinkle some talcum powder on the spot in question instead of chalk. Others say the ants don’t like the smell of chalk and that that’s the reason they don’t keep walking when they come across the chalk.

Sidewalk chalk

It’s possible to buy pieces of chalk especially designed to keep out ants; the so-called ‘ant chalk’ or ‘Chinese chalk’. There’s absolutely no need to buy this, though, and this chalk even contains harmful substances that are bad for both animals, humans and the environment. A simple piece of blackboard chalk or sidewalk chalk will suffice! It’s all about that talcum-powder that disrupts the ants’ trail. In doubt about this trick? Take a look at the video below to see how it works:

Read more: Here are 5 easy ways to catch fruit flies in your home

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Source: Margriet, Cleggs Pest Control | Image: Pexels