This “20-cent miracle” is legendary among gardeners. It involves mixing simple baking powder (or baking soda) with powdered sugar.
This method costs only a few cents, is safe for your pets and children, and presents an insurmountable problem for ants.
🐜 How does this 20-cent trick work?
Ants love sweets, but their digestive system can’t tolerate leavening agents.
Bait: Mix 1 packet of baking powder with 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar.
Application: Sprinkle the mixture directly onto anthills, into the cracks between tiles, or onto the “ant trails” on your balcony.
Effect: The sugar attracts the ants. They eat the mixture and carry it back to the queen in the nest. The baking soda in their bodies triggers a chemical reaction (CO₂ release) that the ants cannot survive.
🌿 3 more eco-friendly methods (if you don’t want to kill the ants):
If you’d rather drive the ants away so they relocate, use their extremely sensitive sense of smell:
Cinnamon barrier: Ants hate the smell of cinnamon. Sprinkle ground cinnamon in front of your door or around your flowerpots – this creates an insurmountable barrier for them.
Coffee grounds: Don’t throw away your coffee grounds. Sprinkle them around your plants. The nitrogen in the coffee fertilizes the soil, and the strong scent disorients the ants, causing them to lose their scent trails.
Lemon peel: The white pith on the inside of a lemon peel contains substances that are toxic to ants. Simply place it near your balcony entrance.
“` 📊 Comparison: Chemical vs. Home Remedies
Method Price Duration of Effect Safety (Children/Dogs)
Baking Soda ~€0.20 24–48 hrs. High
Commercial Spray €5.00 + Immediate Low (Toxic)
Cinnamon/Coffee ~€0.50 Long-lasting High
💡 Why do ants keep coming back?
Ants are often in the garden because of aphids. Aphids excrete sweet honeydew, which the ants “milk.” If you have ants on your roses or fruit trees, you probably have an aphid infestation.
Expert tip: If you control the aphids (e.g., spray them with water and a little dish soap), the ants lose their food source and will disappear on their own.
Want to know how to make a homemade aphid spray that’s ready to use in a minute and protects your plants from ants?