Problems

• A long line of ants marching through your kitchen can cost you both time and wasted food. Some ants prefer sweet food, such as sugar or jellies. Others are attracted to grease, such as that left in a pan after cooking bacon. No matter whether the ants are in a cereal box, invading your dog's food or all over a dirty dish, it will take time out of your day to get rid of them. If they are in food in your pantry, you will need to search all the items in the area and discard any that have become infested with ants.
  
  

Solutions

• Before killing any of the ants, trace their trail outside to see where they are coming from. Ants can sneak in through windows, under doors and through cracks and crevices in walls. Once you know where the ants are coming from, add a few squirts of dish soap to a spray bottle full of water and start spraying the invaders with soapy water. This kills the ants. It also disrupts the scent trail they follow into your kitchen, preventing new ones from arriving. Wiped up the dead ants with a paper towel and dispose of them.
  
  

Prevention

• To prevent ants from becoming a problem in your kitchen again, create ant baits to kill them. Mix a teaspoon of borax with 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Place the sticky mixture in small jars, and then punch ant-size holes in the jar lids. Space the jars along the trail you followed. If the ants return, they will be attracted to the peanut butter and then poisoned by the borax. Make your kitchen a less attractive target by storing food in airtight containers rather than original packaging, such as thin cereal boxes. Wash dirty dishes immediately after use, and wipe up the counters after cooking so less food is left lying around to entice ants.
  
  

Considerations

• Improving the seals on doors and windows and caulking any cracks in your home can help ant-proof your kitchen. If you have pets or children, place the bait jars behind furniture or inside cabinets rather than out in the open. Borax is less toxic to humans and pets than traditional chemical insecticides, but if a child or a dog gets a jar open and eats the peanut butter inside, it can cause illness. Symptoms of borax ingestion include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.