Currently, My Nose Is Loving: Peppermint Soap & Orange Peel - Ant Spray/Cleaning Spray

We have a problem.  They're tiny, brown, and are creeping me out.  They're ants.  It started out with a couple here and there on the kitchen floor, to finding 8 on the kitchen floor along the cabinet shoe-kicks, to opening a bottom cabinet where I store bulk items and finding a large group of them feasting on a box of saltine crackers.

That is not acceptable!

In my home, I do my best to keep things natural and cheap.  So extermination was not the answer - we have two cats we'd have to find a temporary home for while the fumes dissipate, and the 4 exterminators I received quotes from were looking at $150+/per month for 6 months...what?!

So I looked online, and found many recommendations that peppermint castile soap and water in a spray bottle helps not only kill the ants you find, but also deters others from following the scent path left behind.  So down to the store I went, picked up a $12 bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in peppermint, and went on my merry way killing ants.  And it worked!

Natural Peppermint Soap Ant Spray

• 3 tablespoons of peppermint scented pure-castile soap
• 1 C warm water

    - Combine in an empty spray bottle.  Spray directly onto ants as you find them, or spray along paths the ants are following, window sills, doorways, and foot-boards.  Safe to use around animals and children.

Only downside: because the soap is such a high concentration, it left the floors sticky, and when I went to mop, suds would be EVERYWHERE.  And no matter how much I mopped the floor, it still remained sticky to the touch, which would hold onto anything that might have fallen onto the floor, which in turn attracted ants again.

Son of a...

Again, being the resourceful/natural/cheap person I am, I went to the store, got a giant $2 bottle of vinegar, and came home with a plan.

Natural Orange Scented Vinegar Cleaning Spray

• 1 part distilled white vinegar
• 2 part water
• zest of 1 medium orange

     - Combine ingredients in an empty spray bottle - ratio of vinegar to water dependent on size of bottle.  Use on floors, counters, and other kitchen/bathroom surfaces.  Safe to use around animals and children.

The vinegar deactivates the sudsy soap, so I could spray down the peppermint soap along the baseboards and cabinets, then when I'm ready to mop the floors, spray down a mixture of vinegar & water, and I'd mop away - no problems.  Added bonus - the vinegar smell deters ants, also.  Double winning!

Take it a step further by adding orange zest to the bottle of vinegar water to make things smell even better.

Peppermint and orange - mmmmmmmm....

Have you ever experienced ants in your home, and found a great working natural solution?  Do you use natural cleaning products in your home?