The best way to avoid having an ant infestation in your kitchen is to make sure ants do not have access to any sort of food in your house. Storing food in the refrigerator is a great way to make sure ants cannot get to them. For food stored in cupboards, invest in plastic, reusable containers that have lids. Cereal can be stored in airtight, tall containers designed to hold similar food products. Bread can be stored in the fridge, or in airtight bread boxes. If ants can’t access food in your house, then they will venture elsewhere.

One thing you can use to kill ants is white vinegar. In equal parts, mix white vinegar and water together, and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray this solution directly on ants to kill them. Another method is to combine 1 part borax to 3 parts powdered sugar. Leave this mixture out in areas where ants like to gather, like the kitchen counter or window sills. This is an effective solution to kill a colony of ants, as when ants eat the borax, it kills them. The worker ants will carry the mixture back to their queen, who will then eat it and die as well.

Ants will eat almost anything they can find. This includes fruit, vegetables, seeds, plants, leaves, and more. Some ant species are known to eat insects and sometimes their own kind.