Skip to Content

Does Mint Repel Ants? (All You Need to Know)

Ants are known for their industrious trait. But this same trait can cause discomfort for you at home if there is a continuous infestation of ants.

Ants can create many problems for you from eating your food to making your kitchen and dining dirty. Today, we are going to discuss and find out whether mint repels ants or not.

Does mint repel ants?

Mint possesses the ability to repel ants. Mint plants and its fresh leaves can be used to deter away ants. Additionally, peppermint essential oil and spearmint essential oil can also be applied to keep away ants. The mint essential oils need to be applied using a spray bottle or cotton balls.

Let’s look at different forms of mint and see if they can repel ants effectively.

Mint plant or fresh mint leaves:

Mint plant can be used to repel ants away. The scent of fresh mint leaves drives the ants away naturally. Mint plants can be placed along the perimeter of the home to stop infestation of ants.

You can also place fresh mint leaves at several places of your to deter ants away. Mint plants can also be put at the most ant affected places of the home.

The smell sense of ants compels them to stay away from areas which have mint plants.

The aroma emitted by the fresh mint leaves is not enjoyed by ants at all. Mint plant and its fresh leaves are an effective ant repellent. Gardening experts recommend using mint plants to get rid of ants for good.

Spearmint or Spearmint oil:

Spearmint plant is known for being an effective ant repellent. It is believed by gardening experts that placing spearmint plant or its leaves along the perimeter of the home can help you to get rid of ants.

Spearmint plant can also be placed inside the home to stop ants from infesting your home.

The essential oil extracted from spearmint can be applied as an ant repellent too. You can try to spray solution of spearmint essential oil and water at the most ant affected places of your home.

Cotton balls soaked in spearmint essential oil can also be used as an effective ant repellent.

Peppermint or peppermint extract:

Peppermint can be used in the form of essential oil to repel ants away. The essential oil extracted from peppermint has to be used by mixing it with water to deter ants.

It is possible to get rid of ants by spraying the mixture of peppermint essential oil and water on the most ant affected places of the property.

Another basic use of peppermint essential oil as an ant repellent is in form of an oil soaked cotton ball. The ant affected areas can be cleaned with peppermint essential oil soaked cotton balls to repel ants.

Are ants attracted to mint plants?

Ants are not attracted to the mint plants at all because of its scent. Mint plants have a unique aroma of its own that is not enjoyed by ants.

Ants will do everything in their power to stay away from places that have mint plants. This is what makes mint plants a highly effective ant repellent.

Ants have a powerful sense of smell and their sense of smell is responsible for keeping them away from mint plants. Mint plants emit a strong enough smell to put off ants and stop them from entering your home.

What does mint or peppermint do to ants?

Mint or peppermint does not do any physical damage to ants. But it has the power to disrupt the trail of ants that is followed by them to search for food.

The trail ants follow is based on the aroma produced by foods stored in different places of the home.

The smell emitted by mint or peppermint makes it difficult for ants to follow the scent of food. This is considered as a good repelling technique against infestation of ants. Mint plants, mint leaves, and peppermint essential oil are effective as ant repellents.

Do ants like or dislike the smell of mint?

Ants do not like the smell of mint at all. The aroma produced by the mint plant and its leaves makes ants uncomfortable. Even the essential oils extracted from mint can cause similar discomfort for ants.

It has been noticed that ants avoid going into areas that possess mint plants and essential oil. Mint plants and essential oils would not have worked as ant repellents if ants liked the smell of mint.

What kind of mint repels ants?

There are different types of mint plants available throughout the world. Let’s discuss in detail about what kinds of mint repel ants.

Peppermint plant:

Peppermint is an effective variety of mint plants when it comes to keeping away ants. The peppermint plants can be placed at different entry points of your house to deter ants away.

Peppermint essential oil is another effective ant repellent. Peppermint essential oil can be used both as a spray and a cotton ball to get rid of ants.

Apple mint plant:

Apple mint plant is an underrates variety of mint as an ant repellent. But it can be very effective at keeping ants away. Because the minty smell produced by apple mint plants is more than capable of deterring ants away.

Spearmint plant:

Gardening experts recommend using spearmint plant to get rid of ants. The spearmint essential oil can also be used to keep ants away from infesting the home. It can be applied in the form of a spray.

Other use of spearmint oil as an ant repellent is by soaking it in cotton balls.

Pineapple mint plant:

Pineapple mint plant is another excellent choice as an ant repellent. It can placed at the most ant affected places of the home to keep ants away.

Chocolate mint plant:

Chocolate mint plant can be a good ant repellent if it is used properly. Chocolate mint plant and its leaves can be put at several places of the house to repel ants.

How to use fresh mint and peppermint oil to repel ants?

Using fresh mint and peppermint oil to repel ants might seem like a daunting task if you have no prior experience regarding the matter. However, there are some steps and methods you can follow to accomplish the task.

Place the plants:

First of all, you can place the fresh mint plants at the entry points of your home to distract the trail of ants. Ants will avoid going into your home if the entry points are backed up by mint plants. This will effectively repel ants.

Place the leaves:

If you do not want to place the entire plant along the perimeter of the house, you can place fresh mint leaves instead to keep out ants. The mint leaves can be put at the most ant affected places inside the home too.

Spray the oil:

The peppermint essential can be used as a spray to repel ants. But you can not use the raw oil and need to mix it with water. The mixture can be applied on the entry points of the home and on the ant affected places inside the home.

Use cotton balls:

You can use cotton balls to apply peppermint essential oil as ant repellent. The cotton balls have to soaked in peppermint essential oil first. Then, you will need to clean the most ant affected areas with those cotton balls to keep ants away.

How to get rid of ants naturally?

It might seem difficult to get rid of ants naturally. But you can follow the steps and methods given below to do the job.

Using vinegar spray:

Vinegar can be an effective ant repellent if you manage to use it correctly. Vinegar must be mixed with equal amount of water before you can apply it as a spray to repel ants.

You will have to target the most ant affected areas and the entry points of the home.

Using cinnamon oil:

The essential oil extracted from cinnamon can be used to keep away ants. The essential oil has to be mixed with water. Then, you will need to spray the mixture on the entry points of the home.

Using lemon:

The juice extracted from lemon can be applied as an ant repellent. The effect of lemon juice has to be toned down by mixing water. The mixture needs to be used as a spray to keep ants away.

Using peppermint oil:

Peppermint essential oil can be used as a spray to repel ants. Another way of using peppermint essential oil is by soaking cotton balls in it.

Final Thoughts

Different types of mint plants can be used to repel ants away. The mint plants have to be placed along the perimeter of the home to keep away ants. They can be put inside the home too at the most ant affected places. Ants do not enjoy the smell emitted by mint plants, mint leaves, and mint oils.