Ants can be such a menace during rainy seasons, all the freaking time. Sugar ants are no less. Getting rid of them is never a simple proposition, despite their simple nature.
Earlier this morning, I pulled my sugar container out of the pantry, only to find out that someone did not secure the lid properly last night. I wonder who it was... 😏
The first time it happened, I got really upset when I saw hundreds of crazy, pesky, sugar ants in my sugar container that I ended up throwing the whole container. I got goosebumps all over looking at those tiny creatures. Yikes! So, when it happened again this morning, I was quite tempted to chuck it out of the window and be done with it. But, of course the rationale part of me, resisted.
Here I have three simple and cheap tips that can help you to keep ants away from your sugar or sweets. Hallelujah! Nanna gave these tips to mummy, who passed it down to me when I called her in anger the first time. Thankfully, they worked.
Bear in mind that ants dislike certain odour, so you can use these odours to your advantage and keep those pesky little ants away from your precious sugar. Fortunately, these items are usually easy to find in your kitchen, as they are common.
#1 Dried Tamarind (Asam Keping)
Perhaps the acidic odour of dried tamarind masks the sweetness of sugar that it tricks the ants away. Genius, isn't? I tried it this morning and it worked wonderfully. Although, it did take a tad bit longer time for the ants to run for their lives compared to my second tips below.
In order to really mask the sweetness of the sugar and effectively get rid of the pesky sugar ants, you are highly advised to put more than a couple slice of dried tamarinds into your sugar container. I have about seven of them in my container right now. Nanna told me that it will not effect the taste or my sugar as it is dried. Unless you put in wet asam keping in, then it is a whole different story.
Here's to hoping that my drink is not going to taste weird or sour after this. 😆
Tips #2: Cloves (Bunga Cengkih)
Cloves are aromatic flower buds that you usually use in your cooking. But, it also works wonderfully and effectively as sugar ant repellant, according to both nanna and mummy that is. Hehe. But, in all seriousness, because of the existence of bioactive chemical in cloves, this spice is also an ideal ant repellant. And I dare to vouch that clove works better than dried tamarinds.
Similar to asam keping, cloves will not effect the taste of the sugar, unless it is wet. Cloves have stronger odour than dried tamarinds, therefore, you do not need to put a lot in your sugar container. A couple or two would do.
Tips #3: Tansy Leaf
Back in the UK, I remember nanna used to plant pots of tansy herbs in the kitchen and she would place the pots on the kitchen island and on the window sills to repel flies. But, it was always cold in the UK, there were hardly any flies, except during the summer.
Mummy would even pluck some of the leaves and put them in our sugar container to repel sugar ants. It worked amazingly. The only downside is that herbs tend to dry after a couple weeks, so we had to frequently replace the tansy leaves in our sugar container. Otherwise, the sugar ants would have a drunk party in the container. Lol.
I hope these tips could help you in your battle with the pesky sugar ants, as it did me! Now, gear yourself up for the battle, ladies! Good luck and may the force be with you.
I'm Natasha. A 30 year old English lecturer, currently on career hiatus, happily married to her wonderful doctor husband, and is now a stay-at-home-mummy to her beautiful baby girl, Elana and handsome baby boy, Eden.
I put mine in peti ais hahahaha
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