Spring is the time of year when we start opening our houses to the outside world. The longer days and milder weather make it the perfect opportunity to keep windows and garden doors open. But this can also lead to some unexpected guests in our home, who can cause quite a nuisance, especially in areas like the kitchen, where food is stored. 

In the past few weeks, you might have noticed more ants crawling around, but if you’ve been making the most of the warmer weather, they might have also made their way indoors. Spring is also when ants become more active, and even the smallest crumbs left behind in the kitchen can provide a feast for the insects. As it’s the time of year for them to establish new colonies and reproduce, they can be particularly active and intrusive in the home as they look for shelter, making them difficult to get rid of.

Warm spots of the home offer a perfect shelter for ants to nest in, and it can be easy for them to sneak in even through the tiniest of gaps. 

If you don’t want to shut windows and garden doors, especially when the weather is nice, there’s one natural solution that you can easily make at home to stop ants from finding their way in, and it only costs 94p. Plus, chemical solutions can be damaging to other beneficial wildlife that might be hovering near your home, particularly bees. 

Instead, toothpaste can be applied around the home to keep ants out, acting as a DIY insect repellent. The solution works to prevent ants from coming into your home thanks to toothpaste's strong peppermint scent, which interferes with their pheromone trails. It's an effective natural repellent, and it's currently on sale at Asda for 94p. 

To make a toothpaste repellent, combine it with half a cup of water and a tablespoon of dish soap in a mixing bowl. Then, use a spray bottle to apply it to surfaces. Any undissolved bits of toothpaste should be strained out using a funnel or sieve, as this can cause more mess around the home. 

The dish soap helps break down the oils in toothpaste, allowing it to better stick to surfaces around the home where you might be struggling with an ant infestation, especially window sills and kitchen counters. 

You can reapply the mixture every few days, depending on the severity of the ant infestation, ensuring the peppermint repels them.