8 oz. water
5 drops cinnamon cassia oil
I have since learned that perhaps I’m going at this wrong by using water, and next time I’ll be trying this:
4 oz water
4 oz vinegar
5 drops cinnamon cassia oil
The reason I want to replace half of the water with vinegar is because vinegar has the ability to remove the scent trails that ants use to tell their fellow scouts how to get to the “good stuff”. Using cinnamon is said to deter ants because due to the fact that they loathe the aroma of cinnamon, though I’m really not sure of that fact. I figure it’s worth adding it to the vinegar and water mixture (which would work just fine on its own for the ant issue) because it leaves your counters and surfaces smelling delicious, like Christmas. 
2/19/13 – EDITED TO ADD: This would work very well as an ant deterrent if you have only a few scout ants. We had a larger ant problem, so when we used it, it would work for a little while, but then the cinnamon oil would dissipate, leaving our kitchen counters vulnerable to the rest of the colony.
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Blessings,
This post is part of Homestead Barn Hop #55
Forgot what I was going to say – outside, if we feel they are too close to home, we put jelly with boric acid mixed in on/near the ant hill.
Early last fall we had a bunch of little black ants invade our kitchen. Came through the kitchen window and into the sink. We were in a drought, so maybe they were looking for water. We had never had ants before. I did not want to use chemical sprays in the house (2 humans and 3 furbabies), so I mixed cinnamon with vaseline and smeared it at the point they were entering through the window. It stopped them. It’s funny how something like cinnamon will deter ants…. LOL!
That’s a great way to deal with them for outdoors, Laura. Do you know if boric acid is poisonous to dogs and cats? I think my dogs would lap up the jelly for sure.
Oh, very cool, SueEllen! I don’t really know where these guys are coming in from, it seems like somewhere behind the stove. *sigh* I LOVE LOVE LOVE your idea, though, and will put it in my ‘arsenal’ of tools to use when I have that option. Thanks!
Where do you find cinnamon cassia oil?
Hi Willie! I got mine on Amazon.com. Here’s a link:
This one is for two, one oz. bottles, fulfilled by Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Foods-Cinnamon-Cassia-ounce-Pack/dp/B003SSXV5C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332816069&sr=8-2
This one is for one, one oz. bottle, fufilled by NOW foods:
http://www.amazon.com/Cinnamon-Cassia-Oil-1-Ounces/dp/B000W3X4PI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332816069&sr=8-1
Hope that helps and thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Oh my goodness, your post reminds me of my childhood. We would sometimes get black ants in our yard, and sometimes, for some mysterious reason, they would all vacate their anthill simultaneously and have an “ant party” on top of their hole. There must have been thousands of them. Anyway, my stepdad would always pour boiling water on them. I always really hoped that they died quickly.
Hey Michele! Kinda makes you feel a LITTLE bit sorry for them, doesn’t it?
We get those BIG black ants in our yard sometimes and MAN, when they sting you, it hurts! I would gladly pour boiling water of those guys!
Thanks for visiting and commenting!