Safer at-home remedies for repelling ants from the home include such pantry and household items as mint leaves.
Use
Mint leaves produce a scent that most ant species dislike and avoid. Place mint in areas frequented by the ants and in places ants use as entrances to deter them from entering your home or returning to their nests.
Applications
Administer mint in various ways to repel ants. Place mint tea bags over openings in a wall that ants use as entrances, dry and sprinkle mint leaves in door thresholds or rub mint oil into countertops to produce pleasant scents that repel ants. Sticks of mint gum or candy with strong odors also may help to repel many ant species.
Misconceptions
Mint repels some ant species, while other species do not notice the scent of the leaves, says Jack Paxton of the University of Illinois. As of 2010, no evidence suggests that mint leaves attract ants.