Ants are a common and frustrating pest, but this simple tip will stop them coming back.

Discovering a swarm of insects in your home can be deeply unsettling, particularly when you’re unsure of where they’ve come from. The question most of us ask when confronted with seasonal household pests, such as ants, is how to eliminate them quickly.

That’s precisely what fans of Mrs Hinch were discussing in the Facebook group ‘Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips’. One worried homeowner sought advice after returning home to find “hundreds” of ants emerging from beneath the washing machine and kitchen cupboards, prompting a wave of responses.

Many suggested using a widely available spice that Nicole Carpenter, president of Black Pest Prevention, says “creates an unfavourable environment for ants, making them want to leave your space.”

Fellow Facebook group members shared their tried and tested remedies, with one user claiming: “Cinnamon works. I did it and they never came back.”

Another commented, “They hate cinnamon, it got rid of ours.” A third added, “We live out in the country, and for some reason, I get them in the kitchen every few years. I use cinnamon and they are gone in a day and don’t come back.”

Pest specialist Nicole clarified that while this warming, aromatic spice can be deployed to repel ants from your home, it’s worth noting that “the scent of cinnamon itself doesn’t kill ants”

Nevertheless, it functions as an effective deterrent owing to its powerful aroma, which disrupts the pheromone trails ants rely upon to locate food.

That said, it must be applied correctly to achieve the best results, reports the Express.

How to deter ants with cinnamon

Cracks and gaps in the foundation, walls, and around windows and doors are typical entry points for hungry ants.

It’s worthwhile inspecting poorly sealed or damaged door and window frames, which can offer straightforward access for these unwelcome visitors.

If you spot ants entering through these areas, mix cinnamon with a small amount of water and apply it using a cotton bud along their route into your property.

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While cinnamon is frequently compared to vinegar and essential oils, which serve as alternative natural ant repellents, it functions differently to other substances.

According to Ismael Girard, CEO of Pest Agent, the key ingredient in cinnamon that may disturb ants is cinnamaldehyde.

He explained: “This substence tampers with ants’ pheromone trails, making it harder for them to navigate toward their food sources or return to their colonies.”

Ants are typically attracted to spaces like the kitchen, where they can easily locate food sources to transport back to the rest of their colony.

Consistent cleaning, appropriate food storage, and immediate cleanup of spills and crumbs are essential to avoid attracting ants.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Progressive leaders from around the globe gathered in Barcelona on Saturday to try and galvanize their forces and defend a rules-based world order.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, hosted two overlapping events about democracy and progressive politics in Spain’s second-largest city.

Democrats U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were present alongside the leaders of Brazil, South Africa and high-ranking officials from other left-leaning governments.

While no foreign leader criticized Trump by name in public, the staunchly unilateral position of the American president that breaks with decades of U.S. foreign policy, including his derision of NATO and the United Nations, hung over the meetings.

“We all see the attacks against the multilateral system, the repeated attempts to undermine international law and the dangerous normalization of the use of force,” Sánchez said.

Trump again lashed out on Saturday on social media at Sánchez, who has faced Trump’s scorn for not allowing the U.S. to use jointly operated military bases in Spain for operations related to the Iran war and for refusing to raise military spending from 2% to 5% of GDP.

“Has anybody looked at how badly the country of Spain is doing. Their financial numbers, despite contributing almost nothing to NATO and their military defense, are absolutely horrendous. Sad to watch!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Sánchez says the right’s time is running out

Spain, like the U.S. and other developed countries, is in debt, but it has one of the world’s leading economies under Sánchez.

Sánchez told the rally of progressive politicians and party members held later on Saturday that the populist right “screams and shouts not because they are winning but because they know their time is running out.

“They know their vision of how the world should be ordered is falling apart due to the tariffs and wars,” he said. “Their embrace of climate change denial, of xenophobia, or sexism is their greatest error.

“They have tried again and again to make us embarrassed of our beliefs. That ends now. From now on they can be the ones who feel ashamed.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and other leaders and officials, including Cabinet members from the United Kingdom and Germany, were in attendance at the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy that kicked off Saturday’s double-header of political events at the Barcelona convention center.

Sen. Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, spoke at the progressive rally and he didn’t shy away from blasting Trump while celebrating the loss of power of Trump’s ally Viktor Orbán in elections in Hungary last week.

“Donald Trump is out to end our democracy,” Murphy said. “We are not on the verge of a totalitarian takeover, we are in the middle of it.”

But, he said, “Americans are watching what is happening across the world, and the victory in Hungary just one week ago lifted our sails.”

Walz, Kamala Harris’ vice presidential candidate who has faced a violent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement migration crackdown in Minnesota, threw barbs at U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who campaigned for Orbán and has backed far-right parties in Europe.

“Unlike our current vice president, I’m not here to arrogantly lecture or scold you, I am not here to pick a fight with the Pope or host a rally for any local wannabe authoritarians,” Walz said.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders all sent video messages played at the rally.

Progressives exchange ideas

Among concrete proposals to come from the events, Ramaphosa said South Africa will present a draft resolution to establish an International Panel on Inequality, aiming to tackle the growing wealth gap both within and between nations, to the U.N. General Assembly in September.

Sheinbaum plugged her idea that governments commit to spending the equivalent of 10% of their military budgets on reforestation projects.

“Each year, instead of planting the seeds of war, we will plant the seeds of life,” she said.

Sánchez argued for the importance of regulating social media to stop the spread of hate speech and disinformation. His government also said that it is working with Lula’s Brazil on a tax for the ultrarich.

Lula, who met with Sánchez in a bilateral summit on Friday in Barcelona, kept the focus on how to invigorate the progressive moment. He avoided naming Trump except when he called for U.N. Security Council members to “fulfill their obligation and guarantee peace.”

“Stop this madness of war because the world cannot bear any more wars,” Lula said.