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Chilli powder in mud bricks to discourage ants

Lisa Chin

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I’ll be starting on the walls of my place soon and recall a conversation I had many years ago with a couple that had built a mud brick house.
They said they added chilli powder to the mud to deter ants from coming into the house and that it had worked for them for many years.

Has anyone else heard of this and does anyone know how much chilli powder to use?

John C Daley

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I have never heard of such a system, ants are not normally attracted to adobe, so it may not be an issue.

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Ned Harr

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Replying so I can find this later, I am intrigued.

Anne Miller

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posted 2 weeks ago

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How much chili powder would be needed to make the mud bricks to deter ants?

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Matt McSpadden

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Lisa Chin wrote:I’ll be starting on the walls of my place soon and recall a conversation I had many years ago with a couple that had built a mud brick house.
They said they added chilli powder to the mud to deter ants from coming into the house and that it had worked for them for many years.

Has anyone else heard of this and does anyone know how much chilli powder to use?

I have not used chili powder for ants, but I have used cinnamon which is supposed to work similarly. It's supposed to irritate their outsides and mess with their ability to follow scent trails. We had to use quite a bit, but it did work. I suspect chili powder would also work, but I think you would need to use a lot... or re-apply as a spray to the outside for it to work long term.

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Lisa Chin

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posted 2 weeks ago

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[quote=Matt McSpadden

I have not used chili powder for ants, but I have used cinnamon which is supposed to work similarly. It's supposed to irritate their outsides and mess with their ability to follow scent trails. We had to use quite a bit, but it did work. I suspect chili powder would also work, but I think you would need to use a lot... or re-apply as a spray to the outside for it to work long term.

Do you recall how much cinnamon you added? What was the ratio?

Matt McSpadden

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Sorry, to clarify, I used lines of cinnamon on the floor near a doorway to deter ants. It worked... and we probably used half of those typical small herb 4oz bottle sizes to cover a double french door... so maybe 7ft total with a little past to cover the frame too.

Cristobal Cristo

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Lisa,

This is very weird. Did they allow the walls to ever get wet so the ant could start tunneling? It's hard to imagine an ant wanting to "bite" through a brick hard adobe. I build from compressed earth blocks and for ten years I have not observed any single attempt of any insect to do any business within the blocks.

Lisa Chin

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Cristobal Cristo wrote:Lisa,

This is very weird. Did they allow the walls to ever get wet so the ant could start tunneling? It's hard to imagine an ant wanting to "bite" through a brick hard adobe. I build from compressed earth blocks and for ten years I have not observed any single attempt of any insect to do any business within the blocks.

I’m in Australia so it may have been to deter termites (also called white ants here) which are happy to go through earth and eat any wood that takes their fancy.

Thekla McDaniels

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You will have to tell us what you find out! My first thought was to test the hypothesis. If you have a termite or ant’s nest, how do the creatures respond when you dump a pile of the dry powdered spice in their midst? I think you would need to test both ants and termites.

I think they have chitin exoskeletons which excludes most substances.

Chilies have different heat levels. You probably want the highest possible scoville score you can get

https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/frequently-asked-questions/the-scoville-scale/

I am intrigued by this idea, please let us all know.

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Carl Buz

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Location: Concord, United States

posted 2 weeks ago

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Interesting. But what happens if YOUreact to the chili powder by sneezing , itching etc, or with cinnamon, having the vague smell of cinnamon always in your home

Thekla McDaniels

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Yeah, good point. With the really hot peppers people are cautioned to wear gloves etc. My guess is that once it’s in the dried cob - adobe- mud it won’t be a hazard unless you lick the wall or put dust from the wall in your eyes. But still, caution is advisable!

As for the scent of cinnamon, I can tell you that I make soap and scent it with essential oils. It’s always there, curing and being stored in my house. I seldom smell it, but people who come in comment on how wonderful my house always smells. And my friend who owns an herb store doesn’t smell the fragrances of her store, although all her shoppers and customers do.

You get used to ever present olfactory stimuli.

Best luck: satisfaction

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Thekla McDaniels

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Another idea: often people plaster earthen walls with an earthen plaster. A person could construct their building incorporating some form of capsaicin in the walls, but leave it out of the plaster.
That might provide a level of protection from capsaicin for occupants

Best luck: satisfaction

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Anne Miller

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Do you mix the chili powder into the mud or do you dip the finished bricks in the chili powder?

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Edward Lye

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posted 1 week ago

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We used to have ants in and outside the house but lately, they seemed to have
disappeared despite having uncovered food leftovers.

My number one way to get rid of ants is to use ant powder/poison BUT
we haven't.

What has changed?

I read that ants and termites don't like each other.

My Neem tree was attacked by termites. The mud tunnels snaked around
the trunk and branches. It was a mighty chore to mechanically destroy those.

So how about killing two birds with one stone?

I now throw all leftover food and food scraps at the base of the Neem tree.

The ants quickly smother these with their mud.

No smell.
No leachate.
No flies.
No maggots,

Eventually i will scoop all these up and sieve before making into biochar.
But it is a long way off since we don't produce a lot of kitchen waste
in the first place.

My current hypothesis is that this is such a Nirvana for ants that they are not
bothered to go anywhere else.

IMG_20260525_171451_HDR.jpg

Edward Lye

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posted 1 week ago

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Edward Lye wrote:

Yes, we be carnivores.

Lisa Chin

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posted 1 week ago

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Anne Miller wrote:Do you mix the chili powder into the mud or do you dip the finished bricks in the chili powder?

My understanding is that the chilli powder is mixed into the mud. I remember the woman who told me about it mentioned that wearing gloves and mask and eye protection was recommended when working with the chilli powder. She didn't mention a ratio so I guess I'll just wing it.

Pete Albrecht

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Location: New Hampshire, USA

posted 1 week ago

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Are you using a stem wall of some sort? For typical construction we specify an aluminum flashing installed on the concrete sill that protrudes to the exterior and keeps pests from climbing up into the house. However if you were set on using earth bricks from grade or below, I might suggest doing your chili powder mix in the first course or two, then installing the flashing above that, and proceeding with your normal mixture. That said, I haven't heard of this technique at all, and have no idea if it is effective. Keep us posted!

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Cristobal Cristo

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Lisa Chin wrote:I remember the woman who told me about it mentioned that wearing gloves and mask and eye protection was recommended when working with the chilli powder.

Did she have first hand experience or was quoting what someone told her?
Even if she did it herself, does not mean that it works.

I remember storing chili flakes in a glass jar and it somehow got infested with small black beetles. They were happy living there and eating the contents. It means that they do not have receptors for capsaicin and they treat the chili like normal, tasty organic matter. It's known to be irritating mainly to mammals. Besides that it's an organic substance that will oxidize and decompose sooner than later.
If I wanted to repel insects in the mineral material I would use lime (traditional high calcium version, not less reactive dolomitic) - it reacts with fats of all living beings - animals and plants. It can be used within the brick and of course as the plaster.

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