Ants may be annoying/scary, but that doesn’t mean they can’t also be our friends. The world would end — end! — without them, and besides, we may be alike in spirit no matter what we look like, right? Nonetheless, you may not wish to live with them. In that case, here are some ways to get them out of your house without harming them! The most pleasant and effective way is to deter them from ever entering your house, so I will begin with deterrents.

1.Make sure to clean up any food scraps, so ants don’t have much incentive to come in the first place. Even if the lone traveler happens upon your house, this will help to avoid their inviting all of their friends and family.

2. Seal up holes around windows and doors (make sure you don’t use anything they could get stuck to). Ants are seemingly capable of teleportation, but blocking the easiest entrances is another deterrent.

3. Put vinegar, cayenne, or chalk around doors and windows or wherever them enter from. They don’t like strong smells (hence the vinegar) or capsaicin (hence the cayenne), and chalk sticks to them and makes it hard to walk. None of these will harm them, but they’ll make it less convenient for them to come in.

4. You can also leave them treats farther and farther away from the house so they have no reason to venture inside (and to make a good impression on them as a neighbor).

If you still see some, stealthily follow them to their preferred entrance and place your deterrents there so they won’t bother returning.

But alas, some will come inside. Here are a few ways to take them outside (or into your garage in the winter if it gets cold where you live) harmlessly:

5. Get them to climb onto a piece of cardboard, then tap the cardboard to dislodge them.

6. If they refuse, place a clear plastic cup upside down over them and slide the cardboard underneath. This prevents them from running away and also from climbing onto your hand, but is more unwieldy.

7. Use a bug-removing tool — there is such a thing! They’re little sticks with a compartment at the end with a sliding panel on the bottom: a high-tech cup and paper.

8. If it has become too late an an ant has brought all of their acquaintances with them, place a piece of food on a piece of cardboard, and quickly carry it outside once they have moved onto it.

As you can see, there is no need for violence. Please kindly relocate them instead. Thank you.