Ants are super smart.

Ants are social animals — they touch each other, share food with each other, and communicate with each other — which means a lot of the home remedies people whip up aren’t going to do much for them. If you put something in front of them, like a chalk line or lemon peel, they’ll probably go around it. If you spritz them with a repellent, like lemon spray or ammonia, it’ll kill a few and repel the rest, which can just cause them to scatter. If you see more than just a few ants, look to a professional to use food-safe, non-repellant products that the ants will actually bring back to the nest.