natural ant repellents

I've been researching repellents rather than killers. In addition to vinegar or talcum powder: From this site -

Cinnamon - I, too, had a problem with ants when I moved into another house. Go to a dollar store and buy some ground cinnamon and put it where you think the ants are coming in. You can even put it on the window sills and it won't hurt your kids or pets. Try it. It works.

Catnip - I was investigating herb companions for my garden and came across this tidbit. Basil repels flies and mosquitoes. To deter ants, use catnip. Sprinkle it in their paths.

Spearmint - The best solution that I can offer you for ants of any kind is to build a border around your house of spearmint plants. I don't know why they don't like them, but it works. This keeps the little pests away, plus it makes entries smell great!

And from here:

Natural Ant Repellent - powdered charcoal, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinammon, citrus oil are great ant “barriers” (ie they apparently won’t cross over these substances).

Comments

[Kit]

Having tried many of the so-called preventatives for keeping ants at bay I can only conclude that I have a super breed because none of them seem to work for more than five minutes! Bay leaves - they walked straight over them, Cayenne/black pepper - five minutes before they decided to cross and keep coming, Citrus oil - this seemed to attract more, which didn't surprise me as they are great lovers of my lemon and tangerine trees! Cinnamon - hah! didn't bother them at all. Cucumber - now that's a joke - I dropped slices all over the counter and they didn't flinch at all. Catnip - I crushed fresh leaves and dropped them on the door entrance as the trail headed in - they did stop for two minutes in a little confusion but then picked their way through and headed once again for the cat food. I refuse to give in and I refuse to kill them which is far easier to do and would solve my problem. When I find something that actually works I will let the world know!!!

[Jennifer]

Hello! Thanks so much for posting this. Do you think this solution would repel (but not kill) ants?
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=18120.0

I work at a Buddhist retreat center, and while we don't want to harm the little guys, we'd like to keep them at bay in the kitchen.

Many thanks!