I was trying a lot of different natural “remedies” for keeping ants from the home, and I remembered a trick I heard: make them an offering of sugar. The reason they come into the home is in search of food (generally during/in preparation for winter hibernation), so instead of waging a frustrating and seemingly endless war with them — put a mound of sugar outside, near their trail.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find where they are entering in the home from outside, but don't give up, soon they will show themselves. I have tried the “offering” technique a couple times now and both times they had stopped entering my home within 24-72 hours. You will still get a few stragglers coming in, in search of some food, but soon they will all begin working on the mound of sugar that is like a gift from heaven.
And I have found that it is much more enjoyable and fascinating to see them ravage a mound of sugar outside, than it is being frustrated at the line of them leading to my maple syrup.
Happy Offerings!