Do ants like water with salt or sugar water?

No that's an old wive's tale and home remedy-they won't walk on an area sprayed with a salt solution, but that doesn't kill them. Windex, most household cleaners, bleach spray, etc basically anything that smells will do the same thing. Ants communicate by smells and will avoid an area that stinks but once smell is gone they will be back and that does nothing to address the nest itself. You are only seeing the workers-a small percentage of the colony.