My neighbor had a huge pile of cement ants. She used a mix of 50/50 baking soda and powered sugar. They were gone the next day. I thought the sugar would attract them but it worked.
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Ant killer: Save your orange peels! Mix up equal parts of peels and water in a blender, pour over the ants nest or transfer to a pump-spray bottle to mark a line around your property.
My parents lived in Africa and had an infestation of army ants. A local boy gave my mother some brilliant advice; put ash in a ring around the house.
To get rid of ants, sprinkle wood ashes or add 1 Tbsp. ground garlic to 1 litre of water and spray.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Is there a safe home remedy to get rid of a lot of ants? It has to be safe enough for kids and pets.
By Cheryl
Yes, simple, cheap and safe! Vinegar. I had a terrible infestation of ants. I tried everything before using the vinegar which was the only thing that worked.
Squirt bottle. About 90% karo syrup. Add about 10% 20 Mule team borax. Warm for a very short time to dissolve. Squirt in cracks and areas where ants are near. Worker ants will eat it all and carry back to nest sometimes taking a week. Queens die. Queens can live 20 years and produce many more queens. If you let the workers eat and carry back to nest the whole colony is then gone. If you kill just a line of workers, queen just makes more workers. Safe. Not a poison. You don't want kids, pets or wildlife ingesting it.
I am having a terrible time with ants this year. What chemicals or natural products have you used to kill them?
By Lou
There is a product that can be found at Wal Mart, Target, KMart, or any hardware store. It's called Terro. It comes in a small 2 oz (or so) bottle.
Here's what you do. You watch and find out the path that the ants travel. Then you take a small piece of paper or cardboard maybe 1 inch square or so. Put one drop only on the paper and place it in the line of travel of the ants. It will attract the ants, they will eat it and get it on their feet and carry it back to the nest. It takes approximately 12-24 hours to work. Depending on the size problem you have, you will be ant-free in 1-2 days.
I've read many many reviews of this product, and use it myself when they invade my home, and have yet to hear of anyone who didn't have success with it.
Sweet-n-Low...that's right, Sweet-n-Low. Here in Texas we get ant piles in the yard every year, sometimes several times a year. Open up a packet or two or three (depending on how large the pile is) and sprinkle it on and around the ant pile. It is tracked back in to the source and in a day or so all the ants are gone. We have been doing this now for several years.
Source: My brother-in-law.
Margaret fromDenton, Texas
Use cornstarch, the ants fill up on it, it expands in their stomach and the rest (and the ant) is history.
Kill the whole nest as queenie can produce many more queens and queens live for up to 20 years. About 10% 20 mule team borax warmed just a little in a squirt bottle with Karo syrup.
It really depends on what kind of ants. Some are sweet loving and Terro will work well-others are protein feeders and Terro will not be so good. The corn starch and grits myths do not work because ants do not eat solids. Their larva eat these substances and excrete out a harmless but nutritious liquid they can eat.
Is there an ant control that I can mix myself?
Hardiness Zone: 5a
By chuck from CO
Hi, here's a recipe i use:
10ml Eucalyptus Essential Oil
5ml Rose Essential Oil
5ml Lemongrass Essential Oil
80ml Water
Mix everthing together and shake well before using. You can also replace water with 130ml Virgin Coconut Oil if you plan on applying this to your body.
Somewhere on this site some one recommended Sweet N Low.
Just open a bunch of packets by your ants and watch them eat up. They take it back to the nest and die, somehow.
I'm experimenting right now with powdered meat tenderizer the kind with papain in it. Using it the same way as above, I'm thinking that the papain will destroy their bodies. Gee, I sound grusome!
Good luck. There are so many ideas for your problem on this site, check it out!
About 10% 20 Mule Team Borax in Karo syrup warmed for few seconds, just long enough for it to dissolve. Squirt between cracks or put in places where pets or wildlife will not be able to lick. Workers carry it back to nest and the colony is destroyed. Queen and all. Queens live for up to 20 years and produce lots of other queens for new colonies. This method takes up to a week but is very effective.
I use diatomacaeous earth, which is a natural product. It is not homemade, but it is not harmful to people or pets or wildlife and is not a poison. It kills them by shredding their exoskeleton. The brand I use is Insectigone Ant Killer. I have only ever used it outdoors. It may take several applications. It is safe for indoors, as well.
What is a natural way to get rid of ants?
By M
Outside - sprinkle their anthills with diatomaceous earth; it is sold under different brand names. You have to read the labels. It is a white powder, made from seashells. It is harmless to pets or people - everything but insects.
They also don't like cinnamon or chalk. Sprinkle where they enter your home and this won't hurt the colony. They are essential to us, just out where we can't see or deal with them! PBP
Talcom powder across your doorstep or along the wall where they are comming in will do it. They won't cross it and it is safe to use.
In a spray bottle mix water and ammonia.
80% water and 20% ammonia.
How to get rid small house ants without chemicals?
By Dogmom from Chicago
Borax, sugar, and water in a small lid. Equal amounts of borax and sugar and just enough water to disolve. Set along edges where they like to travel. They take it back to the next. After about three days, you not see any more for a while.
Grits! They take the grits back to the nest and when eaten, it will swell in their stomachs and kill them. Good for ant beds. Pour all over the ant bed. If it is the teeny sugar ants, meal will work.
Do any of the non poison remedies work for getting rid of black ants?
By Eunice P.
I have good luck with diatomaceous earth, but you have to be on them constantly with it. It needs to be reapplied after every rain. It is just ground up sea shells, basically, and it shreds their exoskeletons. It is harmless to people or pets, even if ingested (such as your cat walks in it and then washes her paws).
Our home is overcome with ants. We have children and don't want to use heavy insecticides. What can we use to get rid of them?
By happy sewer from NC
Ant Killer Recipe
Several products that can be found in your cupboard or easily and inexpensively purchased will do away with ants without harming your pets. Instant grits, oats, cream of wheat or cornmeal sprinkled dry around an ant hill or where you see ants in the house works best in killing them, particularly the larger types of ants, like fire ants and carpenter ants. The instant grits, cornmeal, oats or cream of wheat must be kept dry to be effective. The ants eat the dry cereal which then swells from the fluids in the ants' stomachs and the ant dies. The ants will also carry the cereal back to their nest and share it, causing the rest of the ants to die.
Ant Traps
This ant trap recipe is effective, tidy and controllable when trying to kill ants in your house. It works very well and quickly for small ants.
Mix together 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/4 cup baking yeast. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on index cards, using a spatula or flexible knife. Place the card traps where you have seen the ants. The cards will trap the ants and kill them because the yeast will absorb the fluids in the ants' bodies, killing them.
good luck.
Looking for the post about getting rid of ants using peanut butter, sugar and 1 other ingredient.
Boric Acid - Peanut Butter - Sugar
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What I have found that gets rid of ants in my kitchen is cinnamon.
Regular chalk can be used to temporarily deter ants. A chalk line will discourage ants from crossing and can disrupt the scent line they follow back to food sources discovered by their scouts. They will seek or take advantage of a break in the line so it is not foolproof. This is a page about using chalk to deter ants.
Fresh dryer sheets to soften clothes and linens are an effective fragrant deterrent for a variety of insects. This is a page about use fabric softener sheets to deter ants.
Many pesticides are harmful to the environment as well as the pests you are trying to eradicate. If you use boiling water for getting rid of ant hills it is completely safe and quite effective.
Black pepper can be used to help repel ants without using harsh chemicals. This is a page about detering ants with black pepper.
When ants digest cream of wheat, it expands in their stomach and kills them. This page is about using cream of wheat to fight ants.
Some homeowners have success in deterring ants from coming into their house using a line of ground cinnamon at the entry point. This is a page about using cinnamon to deter ants.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Did you know that you can put salt in your window sills to keep out ants. Or anywhere you might have an ant problem.
