Ants Already? Natural solution?

[6wishes]

I have ants in my house already due to a mild winter, and I was looking to see if anyone has a natural recipe to kill these? Where they come in, there is hardwood, so it would have to be a solution that would also be safe for hardwood floors...also have young kids, thus the reason for natural. I know we can have the house sprayed on the outside, I would like to try this first...thanks!

[Tammyla]

They don't like bay leaves, or baby powder.

 

My kids are pretty much grown. I'm not sure about putting out basil or baby powder with little ones around.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Tammyla

[Mrs Mungo]

The thing that I found that works best? Terro ant baits. They use a sugar solution with borax. Borax is natural. It kills ants, but is safe for kids and pets. The ants take it back the ant hill and it kills them there. The liquid is contained so it doesn't get everywhere.

[sparrow]

The thing that I found that works best? Terro ant baits. They use a sugar solution with borax. Borax is natural. It kills ants, but is safe for kids and pets. The ants take it back the ant hill and it kills them there. The liquid is contained so it doesn't get everywhere.

 

:iagree::iagree:

[AnaShoo]

We live in the tropics, so ants are a common problem. We use Terro liquid ant bait. I have a small bottle, and just put a few drops on wax paper or old lids (whatever I have handy, really) out at night. The ants eat it, take it back to their nest, and share the poison around. It's really the most effective method, plus kid-friendly as I keep the baits around sinks and things out of their reach (they are also old enough that they don't try to eat strange things anymore). If you worry your kids would get into it, you could always clean them up in the morning, then set new ones at night.

 

I imagine there are homemade versions, but you have to get the concentration of borax just right or the ants won't live long enough to feed the colony (I found that out when I made homemade cockroach bait that slaughtered a ton of ants I never even knew we had infesting our bathroom - ant bodies everywhere around it), so I just took the easy out and bought the bottle, which lasts forever.

 

Oh, one caveat - it doesn't seem to work on carpenter ants, just the small ones, so if that is what you're problem is, you might have to do something different.

[Tammyla]

:iagree: I put the bayl leaves by my door inside and to Terro outside.

The thing that I found that works best? Terro ant baits. They use a sugar solution with borax. Borax is natural. It kills ants, but is safe for kids and pets. The ants take it back the ant hill and it kills them there. The liquid is contained so it doesn't get everywhere.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Tammyla

[Parrothead]

Grits. Give them some grits to take back to the nest.

[swellmomma]

We had them last year and used the canadian version of terro with success. We have them already this year and I am not messing with them like I did for the first half of last year. Today I am scrubbing the room I found them in and putting out ant bait again.

[Tammyla]

:001_huh:

Bleck...dd noticed some in her bathroom this morning.

 

Time to mop, and put out the good stuff.

[MrsJewelsRae]

This works better than any ant bait I've tried and they haven't come back! Plus I had everything on hand already. We had a serious infestation last year in my kitchen and hey came back in march this spring!! I was so discouraged until I found this. In 3 days they were gone and I haven't seen one since and it's may.

 

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons *Borax

1 1/2 cups warm water

Cotton balls or paper towel

Instructions

 

1. Mix the Borax and sugar together until well combined.

 

2. Add the mixture to your warm water and mix constantly until the powder has been completely dissolved.

 

3. Seal the mixture in a jar or container for future use, and use only what you need in the next steps (and save the rest).* It is important that you clearly label the jar, as it will just look like water.* Do not leave this where children can get to it.* (Because this is such an easy solution to make, however, I only kept what I made until after the ants had been gone for a week or more.)

 

4. Fill some jar lids, milk caps, or other shallow containers with cotton balls or a wad of paper towel.

 

5. Add the sugar-Borax solution to the prepared lids making sure to soak the cotton balls (or paper towel).

 

6. Wait.* It may take the ants a while to find the solution.* But, once they do, let them feast (and take the solution back to their home).* At our house, to speed up the finding process, I placed a couple of the soaked cotton balls directly on the ledge in my kitchen where most of the ants were.

 

Be prepared – more ants will probably show up once they find the solution.* However, within a day, you’ll probably see much fewer ants.* Over the course of just a few days, all of the ants should likely be gone.* Because we had watched the ants quite a bit, we noticed where they were coming from and made sure to use a sealant to seal the area to stop them from coming back in the future.

[Mrs Mungo]

Grits. Give them some grits to take back to the nest.

 

http://www.pestproducts.com/grits.htm

[beaners]

I'm going absolutely crazy with them in our new house. The house had been clean but empty for a while before we moved in, and I just can't seem to get rid of the ants. In our old house we would occasionally have a few on the floor, but that was it. I've seen them on our walls and even on the ceiling here. I'm exhausted from trying to keep everything spotless with three young children while we are moving in. They are tearing through the big Terro packs, but it's only made a dent. I've put down borax under and behind the furniture, and we are taking off the outlet covers to sprinkle back there next. It has been too wet to spray the foundation, but that is happening this week.

 

I'm usually pretty crunchy, but at this point I'd be using DDT if I could get my hands on it.

[swellmomma]

This works better than any ant bait I've tried and they haven't come back! Plus I had everything on hand already. We had a serious infestation last year in my kitchen and hey came back in march this spring!! I was so discouraged until I found this. In 3 days they were gone and I haven't seen one since and it's may.

 

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons *Borax

1 1/2 cups warm water

Cotton balls or paper towel

Instructions

 

1. Mix the Borax and sugar together until well combined.

 

2. Add the mixture to your warm water and mix constantly until the powder has been completely dissolved.

 

3. Seal the mixture in a jar or container for future use, and use only what you need in the next steps (and save the rest).* It is important that you clearly label the jar, as it will just look like water.* Do not leave this where children can get to it.* (Because this is such an easy solution to make, however, I only kept what I made until after the ants had been gone for a week or more.)

 

4. Fill some jar lids, milk caps, or other shallow containers with cotton balls or a wad of paper towel.

 

5. Add the sugar-Borax solution to the prepared lids making sure to soak the cotton balls (or paper towel).

 

6. Wait.* It may take the ants a while to find the solution.* But, once they do, let them feast (and take the solution back to their home).* At our house, to speed up the finding process, I placed a couple of the soaked cotton balls directly on the ledge in my kitchen where most of the ants were.

 

Be prepared – more ants will probably show up once they find the solution.* However, within a day, you’ll probably see much fewer ants.* Over the course of just a few days, all of the ants should likely be gone.* Because we had watched the ants quite a bit, we noticed where they were coming from and made sure to use a sealant to seal the area to stop them from coming back in the future.

 

I actually made this recipe last year and it did nothing to kill them. I used other forms of bait, I used this I used every natural method I could find. Eventually all the none canned foods inmy pantry were contaminated with ants and they were coming out in droves from under my livingroom carpet. I used the liquid ant bait in a line at the edge of the carpet where it connected to teh kitchen floor. ANd on pieces of cardboard in the pantry. We were ant free in a few days and had no more issues until this year.

 

This year I am already dealing with ants and have a larder beetle infestation since bringing home the bag of dog food that the previous owners of our pup gave us.

 

PLan A deal with the ants as they are getting into everything. THen the beetles, they are in everyroom now but seem to still be focusing on the dog food.

[beaners]

 

This year I am already dealing with ants and have a larder beetle infestation since bringing home the bag of dog food that the previous owners of our pup gave us.

 

PLan A deal with the ants as they are getting into everything. THen the beetles, they are in everyroom now but seem to still be focusing on the dog food.

 

We had some of those last year too, also from dog food. I had never even heard of them before. Blech.

[elegantlion]

The thing that I found that works best? Terro ant baits. They use a sugar solution with borax. Borax is natural. It kills ants, but is safe for kids and pets. The ants take it back the ant hill and it kills them there. The liquid is contained so it doesn't get everywhere.

 

:iagree: This is what worked for us. However, we have dh spray stronger stuff when I'm not around (can't be around chemicals).

Edited May 6, 2012 by elegantlion

[swellmomma]

We had some of those last year too, also from dog food. I had never even heard of them before. Blech.

 

How did you get rid of them? With 4 kids, a toddler I watch daily, a preschooler I teach twice a week and the kids friends here at least 3-4 days a week and a dog I can not keep teh floors spotless of crumbs. The bait will work with the ants. But I am not sure how to handle the beetles since I can't get rid of the dog food, and I can't store it outside as it will attract more pests. At this point I am ready to box up all our belongings and put them in a storage unit so I can deal with the pests without risk of kids making more messes in the mean time.

[KungFuPanda]

This works better than any ant bait I've tried and they haven't come back! Plus I had everything on hand already. We had a serious infestation last year in my kitchen and hey came back in march this spring!! I was so discouraged until I found this. In 3 days they were gone and I haven't seen one since and it's may.

 

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons *Borax

1 1/2 cups warm water

Cotton balls or paper towel

Instructions

 

1. Mix the Borax and sugar together until well combined.

 

2. Add the mixture to your warm water and mix constantly until the powder has been completely dissolved.

 

3. Seal the mixture in a jar or container for future use, and use only what you need in the next steps (and save the rest).* It is important that you clearly label the jar, as it will just look like water.* Do not leave this where children can get to it.* (Because this is such an easy solution to make, however, I only kept what I made until after the ants had been gone for a week or more.)

 

4. Fill some jar lids, milk caps, or other shallow containers with cotton balls or a wad of paper towel.

 

5. Add the sugar-Borax solution to the prepared lids making sure to soak the cotton balls (or paper towel).

 

6. Wait.* It may take the ants a while to find the solution.* But, once they do, let them feast (and take the solution back to their home).* At our house, to speed up the finding process, I placed a couple of the soaked cotton balls directly on the ledge in my kitchen where most of the ants were.

 

Be prepared – more ants will probably show up once they find the solution.* However, within a day, you’ll probably see much fewer ants.* Over the course of just a few days, all of the ants should likely be gone.* Because we had watched the ants quite a bit, we noticed where they were coming from and made sure to use a sealant to seal the area to stop them from coming back in the future.

 

 

 

:iagree: I got rid of ants last year with this method. HOWEVER, you have to have the stomach to wait it out. You'll be hosting a frenzied ant buffet for a day or so before they disappear. It's a little creepy. You may want to plan a science project around it to make yourself feel better. Also, you may end up doing a peanut butter and borax concoction if it turns out your ants are in the mood for protein (apparently their needs change and they scavenge accordingly.)

[Tap]

Terro is the best 'natural' method I know.

 

 

FWIW: Every spring and fall I spray the outside with Max Home Defender (I think that is what it is called?) Spray that I buy in a gallon from Costco. I spray the foundation of the house and into the crawl holes under the house. Then I put down Grants Kills Ants spikes. I put them about every 10 feet on the house where I can. I also have a few spots in the yard where I put them that are problematic areas. I put down a bit of Terro inside for a few weeks if I see even a single ant.

 

This 3 way treatment seems to keep my house ant free. We had some bad years for ants but this trio of treatments means I have only seen a smattering of ants in my home since. When I see them I respray the outside and they go away in a day or two. My neighbors continue to have bad problems so I know it is not just a light year for ants.

[beaners]

How did you get rid of them? With 4 kids, a toddler I watch daily, a preschooler I teach twice a week and the kids friends here at least 3-4 days a week and a dog I can not keep teh floors spotless of crumbs. The bait will work with the ants. But I am not sure how to handle the beetles since I can't get rid of the dog food, and I can't store it outside as it will attract more pests. At this point I am ready to box up all our belongings and put them in a storage unit so I can deal with the pests without risk of kids making more messes in the mean time.

 

I'm almost afraid to say that I'm not sure if we actually got rid of them or just reduced their numbers to a point where I wasn't seeing any.

 

We have two medium sized dogs, and four cats. We put their food in a bin with a lid on the porch. It probably would have worked just as well indoors in a bin, but we didn't have the floor space.

 

I went through the endless task of slowly emptying and cleaning every single cupboard, closet, bookshelf, etc. I moved and cleaned under all the furniture and appliances, and I put borax under everything that the kids couldn't move after I had cleaned.

 

Getting the big offenders like the animal food with its high protein took care of most of them. Our kitchen/eating area in that house was on a separate floor from the bedrooms, and I could put a gate across the door to keep anyone from wandering out of the room with food or crumbs. Everyday crumbs left on the floor didn't seem to be my main problem. I could sweep those up, and if there were any larvae I would get them at the same time. My problem was when things like a small piece of pizza crust would get kicked under the couch, and I had no idea. :glare: I did still find a few stray beetles after that, but I think they were the remnants of the prior generation that I hadn't caught in time.

 

The house there has plaster walls, so I can't say for sure that I got every single one of them, but I wasn't finding them anymore. They would have been hatching by now if there were many we had missed, and I didn't see any before we left or in the things we have moved into this house. I asked my husband about them, and he hadn't seen any when he was emptying the house. He has taken almost everything out by now, so he would have seen them if there were more than one or two hanging around.