Sunday, March 10, 2013

Homemade Natural Ant Killers



While for most people the ant will just be an annoyance there is a danger with ant infestations. The main danger is that the ants could cause disease as they contaminate your food. Ants spend their whole time trying to take your food and they track through who knows what on their way to and from your home. They may walk through contaminated droppings or some other unsavoury site, spreading this through your food preparation areas.

When trying to get rid of ants, it’s helpful to first have a basic understanding how they live and thrive:
They live in colonies and one class within the colony is the worker/gatherer/forager. Workers make up approximately 10% of the colony and it’s their job to go out, find and collect food then bring it back to feed the rest of the colony.


Here are some natural ways to get rid of Ants without  Toxic Chemicals


1. Borax Bait

Mix two tablespoons of borax with jam, jelly, honey or syrup until there is a paste. Smear some on some paper or a plate and put it where the ants are at. They should flock to it and eat it and take it back to the nest and it will act as a natural ant killer.

Borax can be found in any Laundry aisle in any Supermarket
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Sugar Bait

2 TBS Boric Acid (Borax)
2 TBS  Black Strap Molasses or Honey
1 TBS Yeast
1 TBS Sugar

Mix and place mounds on lids or bottle caps,


Borax can be found in any Laundry aisle in any Supermarket
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Cinnamon Sticks & Garlic Cloves

Place cinnamon sticks or garlic in areas where you have seen ants enter, such as in window tracks, by doors and in corners around your home. While garlic cloves aren't as aromatically pleasing as cinnamon sticks, they work really well. Just peel and slice a few cloves and place them where you notice the ants. -
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Black Pepper

Sprinkle black pepper where you see ants. The ants will immediately scatter. Pay attention to where they run; chances are they will be exiting your house and you’ll be able to treat the entry area with pepper too.
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Mint

Mint destroys the smelling capabilities of ants and prevents them from entering your home. There are several ways to use mint to prevent ant infestations. First, plant mint around your home, especially near doors and close to areas where you have seen anthills. Second, place mint leaves in and around windows. If ants are entering your pantry, place some mint leaves on the shelves and in the corners.  mix mint oil and water in a spray bottle and spray where Ants are to deter and repel them  
mix this with cinnamon and they will not come in
this also repel Roaches and Ticks and Fleas too
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Citrus Vinegar
Click here to learn how to make Citrus Vinegar

Bug Be Gone  Naturally
Mix Equal parts lemon Vinegar with Water in spray bottle and Spray along thresholds, windowsills, around door entrances, and near any cracks or holes where ants or pests may be entering. Ants do not like lemon and will not enter your home. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas.
Mix Mint and Lemon Together and you will keep them out all the time and have a Fresh Clean Smell


Corn Starch Honey 

mix 2 tsp Cornstarch and  1 tsp honey together   to make a thick paste and put it   where the ants visit  on a jar lid or bottle cap   put it near nests  or where they visit and you see them

the ants will be drawn to it by the honey  but unable to digest the cornstarch but they will not know that until they take it back to the colony and  it infects the whole colony 


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Important: When baiting so they’ll bring poison back to the nest, resist the temptation to kill them when you see them. You want them to live and take big juicy pieces of poisoned bait back to the nest for the rest of the colony to feast on.




Destroying Their Nests


Here’s a list of spray cleaner recipes you can try…

Clean countertops and surfaces well with one of the cleaners below, these can also be used to spray them directly.
Vinegar
Vinegar & Water (50/50 mix)
Cider Vinegar & Water (50/50 mix)

One of these essential oils: Peppermint, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree Oil, Witch Hazel Extract (1 tablespoon) plus water–per spray bottle

Liquid Dish Detergent & Water (about 1 tablespoon detergent, fill spray bottle with water).

Ants leave a scented trail for each other so they can easily find their way back to the jackpot (the food source in your house). Trails can be both visible and invisible to human eyes, but they can follow the trails with ease. Washing away these trails will confuse them and make it more difficult to find their favorite places. Making your own cleaners with the above ingredients also adds a repellent that they will avoid.


Find the nest and pour one of the following solutions into it. Cover your legs and wear rubber boots if possible, they will be streaming out of the nest while you’re doing this.

Nest Destroying Methods:

1/4 cup liquid dish detergent per gallon of boiling water (add soap after water has been removed from heat). This will likely kill surrounding grass and plants. (Good remedy for fire ants).

Pour large amounts of cider vinegar down inside the ant hill. Do this around the surrounding area as well, for at least three days. Will likely kill plants and grass too.

Bring water to a boil, mix in salt to make a strong salt solution and pour down nest. Repeat over three days (and pour over surrounding area as well to prevent them from rebuilding in the area).

Disturb their dwelling regularly: Flood with lots of water (just use the garden hose and let the water run for awhile). Do this daily for at least a week or two. They will eventually get fed up and move.



You can also use Diatomaceous earth  instead of Borax

 Diatomaceous earth is a remarkable, all-natural product made from tiny fossilized skeletal remains of unicellular plants called diatoms. But while 'DE' may look and feel like talcum powder to us, to insects it is a lethal dust with microscopic razor-sharp edges which cuts thier protective outer covering, leading to desiccation and death. And while DE spells death to insects, it is harmless to humans and pets.
                                                        source Wikipedia 

Sprinkle a light layer of the powder over any indoor areas that you suspect of having pests such as fleas and ticks. It is very effective on upholstered furniture, carpets and pet beds or areas where your pets spend time. Use a broom to sweep it into any cracks where insects may be hiding. Be sure to get it into all parts of the furniture, including the edges and under the cushions.


Dust outside areas that hide pests, especially spots where your pet likes to rest, since such places can be havens for fleas. Don’t apply diatomaceous earth when the ground or grass is damp, since it will turn to paste and be rendered ineffective. You’ll also need to reapply it after watering or rainfall.


Apply diatomaceous earth to any other areas in your home that may be hiding pests, including crawl spaces, under porches, in the space between walls and in the attic. The more places you can put it, the more pests it can kill. In addition to fleas and ticks, diatomaceous earth is effective against termites and other such pests, but only if you put it where they live.


Vacuum the house a few days after you apply the diatomaceous earth. It isn’t necessary to remove it from places you don’t go, such as in the attic or crawl spaces, but do vacuum your furniture, rugs and other living areas to get rid of the powder and pick up all of the dead and dying pests, along with flea eggs. Outdoors, you can just leave the diatomaceous earth in place.
Kills spiders, Fleas, Ticks, Mites, Ants , Roaches , Bed Bugs, Silverfish and much more
you can find diatomaceous earth at home depot, Lowes , Hardware stores and online retailers 























16 comments:

  1. Thanks for this, I'll definitely need it here in the summer.

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  2. The borax one works wonders we did this last year about halfway through the ant season here and never saw another one

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  3. Other than that, these are great ideas that I intend to try, thanks!

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  4. Where do you get the borax acid?

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    Replies
    1. aka borax....it can be found in the laundry aisle of just about any grocery store or all in one store (walmart) and has 1000s of uses (pest control, cleaning, making homemade laundry/dish detergent)

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    2. Its right on the Blog where to find Borax Acid in Laundry Isle of any supermarket

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  5. Boric Acid is available in bright yellow bottles with red spout tops at places like Roses, Family Dollar, Dollar General, and the like. A big (1-quart) bottle of powder runs usually less than $3.
    Boric Acid is designed to dry up the pest from the inside out.

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  6. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I knew about the borax (we usually purchase Terro, which is borax and sugar), but I didn't know about all the other cool things to deter them.

    I am highly allergic to pesticides of any kind, and it seems we live on an ant hill.

    Thanks again.

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  7. I have mint growing all around my front porch, the ants crawl all over the mint. Maybe it only works for some ants, or the ants around my house are just used to it? I've tried chalk too, they walk right through the chalk. I'll have to try some of these other ways. Thanks!

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  8. also, as you flood the ant colony and they begin to evacuate, you will notice after a while, they are carrying white sacks in their mouths. This is the eggs they are trying to rescue from the nest. Soon after this if you keep watching, you will see the queen or several queens emerge. Kill the queens and the colony will die off much quicker.

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  9. I can't find the nests? I think my whole neighborhood has sugar ants and I'm not sure from where they come. Any ideas on finding them?

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  10. on a quest to get some borax today. the ants in my house are so bad. they're in every room. you sit on the couch and they walk all over you. i feel my skin crawling here. i've been using raid when i notice a lot of them swarming together but the fumes are awful and it doesn't seem to prevent them from coming back. so sick of this!

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  11. Natural products are always popular among the people. Because, they are not toxic, have no negative effect on nature, and also Eco friendly. Natural pesticides are really very effective for controlling pests. Thanks @DAW for this great article.

    bedlam spray

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  12. I was plagued with Carpenter Ants for years, I paid the pest control people every year to spray chemicals all over my house but they just came back again the next year. Finally a friend told me to place Johnsons Baby Powder with cornstarch where I see the ants coming in. Never saw them again once I put down the baby powder. Hope it works for you as well!

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  13. Place cinnamon sticks or garlic in areas where you have seen ants enter:Five Effective Guide Lines of Diet

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