Comments on: Natural Solutions for Ant Control

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:44:36 +0000

Here is a tip for the borax ant traps. Make the mixture and then put it in a plastic container with holes cut in the lid (big enough for ants) and then stuff it with cotton balls or probably even a cotton rag would work fine. That way it’s a little more solid for the ants to climb in and then climb back out to take it to their queen. It also helps to keep your kitchen crumb-free. Ha ha, so easy with kids around. My kitchen is never crumb-free unless I just mopped and the kids are asleep!

By: Manda

Manda — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:20:02 +0000

I’ve found that dry active yeast works great for ants. I open a pouch and leave it on the counter and the ants do the work. They get it, eat it, and magically disappear. I would guess it’s the same principle as the grits, and just as humane, but it beats bringing nasty chemicals into my home.

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:25:33 +0000

We have ant problems off-and-on as well, so I was glad to see some more tips. I’ve never tried borax with peanut butter, so I might try that. Here’s what we’ve had success with:

1. Terro — this really is just borax, sugar, and water, but for some reason terro works better than when I cook up the mixture myself. But I’m still trying because I hate to spend money on something like terro when I should be able to do the same thing cheaply myself. To make a terro-like mixture yourself, you have to combine water, sugar, and some borax (maybe a half-cup water, a half-cup sugar, a tablespoon of boax).

2. Cinnamon — in the entryway where ants come in. This only works for a while.

3. Boiling water with a little borax mixed in on the ant hills.

I find I just have to keep at it, killing and deterring more ants every couple of weeks during the summer. They never go away completely (you can win a battle, but you can’t win the war!)

By: GreenPaige

GreenPaige — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:40:44 +0000

Joy-
You have some great ideas in this article.

Another suggestion for ant control would be anise oil. A few drops of this essential oil around problem areas seems to make ants scatter like……..well, like ants. It also makes your house smell like licorice.

By: Erika

Erika — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:46:09 +0000

Joy, good article. Lots of good ideas. We had a terrible sugar ant problem in our first apartment as newlyweds. It almost drove me crazy so I want to hear your and others testimonies before I fire the pest control company:)

Our crawly friends now are spiders and other bugs - I wonder if the barriers you mentioned work on them too.