|
|
Post by flanz on Jul 22, 2014 3:23:58 GMT
We have battled large, I mean LARGE ant invasions often over the years, but the past two months have been the worst. I've tried cinnamon, baby powder, etc. etc. and nothing helped. Until dd's very smart boyfriend told me about this recipe:
Dissolve 1.5 T of boric acid (Mule Team Borax) and 1/2 cup of sugar in 1.5 cups warm water. I did this in an empty pasta jar and shook it until it dissolved - didn't take long.
The idea is to then take cotton balls (I used the round cotton makeup remover pads), soak them in the sticky solution, and leave them out for a day or so. The ants line up like pigs at a trough, surrounding the round pads, then they happily trot back to their nests and disappear. This has worked indoors and outdoors. There is some debate as to the toxicity of boric acid for people and pets, so IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN OR PETS IN THE HOUSE, please do some further research!!!
I am beyond thrilled with the effectiveness of this method! Hope it helps someone out there reading this.
|
|
marianne
Pearl Clutcher
Not my circus, not my monkeys. . . My monkeys fly!
Posts: 4,176 
Location: right smack dab in the middle of SC
Site Supporter
Jun 25, 2014 21:08:26 GMT
|
Post by marianne on Jul 22, 2014 3:26:55 GMT
I have this tip on one of my Pinterest boards - great to know it works. Thanks much for sharing your experience!
|
|
stampinchica
Junior Member
~I just got some juice out of the fridge & I swear I heard the wine say "what the f*&#?"~
Posts: 68
|
Post by stampinchica on Jul 22, 2014 3:30:54 GMT
Thank you! Trying this tomorrow as I have been battling with ants for about three weeks now!
|
|
|
|
Post by flanz on Jul 22, 2014 3:33:14 GMT
Let me know what you think if you try it.
|
|
|
|
Post by freecharlie on Jul 22, 2014 3:36:08 GMT
I've used it before. It gets really gross for a while because thousand of ants descend on the cotton balls. My dog and my cat had no interest in it. When I first put it out, I put it under containers with a notch taken out and then taped to the floor to keep them out, but they didn't care about it.
|
|
PLurker
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,795
Location: Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Jun 28, 2014 3:48:49 GMT
|
Post by PLurker on Jul 22, 2014 3:38:50 GMT
bookmarking...
|
|
|
|
Post by Kate * on Jul 22, 2014 3:41:35 GMT
Good to know.
Now does anyone know a way to keep those "*invisible*" biting bugs away?
|
|
|
|
Post by jetscat on Jul 22, 2014 3:44:03 GMT
I use terro which is the same thing. Their liquid baits are awesome.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
|
|
|
|
Post by Minnesota*Mom on Jul 22, 2014 3:44:09 GMT
I'll have to keep this recipe in mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by jetscat on Jul 22, 2014 3:45:15 GMT
 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk |
|
|
|
Post by scrapperal on Jul 22, 2014 3:45:53 GMT
I tried the boric acid w/honey (that's the "recipe" I found online) and that mix was only partially successful. I think the ants probably just went away on their own. Glad the sugar mix worked for you.
|
|
|
|
Post by ptamom on Jul 22, 2014 3:47:58 GMT
Our house was built on a former walnut orchard. Before we even moved in, I came to bring a few things and found the kitchen overrun with ants.
I ran out to get ant poison, which took care of the immediate problem.
But a few months living there, overrun again! The ants came up through the cabinets, through cracks in the floor, and memorably through an electrical outlet!
they started showing up in our upstairs bathrooms! Crazy!
i tried the borax solution, and it helped, but it wasn't until I left Terro baits in all the places they invaded that we finally got peace. The first couple of days were crazy, because millions of ants descended on the baits! But after two days it thinned, then slowed to a trickle, then stopped.
This was probably 10 years ago, and no house invasions since (knocking on wood).
i still see ants outside, but not hordes of them. And they stay outside.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 5, 2024 13:15:21 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 3:48:45 GMT
I've always done this for the huge ant hills in my garden, except I don't dissolve the borax and sugar together, just mix a few teaspoons of each other and put out. The ants seem to take both substances back to their colony.
|
|
|
|
Post by freecharlie on Jul 22, 2014 3:54:38 GMT
Oh and remember to not use the container for food after
|
|
|
|
Post by bebe on Jul 22, 2014 4:16:26 GMT
Thanks so much--I'll try this
|
|
|
|
Post by love2scrap101 on Jul 22, 2014 4:18:29 GMT
We are dealing with ants now....I will definitely give this a try.
|
|
|
|
Post by padresfan619 on Jul 22, 2014 4:21:11 GMT
Terro has been our first choice, just keep it away from pets and children. I save bottle caps to drop the solution in instead of the cardboard pieces they give you on the box.
|
|
|
|
Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 22, 2014 4:22:41 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by cme37 on Jul 22, 2014 4:37:48 GMT
I have used this recipe and it worked wonders! I haven't seen an ant since I did this a year ago.
|
|
|
|
Post by jenettycakes on Jul 22, 2014 4:47:39 GMT
Good to know. I also love Terro. That's what our exterminators gave us for the interim before their service kicked in or in-between service. Works like a charm.
|
|
|
|
Post by sbartist on Jul 22, 2014 5:06:00 GMT
Terro has been our first choice, just keep it away from pets and children. I save bottle caps to drop the solution in instead of the cardboard pieces they give you on the box. Bottle Caps - what a great idea!  |
|
|
|
Post by njinkerbelle on Jul 22, 2014 5:37:02 GMT
We had an invasion of ants two years ago. I read in an Internet search to mix equal parts of grape jelly with the borax. We put the solution in a small lid from a baby food jar and place it in the cabinet under the sink where we saw the ants. This worked for us.
I also read about spraying a solution of peppermint oil and water around doorways and on screens to keep spiders away. I haven't tried this wonder if it works. Has anyone done this?
|
|
|
|
Post by SabrinaM on Jul 22, 2014 7:04:10 GMT
Terro now comes as prefilled containers that you put out. No need for the little pieces of cardboard.
|
|
|
|
Post by gar on Jul 22, 2014 7:10:34 GMT
We've had awful ant problems for several summers so I'll be trying this! Thanks  |
|
|
|
Post by gale w on Jul 22, 2014 8:28:43 GMT
We also use Terro but I've used the boric acid (but never tried borax) method in the past. One other hint-if you have small kids or pets you can put a hole in the side of an old butter tub and put the cotton balls in there, and put the lid on. Kids and pets will hopefully stay away from it and the ants will still find it. Or there might be better containers that are more kid and pet proof.
|
|
pamp
Full Member
Refupea #2487
Posts: 172
Jul 1, 2014 20:14:17 GMT
|
Post by pamp on Jul 22, 2014 12:59:45 GMT
I want to try this but can you clarify? Do you use boric acid or the borax? Thanks!
|
|
|
|
Post by Miss Ang on Jul 22, 2014 13:02:08 GMT
How are you bookmarking this thread? I feel like I'm missing out here!  |
|
|
|
Post by anxiousmom on Jul 22, 2014 13:47:56 GMT
I hate those damn ants. HATE THEM.
I am like Bill Murray in Caddyshack hunting them down. I may win the daily battles, but they are winning the war. I don't see them for a day or two and then BAM. I wake up and they are crawling all over my sink. It's like they are measuring the space to move in the furniture.
I have tried everything that has worked in the past, but this year? They are resisting my efforts.
I hate them. HATE THEM.
*off to buy Terro*
|
|
clarita
Junior Member
Posts: 79
|
Post by clarita on Jul 22, 2014 13:53:48 GMT
Terro has been our first choice, just keep it away from pets and children. I save bottle caps to drop the solution in instead of the cardboard pieces they give you on the box. I've been using Terro for the past couple of years and I love this idea of saving bottle caps rather than the cardboard pieces! Thanks for sharing. |
|
purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,790
|
Post by purplebee on Jul 22, 2014 13:56:09 GMT
I have done the boric acid/sugar/water mix with the cotton balls, set them in the bigger plastic caps from a sports drink bottle, and put small, empty plastic baskets/containers over them along the walls in my kitchen. Worked great- though resisting the urge to squish the ants lined up, as a pp said, like cattle at a feeding trough was really hard! Don't squish, let them carry the poison back to their nest. And I used boric acid not Borax.
Good luck ant warriors!
|
|
