Kill Ants With Borax -We Target The Colony Not One or Two!
What would you do if you observe a trail of ants inside your home? I guess, the first reaction would be to grab anything that you can lay your hands on and squash the ants. But will it really help? No! So, the next option would be to hire an exterminator. But, you can easily get rid of ants at home by using borax! You can save the money on exterminators by opting for homemade three ingredient ant removal methods. Here in this article, you can know all about the various methods of killing ants using borax and also learn about the preventive strategies to be adopted so that the ants won’t again step inside your premises.
About Borax Usage
The ants usually live in big colonies with tunnels and various entrances. There will be many worker ants and just a few queens. The queens won’t usually step outside in search of food. The worker ants will bring food inside the nest for the queen. Borax can be easily mixed with the food the ants eat in an ant bait. It is a slow poison and can help in killing both the worker ants as well as the queens as the worker ants will always take a portion of the borax infused food inside the nest for the queen to feed on. Thus, all the ants together get killed inside the colony. Borax can be easily bought from any nearest pharmacy as it is a part of various medications including eye drops.
What Makes Borax Useful?
Let us first understand what this borax is. Borax is nothing but the salt obtained from boric acid. It is available as a fine white powder. Borax is used as an alternate option for the chemical filled harsh detergents we use for the laundry works. For pets and humans, borax is safe to use. But for creeping pests like ants, the borax can have negative action on the digestive system of the ants. Thus, it helps in killing the ants quickly and easily.
About Borax Baits
Borax baits are commonly used to get rid of the ant infestations in one’s house or gardens. It is a do it yourself method that is often chosen first when people notice an ant infestation in and around their home. You can even browse the net to find many homemade ant bait recipes using borax. You can also get ready to use commercial ant baits using borax. Such baits are found to be more effective than homemade ones since the chances of making mistakes are more in homemade recipes.
How To Make Borax Bait?
You can eliminate the errors made while preparing ant baits by following the instructions correctly in step by step format. Here are some of the ways to make the borax ant bait:
- Use Liquid Borax And Sugar
Get the liquid form of borax and sugar. Mix both well and slowly add warm water into the mix taking care to keep stirring and avoid making any lumps. Now, store this mix inside a jar. When you find ant infestations, get some cotton and put it inside the jar lid and then ensure that it gets saturated well. Now, place these cotton pieces at all places you need to get rid of ants. You can use many cotton pieces at a time for more effective treatment. Let the cotton pieces remain there for some time till the ants get completely killed. You can also sprinkle this mix at all places you notice ant infestations. - Use Solid Borax And Sugar
You can easily get borax powder from your nearest medical shop. Get some borax powder and mix it with solid sugar in the ration 50:50. The ratio isn’t something with scientific explanations. Now, add some of this mix into any small containers like the lid of a two-liter bottle or into the cap of a milk jug. Then add some water to the mix to make it a thick suspension like slurry. You can kill the ants using this suspension. Apply this mix in the paths of ant trails. Be patient and wait for the ants to find the suspension mix. The ants will take some part of the borax mix inside their nests for the queen to feed on. Though borax is fatal for ants, still it takes some time to have effective action. By that time, they would have shared their borax infused food to all inside the colony and the queen. This ensures that the whole colony including the queen gets killed easily! - Semi-Solid Form Of Sugar And Borax
You can make traps by using semi-solid forms of borax and sugar. Mix ten teaspoons of sugar with one teaspoon of borax. Add two cups of water to it and mix well. Now, you can spread this mix on a piece of cardboard. The mix should be in a semi-solid or semi-liquid form so that it can set on top of the cardboard. Place this trap in all places you notice ant infestations. Leave it there and wait. The ants will consume the poison and also take it inside their nests to share with other ants and queen. Thus, the whole colony will get killed.
Borax Ant Killer To The Rescue! Now You Can Use Borax Homemade Traps And Kill Ants Easily!
Homemade borax ant traps are easier and economical ways to get rid of ant infestations without relying on an exterminator. Here are some easy traps you can make at home:
Use Borax And Mint Jelly
Get some mint jelly and mix two tablespoons of it with a quarter teaspoon of borax in powder form. Researches have proved that mint jelly is the ideal sugar based lure for ants and other insects. But, you can also try the same trick using other jelly flavors in case you don’t have the mint flavor at home.
Use Borax, Honey And Peanut Butter
This one is easy to make borax honey ant killer. Get two tablespoons of honey, half teaspoon of borax and two tablespoons of peanut butter. Mix it well and use it as a bait to get rid of the ants. Ants love protein and sugar. Hence, they will be easily lured to your bait.
Use Borax, Corn Syrup, And Honey
Mix two tablespoons of honey, half teaspoon of borax and two tablespoons of corn syrup together. Ants will get lured easily as they love both sugar and protein.
Use Borax Powder And Jam
Get some jam and mix it with borax powder to form a paste. Now, slather this mix over a plate, a piece of paper or over a covered-up container having holes on it. Check the activity of ants and ensure that they are dying off after some time. If not, then add more borax and make the mix more poisonous.
Use Borax, Yeast, Sugar, And Molasses
Mix one tablespoon of yeast, two tablespoon molasses and one tablespoon of sugar with borax. Place the mix in covered containers having holes, plates or papers. Ants get lured to the mix and carry it to their nests too. Thus, the whole colony including the queen gets killed.
Kill Ants Using Borax And Get Rid Of Ant Infestations Easily!
It is always better to kill ants slowly because if they get killed fast, then they won’t affect other ants residing inside the nest. Also, it helps the queen to stay safe and reproduce more ants inside the nest. Hence, borax is one of the most effective ways to kill the ant colony as a whole including the queen. Borax is slow to act but very useful. The worker ants carry the borax infused food into the nest and share it with other worker ants in the nest. They also feed the queen with the same food. Thus, all the ants get killed. The slow action of borax gives the worker ants plenty of time to reach their nests and deliver the food to others before they start getting sick and die.
Be Patient While Using Borax!
Borax is never a fast-acting chemical. You can’t expect to see them die off as soon as they eat the borax infused bait. The ants have to like the bait infused with borax and feel that it is a great food for them. If you fill up the bait with too many chemicals, then the odor will only repel the ants away or kill them too quickly giving the other ants time to escape to another place and make a nest there. Hence, maintain a balance and lure the ants with borax infused sweets or proteins. You might see them around for some days even after eating the bait. Slowly, they will start dying. Hence, be patient while looking for results. A large colony of sugar ants can take almost three months to get killed. Borax for ants outside your home, in your gardens, backyards and areas around your property are also very effective.
Other Natural Control Methods
You can also try other methods to control ants, though borax is considered as the most effective option. Take a look at the alternate natural ways:
- Ants detest the aroma of garlic and cinnamon. Hence you can try placing them near the entrance pathways to your house or near ant trails.
- Make use of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. Spray these on ant infested areas to get rid of ants.
- Vinegar helps in masking the scent of ant trail and hence stops other ants from following the trail using the scent.
- Pour hot boiling water over mounds of ants in your yard or garden. The hot water helps in killing the ants.
- There are some plants which repel ants with their intense aroma. Plant them in your garden to repel away ants and other insects. The plants commonly used to repel insects and pests are basil, rosemary, black pepper, eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender.
- Sprinkle cayenne pepper or coffee grounds around your home to repel away ants.
- Leave fresh peels of cucumber or citrus in ant infested areas.
- Sprinkle chalk powder or baby powder around your home or near areas where ants are often seen.
Keep Your Kitchen Clean!
Ants get easily attracted to even the tiniest crumb of food particle lying on the floor or the kitchen tables. Most often, these small crumbs are the ones that lure ants inside your house. Hence, the best way to get rid of the ants is to keep cleaning the kitchen floors, sinks and tables after every use. If no crumbs are lying around, then the ants won’t be lured inside your home. Another point to note is to keep the foodstuff in the kitchen alone. Carrying food to other rooms like living room, bedrooms, etc. can cause food crumbs to fall there and lure ants. It is better to limit food in one place and clean that room often to keep the ants away.
A Safe And Simple Solution- Borax!
Borax is considered as one of the easiest, simple and effective way to get rid of the ant colony as a whole. You need not use chemicals, traps or store-bought baits to kill ants. Borax can do the job for you easily. Borax traps made at home are effective and economic. Borax works slowly but efficiently, killing all the ants one by one. You can be assured that your family is healthy and safe from ant infestations!