Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

With Spring and summer here and ants invading everything I thought you might like to read some of the ways you can rid your home from these pesty critters without using pesticides AND do it CHEAPLY! Below are some clips from various forums and postings from around the internet on how you can get rid of your ant problem.


GOT AN ANT PROBLEM?

How do you kill ants with home remedies?

Use Sweet'n Low, Equal, Nutra Sweet, Splenda and/or Sugar-&-Borax to kill ants!!

Sweet n low and Equal contain aspartame. Aspartame was originally formulated as an ant poison. Since it is sweet, the ants carry it back to nest and it kills them.

Does Splenda kill ants?

Try sprinkling some splenda around. It is non toxic (unless you are an ant) It has worked for me again this year along with the terro traps, but neither seems to do the trick alone. You don't need to use much splenda, just lift a packet or 3 from a restaurant and sprinkle a few grains. They love the stuff, but get no nutrition from it and die.
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You might try adding a terro ant bait or 2. You can get it in a bottle and just put a dot of it on cardboard. very economical. The two together have never failed me and at work, we got Splenda to work by itself in 2 days.
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Aspartame kills fire ants

"Fire Ant Remedy – sprinkle a packet of aspartame (Equal or Nutra Sweet) on the mound. Ants will be gone the next day. Anyone eating or drinking anything containing this stuff is nuts!" -------- I can verify that this works with common ants too.

I've used it a few times the last 4 years when ants were getting to be a problem on the back porch and around the pets feed bowls. My dog and cats won't touch it, apparently sensing a poison where a lot of people don't.

Get a couple of packs the next time you order coffee and see for yourself. Moistening it a little seems to help.
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I live in Colorado. I have tried it twice on ants.

Both times I mixed a solution of water and sugar, then added the aspartame.

I put the solution in a lidded margarine container ( with a hole cut for ant access) to keep my dog out of it.

Both colonies of ants are now dead.

The container in my kitchen also attracted and killed quite a few spider mites.

They must have died quickly, since they were still on the container when they died.

Try adding the aspartame to sugar water and see if your results aren't much better!
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I don't know if the colony was killed by aspartame, or if they just found a new location. Either way, it solved my problem of fire ants on my walkway.

Everyday, the ants would create a dirt mound on my walkway, and everyday, I'd repack the dirt on the grass. One day, I bought a generic bottle of aspartame and poured half of it on the ant mound and repacked it, and poured some along the hedge. The next day, no new mound of dirt and no ants.
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I think it DOES work to some extent. I sprinkled two packets of Nutra-Sweet (an off-market brand of Equal-aspartame) on two separate ant hills that have formed over the past several weeks: one in the middle of an ornamental grass and the other near the base of a peony plant.

There is definitely less ant activity in both sites. I still see a few, but the bustling mass of insects isn't evident today, about four days past-experiment. I just sprinkled the two packets over the mounds after a rain storm blew through. In fact, I wondered if the rain washed the aspartame INTO the mound, right at the ant's dining table.

While my experiment isn't particulary controlled, I think it's worth looking into.

I'm a county agent with a land grant university and have a science background --in addition I'm a registered dietitian (RD).

I am not concerned about using aspartame...it has its place. (Lately, lots of people have switched to another non-nutritive sweetener, Splenda, which is sucralose and not metabolized by our body.)

Don't know why two packets of aspartame would affect the numbers in an ant colony but I'm not arguing about it either. I didn't have any luck diminishing their numbers with a poisonous commercial ant bait I bought at the hardware store.

If aspartame works, why complain?
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Even though we read the snopes article we tried generic aspartame in the house and while some ants ignored it others died in piles! Others needed fruit juice to be interested, then they too died.
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So, this is what happened. I moved into a NEW house. About a week after we moved in we noticed large carpenter ants around the patio door. I plugged up one of the Pipe holes and thought that was it. Well, a few days later I saw a couple on the counter and a couple on the floor. Then....the WORST. I opened the dishwasher and they were crawling all over. I quickly shut the door and turned on the dishwasher. Well, that didn't help, they just kept running out the sides. I kid you not. I was up until midnight with a paper towel killing every one of them. Then I got smart and took out my RAINBOW vacuum cleaner. (It's the best in my opinion). It sucks everything into water! No dust or bugs or mites left over it goes into the water and you flush it down the toilet or pour it outside. The resilient ants died in the vacuum. So, then what. i was wiped out and wanted to go to bed but I was fixated on the problem. I read online about home remedies as Home Depot for ant killer wasn't an option at this hour. I read about Pepper, Vinegar, bleach, I had nothing!

The only thing I had was Sweet-N Low, Nutrasweet- So I poured it in the dishwasher, on the counter, on the edge of the floor. The next day I saw a few ants, but vacuumed them up. This morning I wake up and Nothing, not a single ant anywhere. I did find a couple sluggish or dead ants in the basement though. The thing is, I have a $200 pest control guy coming over today. I hate to pay him big bucks if a couple packets of sweet n low do the job! I guess that's an experiment of sorts and I am pleased with the results. I think I WILL hold off on the ant guy after all.
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20 Mule Team Borax mixed with some sugar will work on marauding ants.
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I spent a couple of spring/summers fighting the ant battle, also. They were making a beeline to my cat's food dish, so it was easy to see where they were coming in. I tried everything natural on the planet (baby powder, cinnamon, etc.). What finally worked for me was I fed them borax and sugar for a few days until I felt they had sufficiently poisoned the queen.

Boy, they loved that stuff. Then I went to the corner of the linoleum in the kitchen where they were getting in and put super glue in the hole. I found that tip online somewhere. Voila, never had another ant again. Not sure if it's because I eventally killed the queen, or they just couldn't get past the glue, but either way, they're GONE.
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Things...See if you can find the MAIN trail. I know it seems they are all over the house. I thought that too, as there were lone ants wandering away from the group and venturing into other rooms. But if you can find the main trail, and believe me, if you put borax and sugar out, you WILL, then you can put the glue into their entry point. Those little buggers were going into my bedroom, bathroom, basically everywhere, but as it turns out, there was only one point of entry. It just seemed like there were several. Give them a sugar/borax treat for a few days, then break out the glue! BTW, they like it best when you mix the borax and sugar with a little water to make it moist, like a paste.
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I have tried and with good results. Using equal parts of baking soda and powered sugar. Mix well. The powered sugar attracts them and the will carry the soda/sugar mix back to the nest and the baking soda is toxic to ants. It safe to use around kids and pets! Also, eggs shell work outdoors the will kill ants by cutting open their undersides. Egg shells work well with other pest like slugs!
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If you really want to get rid of ants, you have to kill the queen. We use a TBspoon raw hamburger mixed with 1 tsp borax – give or take. The worker ants carry the meat back to the queen who eats it and dies. We leave it out for a day which is usually all it takes for the ants to get hold of it. Then, no more ants.
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Peppermint oil. Its a neurotoxin to them.

You can often find it (mixed with soap) in a spray can as all natural wasp spray. I cant remember the name of the last one I bought (at a garden center, maybe home depot) but it was in a yellow can.

I've also had luck with orange oil cleaner concentrate - I mixed about a half cup of the cleaner with a bucket of water (a bucket like the kind you might wash a car with) and then I poured that on the mound out in the yard. They havent been back since. But apparently (according to the tight wad gazette) it has to be orange OIL cleaner - not just cleaner that is orange scented and colored :)
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For ants on the counter top, wipe down counter top with white undiluted vinegar. To prevent ants from coming into the house, or getting into cupboards, sprinkle dried mint or red pepper where they are entering the house and in the cupboards. If you know where the anthills are make a mixture of 50 percent borax (sold in laundry aisle of supermarkets) and 50 percent confectioner's sugar and place near anthill.

The ants are attracted to the sugar and carry the fatal borax/sugar combination back to the nest to feed the queen and other ants. Soon all ants will be dead. Do not put this mixture where children and pets can ingest it.

To get rid of anthills, pour 3 gallons of boiling water down them. This is best when done when the ants are active and at the surface. Do not do it near flowers or they will die.
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GRITS! Just sprinkle grits around the ant mound, they will take it into the hive, injest it, and it swells and kills them. Once it rains, you have to put more grits out. This is how I got rid of fire ants in Florida. Takes about a week to kill the mound completely.
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Clean everything,don`t leave anything.then boric powder it`s non toxic &safe.can get at any wally or home town store.does roaches 2!
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Mix a borax and sugar-water solution for them to take back to the nest to kill the evil queen.
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I use any spray that is good in the bathroom, I also use soap with coconut oil in it. I have used Mr. clean, I used Alcohol and water mixture in a spray bottle. Many things in the house will kill ants. Any thing that contains alcohol . Or Shampoo that has coconut oil, it smothers them it also helps the soap to attach to their bodies. I've used Whisky, Bourbon, it worked as well, Hoyakins
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Ants can become a nuisance, though, if they find their way inside your home. If you're having problems with ants and don't want to use harmful chemicals, consider using baking soda. It's an effective way to get rid of ants without using dangerous pesticides INSTRUCTIONS
(1) Make a sweet ant bait trap to kill the ants. Mix equal parts of baking soda and sugar in a container and place it where you have seen ant activity. Ants have a very acidic digestive system and once the baking soda mixes with the acid it will generate a large amount of carbon dioxide. This will cause the ants' stomachs to burst, which kills the ants.

(2) Remove ant trails. Ants leave a scented trail for each other so they can easily find their way back to a food source. Mix equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle and wash away these trails. It will confuse them and they will not be able to find their way back to their food source.

(3) Destroy the ant nest outside your home. In order to get rid of a true infestation you must destroy the nest. Find and follow the ant trails in your home to the outside source. Dampen the nest with water and then pour a cup of vinegar on the mound. This is a lethal combination for ants.

(4) Prevent ants from coming into your house. Wipe up spills as they happen. Don't leave dirty dishes in your sink, and sweep and mop your floors regularly. Make sure your food is stored in tightly covered containers. Seal any cracks or crevices in your home with caulk to eliminate entry points. Planting mint around the entrances of your home is another way to deter ants. They don't like the pungent smell and will stay away.

(5) Ants can build their colonies inside your home. If you see small ant hills in you house, vacuum them up and seal the contents of the vacuum in a plastic bag
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Ants In Yard and Driveway

I read on the internet that you can add 20 mule team Borax (buy at Walmart in the laundry aisle) to sugar in a 50/50 ratio and the ants will take the borax back to their nests and it can kill the queen. It dehydrates the ants. I'd think twice if I had pets though. You should cover the sugar/borax up with something so animals can't get to it and only tiny ants can eat it! For example, a bucket with holes drilled into the sides for the ants to crawl through with a large, heavy cement block on top so a dog or cat couldn't turn the bucket over. Read the URL below for more Borax/Ants ideas and info:

Read this post for more detailed info: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ipm/msg0622204413443.html

* Apparently the ants prefer the Borax/Sugar mixture if you add several drops of water to it. They say (on the URL above) that water is the key (just a few drops added to the 50/50 pile). (06/09/2009)
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OATMEAL KILLS ANTS!

Get a spray bottle, fill it maybe a quarter full with hot sauce, and fill the rest with water. Take off the spray thingy, and pour all over the ants and their nest.(If it's outside.) Or get a teapot, fill with water, let boil, and boil them to your hearts delight. I had a whole nest of flying, and normal ants, right by my house door. I don't know if i killed the queen, but without her serv ents, to feed her, she'll die.

Or try oatmeal, all around their nest. This is how oatmeal works. First, the ants eat it. They then have to drink water. The oatmeal then ex-spans in their stomachs. And they explode from the over feed. Also put pepper all around their nest. The pepper is too strong of a scent for them, that or they just don't like hot items. That's all. :)
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Mix a equal amount of borax with sugar and spread it around the outside of your house
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