I use a product called Orange Guard as an Ant killer and other pests too. I have seen it recently at Whole Foods for $7.95.
I spray the perimeter of the house and no problems after about 48 hours, better than the Orkin man and better for me:)

Thanks, I think I saw that my last trip to Whole Foods. I am doing everything I can to avoid chemicals.

For the boric acid, I've heard to mix it with sugar so the ants will take it to their nest.

Try sprinkling garlic to repel them and keep everything wiped down and if you see any scout ants, squish em or they wll bring their buddies.

Just an idea, You might try mixing slightly damp corse cornmeal with the boric acid. I can tell you the ants in my garden LOVE cornmeal and if it's just slightly damp it would get the boric acid stuck to it, it's worth a try.

First you need to find out why the ants are there and then you can takes steps to move them out side, where they belong, and out of your kitchen.
Real lemon juice and/or real peppermint oil can be used to direct them back out side and once they are outside you can caulk the points of entry so they can't use that again. To simply put out some poison to control them is a waste of time, energy and money since that does not solve the problem.

IÂve used molasses successfully to not only keep fireants out of my Texas lawn but to also increase the quality of my soil, lawn and garden. I apply granulated dried molasses at a rate of 25-50lbs per 1000 sq ft but IÂve heard that diluting liquid molasses in water and spraying on your lawn works well too and may have added benefits. Molasses is a powerful carbon (sugar) source that really kicks up the overall number of microorganisms in your soil. The microbes in soil feed on hydrocarbon chains, of which sugar. This increase in microbial activity and competition upsets the fireants somehow and they move out to more sterile locations.

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Here's one of the articles online I found regarding fireants and molasses. I hope this info helps.
Molasses Makes Fire Ants Move Out

-Todd

By the way... Buy your dried molasses from a feed store. Don't pay twice as much at a nursery for exactly the same product.

Below is a local price comparison:

Nursery
================
50lb bag $24.98

Feed Store
================
50lb bag $11.95

If you need help finding a feed store near you click on the directory below. It lists feed stores by state then by city. I found three feed stores within 7 miles of my house with that link.

Feed Store Directory

Sorry... here's the corrected feed store link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corrected FeedStore Directory Link

Cinammon repels them pretty well.

I've been mixing boric acid and honey this summer. I put it on a small piece of a cereal box and set it in the area I find the ants. We had carpenter ants and I don't see many at all now, compared to what it was. They lined up side by side around the cardboard and ate all I put out. I used approx. 1/4-1/2 t of honey and a couple of pinches of boric acid.

Interesting about the molasses, Todd! I'll have to try that one. Do you think the predators for all ants are the same? I wonder if the molasses would attract rodents....?

To keep ants out of any place, sprinkle a line of turmeric powder around the area, and the ants will not enter. You can also keep whole turmeric (the root) in containers of flour, rice, etc. that are subject to pests. Turmeric works as a natural antiseptic agent. Turmeric can be found cheap at any Indian grocery store.

Here's a link for natural ant control:

Here is a link that might be useful: ant control

Here's a recipe for ant control:

Here is a link that might be useful: ant control

Here a recipe I got from a website, I've used it & it works well.
Ants can be a major problem, carrying scale and other sap-suckers onto plants. A good remedy is: 2 tbsp powdered borax, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 cups water. Stir to dissolve, and bring slowly to the boil. When it boils, take it off the heat and cool. Place in shallow jar lids under plants where ants are a pest. Colin prefers to use borax powder, rather than boracic acid, a scheduled poison, which is what some recipes call for. However, there is still toxicity in borax powder so take care and keep out of reach of pets and children.
Hope it helps.
Ellie

The recipe I got from the county extension service was 2 Tb boric acid (drug stores carry it) mixed with a sweet liquid/jelly (think they used apple or mint jelly) to make a paste. I put the paste in 8 oz. margarine tubs with holes in the sides (to keep pets out).

I too have mixed it up in Jelly. I then cut pieces of plastic straws about two inches long and packed the boric acid/jelly mixture in both ends. Put straws in areas of ant traffic. It takes about a week and they are gone. These were little sugar ants.

Does anyone know if the boric acid mix will kill beneficial lady bugs?

We had some sugar ants (the teeny little ones) eating some sticky sweet thing that was stuck to our dishwasher door the other day. I remebered reading that peppermint oil repels them, and having some peppermint oil liquid soap, I put some in a spray bottle and spritzed them. To my surprize, they all died virtually instantly. That's about as harmless a pesticide as I can think of... I imagine you need to use real peppermint oil soap, not something made of detergents with artificial peppermint scent.

Yes it will. Boric Acid is a poison and poisons kill. Simply because Boric Acid is a mild, for humans,poison does not mean it is safe and in large enough quantities it will kill you too.

I used to use Boric Acid, but don't anymore.

I now use Insectigone for Ants, a diotomaceous earth product. Being non-toxic, it can be used around wildlife, pets, children, plants, etc.

Three weeks ago, before the continous rainfall we've had since then here in the east, we noticed 3 nests close to our home, one of them but 2 feet from the foundation right in the middle of of a perennial flower bed. We applied the DE in all areas and in 3 days there was no activity in any of the nests and there was a lot of dead ants.

I would highly recommend this product. It is not an 'instant' killer, but it really does the job for us. We have a log home and ants are always a concern. Every spring we use the DE around the foundation of our home, and then reapply in the mid-summer. Last summer we had a serious problem in our pump room in the basement, but we got rid of it in about 4 days with the DE and there's been no signs of it since. Hubby had run out of DE when applying it and a corner had been left without treatment. In this area we actually used it both inside and out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Diatomacious Earth.

I recently bought a house in TN with a big beautiful back
yard which i cant't wait to start planting in. I have recently discovered, however, that the place is infested with ants. Not fireants, but they are eveywhere. They aren't making ant hills or anything, instead they have moved into my dog's house, piles of grass clippings, and they have even taken over my lawmower. You should see the way they pour out of it when i start the thing! I don't mind a few, but this is out of control. I would like to lessen the number of ants in my yard organically, no chemicals. Any suggestions? Please help!