Thanks
Chantel :-)

I hope it helps- many many years ago I used a pesticide and never saw an ant again until now.
--------------------------------

Here are a few of Jerry's tonics for critter control.
ANT CONTROL TONIC #1
4 to 5 tbsp. cornmeal
3 tbsp. bacon grease
3 tbsp. baking powder
3 packages of yeast (I would opt for the rapid rise)
Mix cornmeal & bacon grease into a paste, then add baking powder &
yeast. Dab the gooey mix on the insides of jar lids, and
set them near the ant hills.
When ants eat this mixture, they swell up and go to the big ant hill in
the sky.

Dry boric acid works but can be hard on your soil.

Orange oil drench works (2 ounces of orange oil to a gallon of water).

If you had to use a granular type ant bait, you could cover it with something for several days, then wash it all away with water so the chickens can't find it. Or maybe you could put it in a box also...a tiny hole is enough to let the ants in.

I appreciate all of your suggestions and will try a few of them and see if it works. Unfortunately we have had nothing but rain here, but hopefully it will clear soon and I can get to work getting the ants to move on and out of our yard!

Thanks all
Chantel :-)

nola anne

nola anne

I just think ants need to find a place away from my yard and inside my house! ;-)

Perennillady - Rain and more Rain here on the Cape - it came down sooooooo hard today! We may get a peek of the sun come Tuesday. All I know is I have a green lawn in badly need of mowing and the rain has taken a toll on some of my plants. I can't believe last year we were in the drought and this year it will not stop raining!

Chantel

Does your method (cornmeal) work on black little ants?
These ants are just all over my house.

thanks,
Tien

it's not a permanent solution, though.

(these are the ants that come in either to get out of the rain or to find water, not sugar ants)

And as for ants in the apartment, I used cinnamon at the base of both doors and it worked perfectly.

From the EPA:

"Illegal Insecticide Chalk, also known as "Miraculous Chalk" or "Chinese Chalk." You may have seen the chalk in a neighborhood store or sold on the street for about $1 a box. It is mostly imported illegally from China and often bears a label in both English and Chinese. Sometimes, like on the label we show here, the manufacturer makes claims that the chalk is "harmless to human beings and animals" and "safe to use." These claims are untrue and dangerous. Because insecticide chalk looks just like regular chalk, children often take it in their hands, write with it and put it in their mouths. The active ingredient in Insecticide Chalk is a chemical called deltamethrin, which is one of the most toxic pesticides of its kind. Insecticide chalk should be avoided at all times.

EPA is particularly concerned about insecticide chalk because children may mistake the insecticide for blackboard chalk. Overexposure to some chemicals found in samples of insecticide chalk can provoke serious health effects, including vomiting, stomach pains, convulsions, tremors, and loss of consciousness. Serious allergic reactions are also possible. Several children have been hospitalized after eating insecticide chalk.

Dispose of any supplies of insecticide chalk safely — either return the product to the retailer where it was purchased, or contact a local hazardous waste facility to arrange for disposal."

Source: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/illegalproducts/chalk.htm

vinifar, cayenne, citric extracts, cinnamon, cream of tartar, salt, and belive it or not purfume! you can use cloves, peppermint oils, black pepper, chili powder and cornmeal.

you can also make something that will kill them using 1 part active yeast, 2 part mollasses and 1 part sugar. or u can use grits and that will make them explode.... but use instant grits, they work better and yea thats all i found oh yea if u put half ivory soap and half windex in a spray bottle it will kill them good.

Anyway, you can buy it at any store but the cheapest place I have found is K-mart, believe it or not. Cheaper than Wally world.

It will keep the ants, cockroaches, carpenter ants or whatever, out of your home and deck. It works for about three months than use again and it should work for about six months.
Then it is up to you to judge when you need it.

I use to use Dursban in the yard but it was taken off the market. I use what is out there now. It doesn't work as Dursban does but well enough to keep them out of your yard.

If you use mulch in the yard they will live in it unless you do your gardens too.

I live an Alabama and we have to deal with fire ants here. If only the government would come up with a plan to eradicate them all at once so they can't move to another area til yours is free of "ant killer".

But first you have to get rid of the ants in your home. Than in your yard. Or both at the same time.
Combat in a tube. package is about 1x1x8. Good luck

1. I'm guessing Big Problem.
2. Buy the 1 Liter bottle of Honey, but any cheap sugar solution will work.
3. Buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax. It's 99.5% borax.
4. Get a funnel.
5. Pour all the honey into a large bowl, and add ONLY about FIVE Tablespoons of Borax into the bowl.
6. Mix it up with a fork so all the globs of borax are finely disbursed amongnst the honey.
7. Pour it back into the 1 Liter bottle with the use of the funnel.
8. Rinse out the bowl and the funnel.
9. Go around the house and pour small globs of honey along the perimeter, and near any ant colonies you can see.

If the mixture is less than 5% borax, then the ants can take it home to the nest without it killing them immediately. ( That's why only 5 tablespoons.)
VERY IMPORTANT - Keep it less than 5% of the mixture.

The ants will take it home, everyone will eat it, and go get more and then they will die over the next 24 hours, including, most importantly, the Queen.

If you put in too much, they will die enroute and the colony will survive.'

Oh, and at just 5% solution, it shouldn't harm the soil.

Every spring I had ants coming in my house (mostly my kitchen) and I tried a lot of different things to get rid of them..organically. I don't kill them (following my own personal spiritual philosophy) and I realized that they came inside looking for food to take back to the others. So I took a cupful of sugar and poured it outside close to where I thought they lived..and in a day or two..no more ants inside the house. This worked well until we had a few days of rain and then the ants were back. I realized that the sugar disolved in the rain...so I found a container and turned it on its side so the sugar stayed dry..and the ants disapperared again. I chuckle to myself when I see the odd ant or two inside...because I know that the sugar dish is empty..and I go out and restock their food supply.
I realize that most people will laugh at my natural solution as they go and buy chemicals to kill anything that they find not suitable in their gardens and homes...but I believe in Karma..and I am just one of the many lifeforms that inhabit this planet..and I am no more special than the other lifeforms ..including the ants. It's important to me to have a garden that is a spiritual retreat for me...and it would not be that...if I caused death there. This is my solution to the ants.

I realize this is an old thread, but in researching natural ant control solutions, I was so impressed with the above response from msjean. I am appalled by the numbers of people who are quick to kill anything that they deem a nuisance. People, ants perform a needed task in the environment, and invade our spaces in the search for food and shelter -- they don't hate us or have some biological need to annoy humans.

I have an anthill at the bottom of my natural path in front of my home. Using cinnamon just made them relocate to a spot away from the cinnamon. So, today, I've decided to relocate the ant colony to the community's common area. I flooded the ant colony and surrounded it with a ring of cinnamon. I then placed a pot of soil, with a land bridge, next to the colony. They quickly relocated to the pot of soil, which I will then relocate to the common area.

This is such an easy, non-destructive solution where everyone -- human and creature -- are both happy and can live in harmony. Why do we have to kill things? Someday, there will be nothing left to kill but each other.

The going mentality is to kill and not many show second thoughts about this. We share this planet, if we can move the ants working with nature and with their nature, this is the best way. Respect and love for one another must start and come from detail level to be true respect.

I read that using artificial sweetener will kill them. Open a couple of packages or three and sprinkle on the mounds. Amdro works and also a product by Bayer, but those are chemicals. You may also try cucumber peel along their trails to repell them.

Jo

Please don't say that ants do no harm. While killing may not always be the best solution we should all be aware that strange things can and do happen.

When it comes to fireants I agree with Jo! It has to be survival of the fittest. Fireants are aggressive and nasty and they hurt and can kill-Definitely a survival of the fittest competition!

Since moving to North Carolina two years ago, I have traumatically encountered massive armies of fire ants in both front and back yards. Only wearing sandals or flip-flops on my feet, I simply would be standing on the clean sidewalk which led to the front door of my house and from nowhere, I was suddenly and violently attacked by a number of very aggressive fire ants. Not very pleasant as the bites sting and burn! Having received multiple bites, I still bear the scars from them last year! I initially treated them by gently applying straight dish liquid soap to each bite until the pain resided. Then afterwards for days kept Triple Antibiotic Ointment mixed with Hydrocortisone 1% Cream on them. You go through about three phases when bitten by fire ants and it takes months for them to heal. I'm blessed to be alive to be sharing all this with you because I could have had a fatal reaction.

To keep these annoying aggressive fire ants and their pesty ant hills away from me, I have started sprinkling cornmeal on them and that eliminates them. Ants feast on cornmeal and when they drink water with it, cannot digest it and therefore go off and die. This "cornmeal sprinkling" process must be continually repeated to guard from new fire ants invading your territory again. Good luck!

A couple of ants by the door, maybe a sprinkle of them on the counter I could handle. But now they've moved into my cabinets, my laundry room, the bathrooms, the kitchen, my car, my dressers, my bed... Any little tickle I feel, I assume (usually rightly so) that it's another @##*@&%! ant.

You pacifists can keep your karma. I'm going to kill the little bastards before they carry me away. It's not like there aren't trillions of them in the world.

The only explanation I will give here is this: I believe that all life has value and the desire and right to avoid suffering. When I have examined bugs up close I find them to be similar in mannerism and action to dogs or cats or other common pets. They're really kind of cute, and very interesting. They manage feats of strength, problem-solving, and teamwork that humans could learn a lot from. And to be fair, they were here first, both in the sense that ants have been on the planet far longer than people, and in the sense that they were on this specific piece of land far before I moved into the house. It's really their land, and we're just borrowing it without permission. If you disagree with my views, these tips might still be helpful for keeping them out, which is, after all, the ultimate goal!

While I believe everything I've just said to the depths of my heart, of course I don't want them in my house! I don't want them getting in my food and my stuff, don't want them biting me (and yes, living in Florida fire ants are an issue, although I have never had problems with them coming in my house). But that isn't justification to deny their right to life. So here are a few tips and tricks that we have found helpful:
1. Try to buy or rent a fairly new house. We currently live in a wonderful bungalow built in 1922, and there are more ways to get into this house for ants than we could possibly identify and seal off in 10 years. So we just try to keep it clean, be mindful to look for ants in the sinks and on counters, don't leave drinks out overnight, etc.
2. If you do live in a newer home, especially if it is fairly small, invest in some clear silicone caulk. It can be used essentially anywhere to seal cracks, the spaces between baseboard and wall or floor, open areas around pipes, etc. Just check for ants in the area before caulking, because obviously it would kill them if they get into it before it sets. Blowing them out of the way tends to work fairly well, or you can try #3...
3. Get some computer duster. It comes in a can that resembles WD40, with a little straw for spraying into the crevices between keys on a keyboard. You can use that little straw to maneuver into some tiny or tight spots, and from almost any angle. As long as you keep the container vertical, it shouldn't hurt them. (If you tilt the can very much, it becomes freezing and would probably hurt or kill them.) This can be used to blow them out of sinks or bathtubs before turning on the water, blow them out of cracks before sealing them, get them off of food or off of the counters before wiping them down, and is great to keep in the car in case you park near a colony or line of ants, to keep from running them over!
4. Keep counters, sinks and stoves wiped down. Don't leave an open cup by the bed at night. Seal food as well as possible, especially syrups and liquids that they might drown in. Put dirty dishes in the sink soon after using them and put away food. If you find a bunch on the counter and you remove the attractive substance (food or whatever) they will almost always disperse within an hour or less.

I love the idea of putting sugar outside for them! It not only accomplishes our goal of keeping them out, but it gives them something they want too, so is mutually beneficial to all! And I will definitely try the cinnamon thing.

As much as our families make fun of us for refusing to kill bugs or use insecticides, we have generally had fewer problems with bugs than anyone else I know who DOES just try to kill them. Not killing them makes us address the bigger issue, which is how they are getting in. Once that's taken care of, there IS no issue. If you just put down bait in the house, there will always be more coming in. And I don't care how meticulously you poison your colonies, there will ALWAYS be more.

1/2 teaspoon HONEY
1/2 teaspoon BORAX
1/2 teaspoon EQUAL Sweetner

Mix into a paste & put around the area where you see the ants. They will feast & take the food back to the nest. Don't be surprised if the couple of ants you saw turn into hundreds within a short time. Word gets out fast when there is sweet food found.

Yesterday they were all over my kitchen, last night they ate the bait, and today they are GONE!!
Good Luck!

It seeems cruel and unecessary to kill them when they're outside minding their own business.

I'm going to try the dryer sheets though...sounds promising.

~Tina

The best solution works in two parts:

First is to pour a cup of bleach down your drains- sinks and tubs one a month. This prevents them from coming, especially during rains.

Second, 409 or Windex applied directly to a trail stops them in their tracks and they tend to stay gone for a long time.

**Make sure you wipe them up as some species of ants collect their dead. The extra benefit is a clean home!

I rarely suffer from ant issues now, only a few rouge ants every now and then...happy hunting!

We kill plants and animals to eat, we kill insect pests whose numbers become unbalanced (more than their predators can eat) to preserve our crops. Whether you call it killing, harvesting, or controlling, it's still a matter of survival or necessary intervention. What matters is that we do it with intelligent consideration of possible outcomes and responsible decisions regarding sustainability.

Something must always be destroyed (that broccoli I just ate) in order for something to be created (I'm growing some hair at the moment), and that's exactly what Nature and EVERYTHING in it does. Think about it. You can't even take a breath without destroying something- the pollen that just entered your lungs with that inhalation is kaput!

Personally, I will only destroy what I have to destroy to survive and care for the creatures and things I love. To get a good vegetable crop I intervene with a little organic balancing of my own. Whether I'm killing bugs, fungus or bacteria, I'm destroying something in order to create something else- wholesome, organically grown food to feed my family. But I'm doing it without killing bees and other beneficial insects, poisoning the soil, or polluting the water table. In fact, I'm not even killing all the pests, for without some being left, the beneficials will leave and nothing will be here to stop the next wave of pests. That's what balance means. That's the essence of organic gardening.

That said, I never bothered my several ant colonies in the past because they weren't interfering with my vegetable gardens. However, late last summer the ant population exploded. The hill under the chive patch in the herb bed grew, and they were clearly disturbing the roots of some of the other plants enough to kill them. The chives were looking pretty peaked too. My guess is that the roots were being exposed to air, which dehydrates them and limits the amount of root surface that's able to absorb nutrients. Some small plants were being up-rooted, looking as if they were frost-heaved (not so in August). Garlic bulbs were even being tossed out of the ground. One day I saw a garlic plant whose top was wiggling around, and thought "Aha, now we'll see who's the culprit". I sat down with a drink to watch the show. I watched as the bulb slooowwwly pushed up to the soil surface. I quickly pulled the soil away, expecting to find a mole or vole my cats had missed, but instead found a horde of big black ants! I was amazed! I tried cornmeal, and it gradually reduced their numbers to the point that they quit digging up my garlic. Good enough! But this year I'm seeing lots of new hills and there are at least 3 distinct varieties, including tiny red ants that delivered a wicked ankle-biting when I accidentally disturbed them while weeding. We have clay soil here in NY, so tunneling critters (ants included) love to tunnel under plants with a dense, fibrous root system. They hold the soil solid and keep their tunnels from collapsing, even in rain. Since some hills are beside the veggie garden, I can see we're in for more damage than I'm willing to tolerate. It's time for some serious controls.

Thanks everybody for the new suggestions. I think I'll first try mixing the different ant species together as somebody's Grandma suggested. It's a very clever idea, and I bet it will work. If not, I'll try the borax and honey.

BTW, I've used the sonic pest repellent indoors and it was very effective. I highly recommend it for anyone with an indoor ant or other bug problem, and it doesn't kill them, for those of you who are karma-concerned. Works on mice too! Not bad for something under $30 that you only have to buy once, is clean, and safe for pets, kids, and the environment.