We had an invasion last week – ants. They waltzed in through the back door and made themselves right at home. I went into full lunatic mode – ants skeeve me out! I sprayed the countertops with vinegar, ants hate vinegar, I didn’t want pesticides around where I prepare food. Unfortunately, there were still ants on my counter foraging for toaster crumbs. Armed with a spray can of Ant Kill™, I went outside and sprayed along the house and near the door. I still had ants.
After doing some research – I discovered that using insect killer in a can will kill them. But really, all you’re doing is ticking off the Queen back in the nest. She’ll just send more of her subjects back to your house. What you have to do is make them a poisonous snack that they’ll bring back to their condo and share with their friends. Recipe behind the cut.
You will need:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Borax (In the laundry aisle of the supermarket)
- cotton balls
- small squares of wax paper or foil
1. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then add the Borax and stir well.
2. Soak cotton balls in the mixture and place on wax paper or foil anywhere you see ants. I know it’s tempting, but don’t kill the ants – let them feast and be on their merry way back to the nest.
I set out three “snacks”, there were dozens of ants on each cotton ball. The following day, I cleaned them up and put out a few more – just in case – but there were no takers. It worked!!! My neighbor, Arlene suggests that you squirt some dish soap on the ground where they enter and hose it down. This will get rid of their trail.
So far so good – I haven’t seen any of the pesky buggers, I’ll keep you posted, dear readers!
