Top 10 Easy, Safe and Most Effective Homemade Ant Killers : Recipe & Usage
Ants live in highly composed colonies. These have nests from which workers ants or foragers ants go out in search of food. An ant colony is able to thrive when there is an ample supply of food and water. These are found in abundance around human residences.
Since there are numerous species of ants, not all of them would react in the same way towards any particular treatment.
While there are several repellents and insecticides available to get rid of ants, there are also several safe homemade ant killers also available.
Benefits of Homemade Ant Killers
Multiple Homemade ant killers are easy to make as it makes use of readily accessible ingredients and therefore, serve as a cost-effective treatment option.
Also, most of them are made up of natural ingredients, making them environment-friendly and safe to use around kids and pets.
10 Easy and Effective Homemade Ant Killers : Recipe & Usage
You can get rid of Ants by using the following homemade ant killers:
1. Water and Dish Soap spray
This is the most simple method of preparing a homemade ant killer with easily available items at home.
How to Make: You just need to pour the adequate amount of liquid dish soap in to some water and pour the mixture in to a spray container to make homemade ant killer. However, you need to get a water solution that is adequately soapy.
How to Use: This mixture should be sprinkled on ants wherever they may be found.
2. Boric Acid and Sugar Liquid
Boric acid is a perfect homemade ant killer ingredient as it infects their insides while harming their exoskeleton at the same time which results in their immediate death.
Also, since most ants carry some of the boric acid-laced bait back to their colonies where other ants consume it as well, it enables you to effectively get rid of entire colonies.
Boric acid is not lethal but it can still be dangerous if consumed or even smelled by your pets. Therefore, you should avoid using boric acid-based ant traps near places where your pets can easily reach.
How to Make: You just need to mix one tablespoon of Borax with one mug of Sugar and a half mug of Water. Put the solution in an old plastic bottle and poke some holes at the top so that the ants can get inside.
How to Use: You just need to spray some plain sugar outside the bottle to persuade ants to crawl inside.
3. Borax and Sugar Cotton Balls
Borax and Sugar mixer makes an effective homemade ant killer and the process of making it also not so difficult.
How to Make: You need to boil one cup of Water and after taking it off heat, add one cup of Sugar and two tablespoons of Borax in to it. Mix the mixture until all the elements are completely dissolved and then soak cotton balls in it.
How to Use: Once the cotton balls have soaked the mixture, put them on a little piece of tin foil or an old lid. Next, you can place these cotton balls anywhere in your place where you see ants roam. But remember to regularly replace the cotton balls.
4. Peanut Butter Straws
Some ants are more attracted to protein and grease as compared to sugary materials. To lure these ants, you would need to cover all the surfaces and make a Homemade ant killer with the help of peanut butter.
How to Make: You just need to stir one spoonful of peanut butter with one teaspoon of boric acid.
How to Use: Get a plastic straw and fill it with the above mixture until it’s full. After that, cut the straw in to different portions and scatter them around the spots where ants are commonly seen.
5. Vinegar and Water
This is another easiest, at the same time very effective Homemade ant killer you can make anytime.
How to Make: You just need to make a mixture of 50% of White Vinegar and 50% Water.
How to Use: Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray it wherever you notice ants. Later on, wash it down and clean it with a paper towel to clean the mess.
6. Sugary Baking Soda
Sugary Baking Soda can be sprayed inside as well outside, near the anthills to prevent them from creating a path in to your home. The powdered sugar in the mixture acts as bait to lure the ants and the baking soda is a toxic substance that kills them upon its consumption.
How to Make: To prepare this homemade ant killer, you just need to mix powdered sugar and baking soda in 7:3 ration, i.e., a mixture containing 70% powdered sugar and 30% baking soda.
How to Use: Since the mixture is in the form of a fine powder, it is advised not to use it indoors. But you can leave it outside where ants live and feed.
7. Borax and Jam
This homemade ant killer is similar to Sugary Baking Soda as in this case, the Jam acts as bait and the Borax acts as a toxic substance.
How to Make: You just need to stir two tablespoons of Borax with an adequate amount of Jam, Jelly, or Honey to prepare a paste.
How to Use: Apply and evenly spread the paste on a piece of paper or a covered bottle that has holes in it. When you start noticing that the ants are consuming the bait but are not dying, increase the quantity of boric acid in the mixture. If you are still not able to get rid of ants then there are chances that those ants feed on Protein or Fats and might and are, therefore, not consuming the bait.
8. Molasses, Yeast, Sugar, and Borax
This homemade ant killer comprises of three things that ants love: Sugar, Molasses, and Yeast. The ingredients are sweet, savory, and fatal, making it effective against every type of ant. The sweet and moist molasses will cover the borax in order to lure the ants and make them consume the bait.
How to Make: You just need to stir the following ingredients to form a mixture:
- 1 tablespoon of Yeast
- 1 tablespoon of Sugar
- 2 tablespoons of Molasses
- 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of Borax
How to Use: You can spot dollops of the mixture on the plates positioned along the trail so that the ants are able to take the fatal bait to their nest and share it with their colony. It will take a few days for the bait to effectively destroy the colony, including the queen.
9. Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) kills ants naturally but is not safe for use around children and pets. Therefore, you are advised to use Food-grade DE.
Although DE is harmless to mammals, it includes microscopic strong particles that can affect the exoskeletons of ants as it pulls through their joints and injures them in the process.
Also, when it stabs the exoskeleton, it also consumes all of the ants’ oils and fats, causing them to drain and die.
How to Make: You just need to make a solution by mixing six tablespoons of Diatomaceous Earth (DE) with eight ounces of Water.
How to Use: You can spray the solution in areas with maximum ant activity or apply it to the entry points of anthills.
10. Borax and Syrup Sticky Cards
Since this homemade ant killer makes use of Borax, make sure that you don’t place the sticky card anywhere it can be accessed by your pet or other animals.
How to Make: Mix 50% corn syrup and boric acid together to create a paste. You can add more Boric Acid as per your need to make sure that the paste is not soapy or runny.
How to Use: Use a spoon to spread the Homemade ant killer over the surface of the cardboard pieces and place the pieces strategically near spots where ants roam. Change the cardboard regularly when the potion dries.
Conclusion
Although the majority of ant species are harmless, they create lot of inconvenience when form colonies. You can get rid of ants with the help of Homemade Ant Killers because they are very simple to prepare as you just need to know the ingredients needed to be mixed along with their ratio. They are also inexpensive and highly effective.
