[Christy]

Needs to be pet friendly.

[Dee]

I have tried a lot of things such as borax/icing sugar, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ant traps etc.

The thing that works the best is baking soda. They ingest it and blow up and burst.

I witnessed this in action just this week when a neighbour showed me. She sprinkled the soda straight on the ants nest along the foundation, and within two days not an ant in sight.

[Paula]

Grits. Put them down a day or two before rain.

Ants eat the grits, can’t digest them They drink the water and boom goes the ant. Since it takes a couple days the queen has eaten the grits.

Once ants start dying they move the queen, and the hill. Got this tip from an A&M entomologist, it worked for me.

[Sally]

Cinnamon they hate it and won’t cross it ,I had tons on my deck now none.

[Dawn]

I second Diatomaceous earth.

[Amy]

Typical house ants have two feeding cycles: sweets and meats (proteins). Straight up borax mixed with peanut butter on one side of a small plate, mixed with jelly on the other side. Do not disturb their path. Let those workers carry it back to nest. In three days they’ll be gone. GONE GONE.

I do it twice a year since my kitchen area is on a slab. I got so frustrated with them I started doing a lot of studying. Every spring as soon as it starts to melt out comes their buffet.

I repeat a few months later. Haven’t seen an ant in three years.

Explore these too: How frugal (cheap) am I?

[Gisela]

Borax and sugar. Crush the borax so it’s the same size and table sugar. Mix 50/50. Place in a low container (lid of yogurt works) and let them harvest it.

They feed the combination to their young, and themselves and die. It works… done it for years.

[Denise]

TERRO Liquid ant baits – You can find this anywhere and it’s only around $5. It takes some patience. The ants take it to their nest and it kills the entire colony.

[Patricia]

Diatomaceous earth.. I use it on ants, fleas, and all other bugs. FOOD grade is edible but just like any other flour-like powder, don’t breathe it and use care to protect pets. It can be spread around as is or mixed with water & sprayed on also.

[Brandy]

We have to use ortho home defense each spring around our foundation and it keeps them out for a whole year. It’s pretty cheap to buy too.

[Angela]

Look up essential oils.

I used peppermint on regular ants.

Carpenter ants I put the Terro ant traps(6pk) out around my house about 3feet away from foundation. It draws Ants away from house. Then I spread the Terro bag of granules as close to foundation as I can.

Then put peppermint oil in doorways and inside windowsills with cotton balls(smells good and doesn’t bother my dog)

I do this every Spring to keep all Ants out.

Cost under $20 and works for me.

[Brenda]

I Always have them around my kitchen sink. A jar of Chili powder was close at hand, so I sprinkled it around the back of my sink.

As long as the chili powder stayed I didn’t see the ants.

[Michelle]

I had problems with ants coming in my kitchen. Tried everything and they kept coming. When I finally gave up and mopped the floor with vinegar water it stopped them!

The vinegar stopped them and then I put vinegar along the door entrance and they never came back.

[Karen]

poke a few holes around the base of a small food storage container. Mix up some Borax and powdered sugar, add it to a wet cotton ball or makeup pad and place into the container, close the lid tight and place where the ants are busiest.

Works great! Wet and reapply the mix whenever the cotton ball dries out. Equal parts sugar and borax.

[Jennifer]

Toro liquid bait. Just a spot on a little peice of cardboard near their trail. You’ll of course put it up higher so pets cant reach it. If you have a nosey kitty put it in the closet cabinet with crumbs or maybe cover with a small box or something. The ants will still find it.

Warning; if you walk in the room with toro bait laid out at night and flip on the light, it’s not a site for the weary! It will look like invasion of the ants! Luckily they are on a mission to feed that queen. It will take a few days then, poof. Their gone. You may get another colony, if so just rinse and repeat

[Roxanne]

Terro isn’t pet safe- but can put it behind cabinets or on counters and it works like a charm

[Natalie]

I make my own ant colony traps. Borax mixed with sugar and water. Added into a container (yogurt container or something). Use packing tape to tape the entrance so it’s small enough only bugs and or slugs are getting into it.

Set a couple out by any nest areas.

[Author]

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