I have these little brown ants crawling all over my kitchen counters, my sink, etc. and want to get rid of them. I have tried all kinds of things, but nothing works. I would like to know if anyone has a natural home remedy for getting rid of these pesky ants? It is kind of unappetizing to have these things crawling over the dishes and silverware and everywhere else!
By Linda Delcamp from Brighton, MI
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My husband and I live in an apartment complex and we had the same problem. There were ants crawling around our kitchen and bathroom floors. I called the management office and one of the maintenance men gave me a box of Raid Double Control Ant Baits. There are 3 in box. The front of the box says that it kills the colony and keeps killing for 3 months. It definitely took care of the problem.
You must be careful where you place these. This is toxic to children and pets. This does not work instantly. The ants will take this back to the nest. Eventually all the ants will die. I have found boric acid in dollar discount stores. As it is with any powder chemical, be careful when adding the boric acid that you do not inhale it. As a precaution, I always place these in areas of our home in the spring whether I see ants or not.
ANT KILL
3 cup warm water
4 tsp. boric acid
2 cup sugar
Mix in large bowl until dissolved. Add some cotton balls to three jelly jars or something similar. Pour some of the mixture onto cotton balls in each jar. Do not fill completely. Leave small amount of mixture on the sides outside of the jars to lure the ants. Tightly place lids with small ant holes on jars. Put in areas where you see the ants but out of reach of children and pets.
I hate ants. I have gotten rid of them using baking soda sprinkled around the edges and on the mounds if you can find them.
Ants hate borax and cinnamon too. You might try sprinkling it in the doorways and cupboards.
SAGE! Go to a health store and buy a bag (like a dollar or so for a big bag) then sprinkle it where they ants are and where they come in from etc!
I have found when it comes to ants, home remedies do not work. Sometimes you just have to go with the chemicals!
I use those little ant baits sometimes; there are different brands. The ants go into them and take out whatever is in there and take it back to the hill; kills them apparently. And pets can't get at these. I also use diatomaceos earth (I haven't spelled that right) which will harm ants but not people or pets. It is ground up petrified sea shells, and it shreds their exoskeletons.
I believe that the borax and boric acid remedies work, but they are just as poisonous as anything you are going to buy in the store specifically to kill ants. Borax is fine for laundry, but you are not supposed to have it anywhere near food.
When they first showed up on my counters I sprayed them with kitchen counter cleaner (also any place/crevice they might have snuck in). I now have very clean counters and backsplash and seam under my window. After two days, I used a fine mist spray with straight vinegar after cleaning up after dinner. I will continue to do that.
Please note that I spray enough that where there are seams, some liquid will go down. I haven't seen any in two weeks. Happily I like the smell of vinegar.
How do you clean inside kitchen cabinets where food was stored after spraying with Raid
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