With all the rain and hot temps, we have suddenly had a problem with ants getting in the house!
The first time I heard my 2 year old scream and run to me saying “ANTS momma, ANTS bite you!” I knew it was time to get these little buggers out of the house. And as soon as you see a few on a few stray crumbs, be sure to know that they are telling all their other ant friends that you have an open buffet!
Making The Ant Bait
To bait the ants, your going to want to gather some:
- Borax
- Maple Syrup (or other sweet source such as powdered sugar etc)
- Cotton Balls
- Warm water.
Mix the maple syrup, borax and warm water until it is all dissolved. Soak the cotton balls in the mixture and place them on a small plate or bottle cap in inconspicuous places (make sure a child cannot get to this!).
Let the ants feast on the sugar water and bring the poison back to their colony and feed it to the Queen. The more ants that feast on the mixture and carry it back, the faster the colony will die.
Do Your Part
Keep baseboards and other places the ants travel clean and sprayed down with a cleaning solution.
Keep the floors cleaned and mop often. Also vacuum carpets and make sure to keep all food (especially sweet foods) stored in tightly sealed containers.
I have ants outside on the patio. If I am sitting out there I have to move my feet often or they will crawl up on my feet and bite! My grandson got bit on his toe when he was playing in a little wading pool on the patio. I am going to try this around the patio. Thanks for sharing!
Is this for sugar ants only, or fire ants too?
In South Alabama we have fire ants, and this did the trick for them!
Sprinkling cinnamon around the baseboards keeps them out too, and is safe for anyone who might come across it!
We tried this last night when we discovered a bunch of little ants getting into our dog food bowls in the mud room. We hid the bait behind the washer so the dogs couldn’t get to it. We checked it a little later and the ants were swarming it. We checked it quite a few times today and not a single ant! This was such an easy way to deal with the ants since we had everything to make the bait. Thank you!!!!
You don’t specify the ratio of the ingredients in your ant bait.