We’d been ant free for a long time, but recently, we’ve had an invasion of teeny ants that keep showing up at night.
I’m sure they have a big nest somewhere but we don’t know where. We mentioned it to our Terminex guy and he put down some ant traps but it hasn’t worked in over a month. It almost seemed like we were getting more ants, rather than less.
Art was talking to his sister who mentioned mixing Borax and sugar with a little water. She said she uses 6 parts sugar to 1 part Borax, but when I looked it up online I found this on the Organic Lesson website. He says 3 parts sugar to 1 part Borax with a little warm water. He explains how Borax works by interfering with the ants’ digestive system. He does caution that if you have pets, you must keep this away from them because they will also be attracted to the sugar or honey.
OK... Art has planted these little ant traps around the kitchen. It’s supposed to work within 48 to 72 hours.
We shall see.
I've never used Borax in my laundry. I knew of it, but never bought it. My granddaughter was using it to make slime last year.
Have you used Borax? Have you tried using this ant bait recipe using Borax?
POSTSCRIPT:
OK, even with the 6 part sugar to 1 part Borax (Art’s sister’s husband did correct her and said it’s supposed to be the 3 to 1 part solution) it must have worked. I was going to take a photo of the ants a couple nights after Art put down the Borax mixture, but I couldn’t find any ants. It was really eerie. We went from a carpet of ants to nothing.
Wooow!
I now have quite a lot of Borax left. I wonder what it will do for our dirty laundry.
I’m sure they have a big nest somewhere but we don’t know where. We mentioned it to our Terminex guy and he put down some ant traps but it hasn’t worked in over a month. It almost seemed like we were getting more ants, rather than less.
Art was talking to his sister who mentioned mixing Borax and sugar with a little water. She said she uses 6 parts sugar to 1 part Borax, but when I looked it up online I found this on the Organic Lesson website. He says 3 parts sugar to 1 part Borax with a little warm water. He explains how Borax works by interfering with the ants’ digestive system. He does caution that if you have pets, you must keep this away from them because they will also be attracted to the sugar or honey.
OK... Art has planted these little ant traps around the kitchen. It’s supposed to work within 48 to 72 hours.
We shall see.
I've never used Borax in my laundry. I knew of it, but never bought it. My granddaughter was using it to make slime last year.
Have you used Borax? Have you tried using this ant bait recipe using Borax?
POSTSCRIPT:
OK, even with the 6 part sugar to 1 part Borax (Art’s sister’s husband did correct her and said it’s supposed to be the 3 to 1 part solution) it must have worked. I was going to take a photo of the ants a couple nights after Art put down the Borax mixture, but I couldn’t find any ants. It was really eerie. We went from a carpet of ants to nothing.
Wooow!
I now have quite a lot of Borax left. I wonder what it will do for our dirty laundry.
i've tried this before but i didn't mix it with water. i'm going to try to do this again because i have ants everywhere. i have lots of stone work here and it seems i have pavement ants. it seems like all i do is kill ants so this is worth another try!
ReplyDeleteYou are very fortunate that this worked. I understand that ants are EXTREMELY hard to get rid of without using some very toxic traps that can only be obtained through an exterminator who has the permit. I will keep this in mind. We do not get ants badly like people in Hawaii and Florida, but with global warming, there is going to be an increase.
ReplyDeleteSave your Borax for the next season the ants come back. Another nurse does this in my patient's apartment. She just mixes the two but doesn't add water. She'll make little trays out of aluminum foil folded into a flat square, about 3x3". Since there are no pets, she sprinkles the dry mixture around the baseboards too. Seems to work and avoids all of the harsh chemicals.
ReplyDeleteLinda in Kansas
I will mix up a batch today since I notice ants in my condo which is apparently built on major ant habitat.
ReplyDeleteI don't use bleaches
ReplyDeleteSue uses Borax in part of her laundry routine as an additive to freshen towels and whites (staining).
ReplyDeleteI used to mix borax with flour and sprinkle it all around the outside of my house to keep the ants from coming in.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was always using borax to deal with ants in the many places she lived.
ReplyDeleteMy mother did her laundry with Borax. I don't.
ReplyDeletecongrats, you have solved a real live home invasion problem...lol!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to know it works. Will file this away in case of attack.
ReplyDeleteI recently used diatomaceous earth in my kitchen to kill ants. I would be afraid my little dog would lick up sugar and borax if he found any. Diatamaceous earth is safe to use in the kitchen and around food. I would not purposely let my dog eat any, but if he did, it wouldn't hurt him.
ReplyDeleteMy tiny ants showed up one night after my husband had taken his snack of frozen microwave french fries out of the microwave and dropped a fry off on to the counter and left it there without realizing it. Much later that evening I went into the kitchen and my white counter top was absolutely alive and crawling with zillions of ants all trying to get to that one little French fry. I made my husband come and see them, because the truth was unbelievable, and I knew he could never imagine how many ants were there. That's when I got out my diatomaceous earth and sprinkled it on them (actually) in this case I didn't sprinkle it, I smothered them in it because I was so freaked out at how many there were. Many died immediately but quite a few got away and apparently took it back to their nests, because three days later there are no more ants in the kitchen. I put it in a container that I can shake the powder out of and shook it all along between the wall and counter, and under my cabinets, and in other unseen areas.
I believe I got my container of diatomaceous earth from Amazon a couple of years ago. I made sure to get the kind that is safe to use in kitchens. One must avoid breathing the dust in and keep pets from breathing in the dust in as it would be an irritant. Otherwise it is not harmful to pets or people. Google it if you get a chance. It was interesting to read about it.
I have used borax as an additive to laundry detergent before and it does well. I also used it to add to some water to soak some white bras that had discolored. I soaked them overnight in borax water and then laundered them with a bit of detergent in a lingerie bag and the yellowed parts came out totally white.
Congratulations! I have tried Borax with sugar for the sugar ants and bacon fat for the protein eating ants (the ones that bite me). It worked so-so for me. What really seems to work are those Black Flag little plastic things that have something toxic to ants. I put them in a few strategic places where I find them walking and the ants disappear. However, I am wary of these chemical things that are so toxic that it kills ants. It's another damned if I do and damned if I don't.
ReplyDeleteI rarely get ants but I do bug bomb the garage
ReplyDeleteHey, I know a tofu container when I see one!
ReplyDeletegood to know. We have had tiny ants a couple of tomes and used those little plastic poison ant traps.
ReplyDeleteNo, I have never used Borax for laundry.
I live on the second floor of an apartment complex and have never seen any ants up here. But if I do, I know just how to get rid of them now. Thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteKeep the borax. You may need it for more ants. When I was first married, I used it for cockroaches. My aunt explained how to leave a trail around the bottom of every cupboard and drawer and they would carry the borax back to their nest, where it was lethal.
ReplyDeleteThe Micro Manager will like to hear this. She dislikes ants with a passion.
ReplyDeleteGreat information, Kay. Thanks for sharing it. I used this mixture several years ago when ants invaded me. It WORKS!
ReplyDeletedon't kill ants, poor little hehee
ReplyDeletebut nice information, thank's