The Best Homemade Ant Killer

Boy, have we had some rain this summer in Alabama, and it has brought with it an infestation of ants. While ants aren’t exactly the germiest of insects, they are still gross to find in your home, especially in any quantity. We have always struggled with ants in our mailbox, but a few weeks ago they showed up in my kitchen. Ants can be extremely difficult because any little trace of food will draw them in. And try as we might, it’s just hard to keep every crumb of food off of kitchen counters. I could trace that these ants were coming from a light switch near my kitchen sink. I tried several different brands of ant sprays, and they all worked at the moment, but the ants always returned within a few hours or even minutes. I needed to bring in the big guns: I needed the best homemade ant killer I could find!

After a little research, I came across a homemade ant killer using ingredients that I had on-hand, so I gave it a try. It worked like a charm! In fact, not only did the ants go away after several days, but they have not returned. This week has been a good test, as we have again had several stormy days in a row, but the ants are nowhere to be seen. Yea!

alt=ant killer

The toxic mixture is a combination of Borax, sugar, and water. I use 20MuleTeam Borax, but any brand will do. Mix together about 3 tablespoons of Borax with about 1/2 cup sugar. Mix well before adding the water. When dry ingredients are well blended, begin adding the water while stirring so as to avoid clumping. The ingredients will dissolve leaving you with a water-looking mixture. **This mixture is not to be ingested by humans or pets. Please be sure not to leave it out so that children or beloved animals can drink it!!**

Borax is the key ingredient which will kill the ants. However, ants won’t be attracted to straight Borax, so mixing it with a little sugar will draw them in. The combination will not kill them upon contact (at least not all of them), and you want them to return to their nest in order to kill them at their source. I placed the ant killer on a small dish just below the light switch where they were coming in. Almost immediately, several ants were attracted to the dish. Some didn’t make it out alive, but a few carried the mixture back to the nest. The next morning there were MANY ants on the dish (so gross!). As the day wore on, I noticed the number of ants shrinking drastically. By nightfall they were almost completely gone. By the next morning, there wasn’t an ant to be found and they haven’t returned since.

The last few days have brought more storms and perfect circumstances for the ants to return. Our ant killer is still holding strong, and the ants have not made a single appearance!

Comments

  1. Hello, I pinned your recipe for the ants. i’ve seen this one recently on Facebook. I have borax on my shopping list, but decided to give cinnamon a try. Saw this on another blog post, nontoxic way to keep bugs out of kids sandbox. I sprinkled it across my kitchen door jam where at least six different types of ants have been coming across. IT WORKED! Non have crossed since. I tried ant baits, which worked but then another type of ant would come a week late. Then I sprinkled Amdro bait/poison crystals around exterior and door, which worked for a couple weeks. But the ants always returned. So, if Cinnamon fails to keep they at bay, I’ll try your mix:) I posted anchor dress on Weekend wonderful:)

    • Ashley Mills Hill says

      Thanks, Michele! I will try the cinnamon in my mailbox. They love the cool darkness it provides and keep coming back. I haven’t tried the Borax solution there. Might just sprinkle some cinnamon in there and see what happens.

  2. I have ants that need to go! How much water do you add to the mix. I can’t seem to find it in the recipe. Thanks

Speak Your Mind

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.