There is absolutely nothing worse than going to the kitchen to make your morning tea or coffee, only to find a trail of ants leading from the door or a crack in the floor somewhere, to a little crumb that you overlooked the night before. Ants ruin everything! They’re so tiny but all show up in such massive troops that they manage to take over completely.
I’m not a fan of bug sprays and the regular repellants that have such strong odors—I get nervous about all the chemicals they contain, especially with my pets sniffing around—so I’ve been looking for some natural help to ward off nature’s army. I found the answer in Borax. Borax is a natural mineral that is used in most bug sprays, so why not just go straight for the source?
All you need is one cup of warm water, half a cup of sugar, two tablespoons of Borax and some cotton balls.
Mix all your ingredients together and then soak the cotton balls in the Borax concoction. Then you just need to place those balls anywhere where the tiny soldiers seem to come in and trail along. The next morning you’ll be waking up to dead ants and a cheerful smile! Idea from yalesafe.
Here are some other easy natural remedies to keep these annoying critters out of your house:
Vinegar – Ants hate vinegar, so this one’s real easy: make a mixture of half vinegar and half water in a spray bottle. Simply spray all the areas where they come in from with your mixture and you won’t be seeing these suckers around anymore! You can also spray it directly on the ants to kill them if they’re already inside.
Chalk – A regular piece of sidewalk chalk can save your home from an ant invasion. You just need to draw a thick line with the chalk outside the door or wherever else they’re coming in from and the ants won’t cross that line.
Cinnamon – Use cinnamon just as you would the chalk – create a line of it around the outside of your house as well as any spots inside to keep them from coming in. Your house will smell nice, too!
Lemon Juice – A simple solution of half lemon juice and half water can sprayed around the inside of your home to keep the ants out – the strong citrus aroma deters the pests.
Essential Oils –These aromatic oils may smell nice to us, but ants don’t feel the same way. Make a mixture of 10 drops in one cup of water and spray that in the affected areas. You can use lemon oil, lavender oil, peppermint oil, cedar oil or eucalyptus oil. Take note: eucalyptus oil is highly toxic to cats so don’t use this is you have a kitty!
Know this trick?
Posted by DIY and Crafts – Diyncrafts.com on Monday, 25 May 2015
Susan says
Cayenne pepper, just sprinkle on ant hills. Did this all the way down my sidewalk. Works!
Anonymous says
First time, Borax trick worked. However, the cotton balls sticks to the surfaces and hard to remove after drying. any solution for this? Tried soaking with water but no success.
2nd and third time, I placed the cotton balls on Aluminum and not a single ant came-Perhaps, I also added peanut butter, as the commercial ant baits has peanut butter. Third time, only cotton ball, sugar and water and placed on Saran wrap but not a single ant came. However, I see ants everywhere in the house. Lemon juice did not work either. Even the ant baits from home depot did not work.