DIY & Home Improvement
Related: About this forumSugar ant problem? Try this: Borax and jelly.
I recently moved to a house with a sugar ant infestation. Every room had those little rascals. My dog's food dish was a favorite meeting place as was my toaster and then there was that trail of ants on the rubber seal of my refrigerator YUCK!!!
So I checked the Internet for a cheap home remedy and found a few sites advocating the use of borax. One such site had tons of witness testimonials which sang the praises of this simple remedy. Figuring that the price was right, (about 10$) I gave it a try.
I found the borax at a local hardware store, the small jar of jelly at Safeway. I found a small lidded plastic (feta cheese) container to mix and store it in and mixed up a batch at about 50/50 strength. I poured a little into a few small jar lids then stored the rest in the fridge. Next I placed those bait filled lids where the ants were partying but not where my dog would get at them. Within 24hrs. the ants had found the bait, they utterly loved the stuff. They took the bait back to their nests. Each day saw fewer and fewer ants in my home.
It is now a week into my experiment and I am happy to report that my ant problem is tremendously reduced . At this point I am confident that the ants are going away. I feel good enough about this simple solution to recommend it here. If you do try this method, be sure to label your ant poison as such before storing it away for future use and don't set your bait out where pets or kids might find it.
beac
(9,992 posts)in place of the jelly and you put the mixture into the plastic container and poke little holes in the lid with a nail (heating the nail with a match makes it easier.)
The ants crawl in and come out with a light dusting of powdered death to take home to their friends.
chknltl
(10,558 posts)The jelly tends to harden rock solid after a few days. It works great prior to that though. The ants are gone from all rooms except the kitchen. They were gone for weeks there too but recently returned with an assault on my toaster. Three days ago I offered them some more jelly death and today they seem to be gone again. I'm thinking your powdered sugar/borax notion is worth a try if they pop up elsewhere.