Will borax be safe to use? "My best friend asked me how to get rid of ants. Borax, or sodium borate, is a mineral salt that interferes with an ant’s digestive system and kills them after consuming it, but not before they head back to ant colony nest and share the Borax bait with fellow ants. There are a variety of methods and products for getting rid of the sugar ants in the house. If the ratio of borax to sugar is too high, the ants will not take the bait. For killing carpenter ants and other ants you may find outside the house, mix sugar and Borax in a disposable container, and put on the lid. ", "Pics and great explanation - above the rest. Read this article to learn how to not only kill the adult ants, but the rest of the colony as well. They are climbing on my wall and across the top cabinet. Don't put it off, first sign of ants, do it. Fill tiny containers (such as bottle caps) with this homemade ant bait and place them as close to the place where you suspect ants are entering your house. Combine the peanut butter, honey, and Borax in a small shallow container. Ants carry the food back to the rest of the colony, and the combination of liquid and solid bait kills both ants and larvae. 3. My mother used it but I never asked for the recipe/method. Mixing borax with one of these substances can make it an effective ant bait: We use cookies to make wikiHow great. No spam! That's where most likely they are coming in. In my experience, the ants should be dead within a day or two. Thank you! Your nice illustration really did the job, thanks! To kill ants using borax, mix sugar and borax in a large jar, then pour in warm water and stir until the sugar and borax are dissolved. Soak the cotton balls into the prepared mixture for a minute or two. This solution has less borax so it won't kill the ants right away. ", many, I also sprinkled some powder in the area and sprayed the perimeter with vinegar. 2. The sugar will attract the ants, and the borax will kill them. As with all other living creatures, ants seek food sources not only for themselves but for their entire colony. ", "I have had trouble controlling ants. Do one bottle with 1/4 cup warm water mixed in. To use this ant killing recipe, begin by locating the ant trail. Set the trap on the ant trail and let it do its job. Soak cotton balls in the liquid bait to absorb the sugar water and place them strategically across the areas of the ant trail. I don't know where the ants are coming in. Another natural way to get rid of ants is to mix peanut butter with borax powder. Kevin Carrillo. We’ll show you how to make bait using Borax to eliminate ants in and around your home. I have ants in my car and the trunk, so don't want to attract even more ants with the sugar. MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. Set the jar in an area where there is a suspected ant infestation. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Too much borax and the ants won't take the bait. Making a Borax and Honey Ant Trap. Fortunately, you can kill the ants using borax and sugar. For the solid ant bait, mix the borax or boric acid in with powdered sugar (again I used 3/4 C sugar and 1/4 C of borax or boric acid). Hence, the borax ant killer bait. You should mix it with sugar in order to attract and kill the ants by using the bait. A 50/50 mixture of borax and sugar will help to control ants. It will kill them and the nest. Keep it away from children, pets, and food. Mix 2 tablespoons of borax with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. Place the poison near the ant nest if possible. We want to kill the ants but not hurt the babies. Place the balls onto the ant trails near their entryways and potential ants hangouts. Make a homemade ant bait by thoroughly mixing one part borax with 3 parts powdered sugar. Make a liquid ant bait trap that is similar to Terro ant traps that is safe to keep in your home around pets. If I put plain borax on the floor of the car and in the trunk, will that work? When ants consume this poisonous bait, they will die within 24-48 hours. This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo. I see sawdust on the floor, but can't see where they are. The peanut butter will attract ants (just like sugar) and boric acid will kill them. But years have passed and I had to have help remembering. So, you should mix Borax and Sugar in order to make an effective and good killer for the ant. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. This article has been viewed 690,727 times. Borax and Peanut Butter. You will be making a liquid solution using borax, sugar, and water, and then soaking cotton balls into this solution. Follow the trail and put the bait/poison at the start and the end of the trail. Once the other ants have ingested the poisonous bait, they’ll slowly begin to die. For ants in the kitchen, bathroom, or anywhere else in your home: Go outside and find a trail of ants. Stir well to make sure it’s completely mixed. Look for ant mounds, ant trails, roaming ants, and possible points of entry into your home. This Borax solution works well to eliminate pavement ants, big-headed ants, and black ants. ", "It helped knowing the ratio of borax and sugar, thank you. ", "It helped because it got rid of the ants!". ", "Borax and sugar worked wonders. You can also make a dry solution of borax and sugar to get rid of ants that are invading your property. Unlike food grade diatomaceous earth, which compromises the exoskeleton of insects, Borax internally poisons ants and their colony. Stir the borax and sugar into a spray bottle with the water until it dissolves. This recipe works well for sugar-feeding ants and can be used together with the sugar … We have ants outside, and we have baby tortoises in pen that the ants attack. If you can't find the nest, place the bait where you see the ants. What should I do if I can't find the nest? I'm pretty sure a little borax wouldn't hurt them. The answer is yes, but it depends on whether you use a liquid or solid Borax bait. One and a half tablespoon of Borax. A lot of the conjecture about borax being poisonous is because people read an MSDS for boric acid and assumed it is the same thing. Put the mixture on a piece of cardboard or open container and wait. How do I get rid of ants in my lawn with borax? To prevent ants from coming into your house, sprinkle the powder along potential entryways like windowsills and doorways. For tips on using borax to kill the entire colony, keep reading! Keep this mixture near the mounds, preferably in a piece of paper or unused plate, and keep near ant-nesting sites. I learned some new information as well. So as long as the pet doesn't get it in its eyes, nose, or mouth it should be fine. Take a solution (1 part boric acid and 10 part sugar mixed well) and form a paste or a tablet and place them in the ares where you see sawdust. Do another bottle of the dry mix; ants will take that to the Queen and larvae to eat. Use this same technique as one of the best home remedies for roaches, too. If you want to try out Borax and see for yourself how effective it is at eliminating pests, all you will need to do is mix the following ingredients: 1. 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