Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Fight ants naturally
• Method 2 of 2: Use ready-to-use pesticides
• Necessities

Ants are a common problem. A single ant might not be a big deal, but if a large ant colony is settling in your yard or anywhere near your home, the invasion that it causes can become more than a minor problem. You can use various natural remedies to get rid of an ant infestation in or around your house, but you can also buy a more aggressive pesticide specially designed for ants.

To step

Method 1 of 2: Fight ants naturally

1. Cover problem areas with food-safe diatomaceous earth problem areas. Provide all places where you often encounter ants with a thin layer of diatomaceous earth. Places indoors where you can often find ants include areas behind appliances, in cupboards and under and along the edge of carpets. Outdoors, ants are often found near driveways, patios, window frames, and flower beds.
   • Only use food-safe diatomaceous earth. Some diatomaceous earth is used to clean swimming pools, but that variety usually contains pesticides and other chemicals that can be toxic to pets and small children if they accidentally ingest the soil. Food-safe diatomaceous earth, on the other hand, is non-toxic, so you can use it safely anywhere in the house.
   • Diatomaceous earth is a natural material made from crushed, fossilized shells of diatoms, which are small marine organisms.
   • The powder is very abrasive and highly absorbent. As soon as an ant walks over it, the diatomaceous earth damages the waxy, protective layer on the outside of the ant, so that the ant can no longer retain water. The ant will not die right away, but will slowly die from dehydration.
   • Diatomaceous earth only works if the ants come into direct contact with it.
   EXPERT TIP

   Spray the ants and the areas through which they enter with white vinegar and water. Make a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water. Put the liquid in a spray bottle and spray all areas in the house that could potentially allow ants to enter, such as windows, doors and baseboards. You can also spray the liquid directly on the ants.

   • The ants that run over the sprayed areas should be dead after a few hours.
   • For best results, do this every day for a week.
   • You can wipe up the dead ants with damp kitchen paper.
2. Kill visible ants with soapy water. Mix equal parts water and washing-up liquid in a spray bottle. Shake the sprayer well and spray all ants with the soap suds as soon as you see them.
   • The soap solution will stick to the ants. The detergent makes them suffocate and die.
   • This way you only kill the ants that you sprayed. It is therefore a good idea to combine this with a method of exterminating the rest of the colony and the queen that is in the nest.
   • If you're dealing with an ant infestation on a plant, spray the plant with some dish soap to get rid of it. The soap suds will effectively combat the ants without harming your plant.
3. Sprinkle talcum powder around areas that allow ants to enter your home. Use regular talcum powder or baby powder that contains talcum and sprinkle plenty of it around the windows, doors, and foundations of your home. As soon as they get close to the talcum powder, the ants will disperse and run the other way.
   • Ants cannot walk through the powder and will therefore be less able to get into the house. You will still have to kill any ants left in the house separately.
4. Lure the ants from their nest with a paste of sugar and borax. Mix one part borax with three parts white sugar. Slowly pour in a little water and stir until you have a smooth paste. Spread the paste on the bottom of the jar lids and place traps near the places where ants enter, near the food they come to, and other places the ants like to go.
   • Borax, or sodium borate, is the sodium salt of boric acid. Borax can be used as a cleaning agent, and you can usually find it in the supermarket near the detergents.
   • Borax can be toxic if you swallow it, so you should always keep the traps away from small children and pets.
   • Ants are attracted to the sugar in the paste and take it to their nest, wherever the queen will eat it. Ultimately, the borax poisons any ants that have eaten it.
5. Make bait from boric acid and corn syrup. Mix 4 grams (1 teaspoon) of boric acid with 75 ml of corn syrup. Put a few drops of this on a piece of baking paper and place the paper in a place where you can see ants passing by.
   • You can buy boric acid at the pharmacy. The ants will take the mixture back to their nest where it will wipe out the colony in a pretty effective way.
   • The ants take the sweet bait back to the nest, where all remaining members of the colony will eat it and then die.
   • Replace the drops of bait every day until you don't see any more ants.
   • You can store the mixture in a closed container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Method 2 of 2: Use ready-to-use pesticides

1. Use insect traps to check if there are still ants in a particular spot. Place the sticky traps along the edges of the walls and anywhere else that ants often walk over. Sticky traps are most effective if you place them every one and a half to three meters in all places where ants often walk.
   • Sticky traps are also effective for other non-flying pests such as cockroaches, spiders and mites.
2. Set ant traps around the house. Buy ant bait and set a trap in any room where ants bother you, focusing on the areas where you most often see ants. Keep changing the bait until the ants don't come back.
   • You can buy ant traps at most larger grocery stores, department stores, and garden centers.
   • Always read the instructions supplied with the ant traps carefully, so that you know how to use the traps without endangering children or pets. The instructions often state that you should set the traps in such a way that they are out of the reach of children and pets.
   • The ant bait will kill any ant that eats it. The remaining ants then eat the dead ants, poisoning them themselves.
3. Spray visible ants with ant spray. Buy a pesticide specifically designed to control ants. Follow the directions provided and spray any ants you see and the areas they walk over according to the label instructions.
   • You can buy special ant repellent spray at most supermarkets, garden centers and department stores.
   • It is very important that you follow the instructions exactly. If you don't, the product may not function properly and may even be dangerous to your own health and that of your housemates.
   • Always use a pesticide that states that the product is specifically intended to kill ants. Some pesticides and insecticides work better against certain insects, but not others. For example, an insecticide designed to control bees may not work well against ants.
   • Some extermination ants kill the ants immediately. Other products coat the ants with a poisonous chemical, causing them to gradually die. This has the advantage that they first get the chance to take the poison with them to the nest.
4. Call an exterminator if the ants keep coming back in droves. Many ant problems can be solved at home with home remedies or commercial pesticides, but larger, more persistent infestations may require the help of a professional exterminator. Professional exterminators will be able to find the nest quickly and deal with the entire colony in one go.
   • The exterminator can assess the situation and determine which chemical will work best against the ants. Professional exterminators often use chemicals that are more aggressive than store-bought pesticides.
   • If you have small children, or pets, or anything in or around the house that you are concerned about, tell the exterminator ahead of time. He or she can then take the necessary precautions before starting to spray your home.

Necessities

• Diatomaceous earth
• White vinegar
• Sweetener
• Water
• Borax
• White sugar
• Boric acid
• Corn syrup
• Dishwashing liquid
• Plant sprayer
• Ant bait
• Ant repellent (ant spray)