If you’ve ever had an ant invasion in your home, you probably know how these little and harmless looking creatures can quickly turn into destructive beasts. Finding ethical ways of preventing them from invading your house is obviously the best way to avoid their wrath. Nevertheless, they might find you flat-footed, and you are left with no option but to eliminate them.
There are various methods used to exterminate pests such as ants which may involve pesticides or ant traps. Nonetheless, some of these methods require high precision, time and a budget. If you don’t have the time or the budget and probably want to reduce the risks of exposing these chemicals to your kids or pets, you can make your homemade ant killer. Sounds great? Let’s get to making a simple ant killer that is really easy to do.
What you will need:
- Diatomaceous earth
- Boric Acid
- Sugar
- Warm water
- White vinegar
How to make the ant poison
Using the ingredients above, you can make up to three killer homemade insecticides that are harmless to your kids or pets.
You don’t need to mix Diatomaceous earth with anything. All you need to do is sprinkle it along the ant paths. It’s a very effective pesticide that doesn’t harm humans or pets. However, you will need protective gear when handling it as inhaling it might not go down well with your lungs.
Home grade Diatomaceous earth is made of fossilized diatoms that are ground to fine powder. Once they come into contact with the ants, they scratch off the outer protective layer of their exoskeleton living their bodies exposed and hence dry out. The good thing about this method is that the ants will carry the diatomaceous earth to their nest spreading it to more ants. However, ensure that it doesn’t come into contact with water as it becomes ineffective.
Boric acid works exactly as diatomaceous earth except that the ants also ingest it killing them in a matter of seconds. It’s also natural and won’t harm your pets or kids. All you need to do is sprinkle it where the ants frequent. Although not a threat to humans, it should not be ingested therefore ensure you only sprinkle it in areas where your pets and kids won’t reach and away from food.
Mixing white vinegar and water will make you a natural insecticide capable of killing ants instantly. The best method to apply the homemade insecticide is to spray it directly on the ants. Mixing a 50-50 solution just works right and can additionally be used as a deterrent for the ants. The vinegar solution can also be used to clean the house making it hard for ants to invade.
In case you find vinegar’s smell unpleasant, you can use a lemon juice solution instead. With a 1:3 lemon to water solution, you can keep the ants at bay as they loathe the citric acid in lemon juice.
Trap the ants
Using the same ingredients, make a few ant traps by mixing boric acid and sugar. Boric acid as mentioned earlier will help kill the ants. The purpose of the sugar is to attract the ants to the trap. You only need to mix a small amount of the two to make a sticky paste. Pour the paste on a piece of cardboard and place it where the ants frequent. You can make a couple of these pastes and put them in different areas around the house and even outdoors.
The traps might not work instantly but are very effective in cleaning out the whole colony of ants. Normally, the worker ants will follow the smell of the syrup and once on the trap; they will feed on the boric acid and carry some back to the nest. Since worker ants are responsible for feeding the larvae and the Queen, it makes it easy for them to poison them as well.
Destroy the nest
If you have an ant invasion in your house, you will most likely find a couple of nests in or outside the house. To ensure you complete the mission and kill the remaining ants, boil water and pour it directly into the entrance of the nest. Naturally, the hot water will flow to the farthest corners of the nest killing all the ants instantly. The hot water will also collapse the nest leaving the surviving ants homeless.
In case you find ant nests in the house and don’t want to destroy your interior finishing with hot water, soapy water also works magic. If you can grab the nest, dip it into the soapy water to drown the ants. Make sure you use protective gear as some ants are very aggressive and will automatically fight back.
Place natural deterrents around the house
Once you’ve eliminated the ants, be sure to take a few preventative measures to avoid an invasion in the future. Keep in mind that the methods mentioned above would need to be repeated for a few days or weeks depending on the seriousness of the situation.
To make natural deterrents, you can use natural oils such as lemon, lavender, cedar, and eucalyptus. Mixing any of these essential oils with water will make you an excellent repellent. Make sure you use something that smells nice around the house.
In the outdoors, you can make a perimeter wall of natural repellents using coffee grounds, cinnamon, ground lemon or orange peels and cayenne pepper just to mention a few. The perimeter wall will discourage the ants from getting near the house. Naturally, the effectiveness of these repellents will fade with time and hence the need to replenish.
Homemade natural ant killers come as great alternatives to the conventional insecticides especially for families with different allergies. They are also cheap and locally available. Furthermore, the method of making these ant killers is very simple to a point where you can just instruct someone else to do it for you. In case you are impatient, you can use all the methods at once.