# Getting rid of ants



## Aemilia

The ants that were on the edge of my garden this year are now in the middle. I think they have hit my strawberries, and they took out a green tomato yesterday. I'd like them gone, but would still like to be able to eat from the garden (aka avoid toxins). What works? I read vinegar spray might and cornstarch. Any experience to share? Thanks.


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## mdprepper

I'll be watching this with interest. I wish they were in my garden, then they would not be on my kitchen counter!!! Horrible creatures, and I can't spray poison in the house (kids and a dog).


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## The_Blob

dusting with boric acid crystals seems to be the safest bet 

the toxicity to mammals is about on par with table salt... 

but DON'T eat it :nuts:


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## ZoomZoom

I'll 2nd the boric acid. Just get a box of 20-mule team laundry soap and spread it around. They'll get it on their feet which will burn their feet. They then lick it off and the boric acid kills them.

I would NOT use vinegar in the garden. It's a total vegetation killer (mix 1 gallon vinegar, 1 cup salt & 1 tsp dish soap to make a green version of round-up).


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## horseman09

Maybe kill ants and other bugs too with diatomaceus earth? Kill 2 bugs with one stone! (Was that a groaner or what?)


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## GroovyMike

I don't know about outside but you can kill them indoors by putting whiskey and sugar in a jar cover and let them drink themselves to death.


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## The_Blob

horseman09 said:


> Maybe kill ants and other bugs too with diatomaceus earth?


D.E. is great... but I reccomend saving/using it as a health supplement

Diatomaceous Earth (DE): good for mammals, bad for bugs!


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## longtime

TERRO,

If all these methods fail, try Terro. It a available at most stores in Kansas. We tried everything to get rid of ants, including bug spray, boric acid (did not try the whiskey). Nothing worked. We then put the Terro out and they ate it for a couple days and then no more ants. The lable says it is taken back to the nest by the workers and it kills the whole nest. Don't know if thats true, but no more ants! 

If it does not rain, I can not see why it would not work outside too.


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## catsraven

To get rid of the ants in your house. Take a sponge and put honey on it. When the ants drink water after they eat the sponge there stomachs explode. End of ants!


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## gypsysue

Man! There's a lot of sadistic bug killers out there! I'm proud of all of ya! Keep these great ideas coming! I might have to import some ants just to have fun with some of these remedies!


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## mdprepper

I do not have whiskey, will moonshine work?


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## gypsysue

I have whiskey...maybe we can work something out! :ignore: (Isn't moonshine pretty much the same anyway? Only better...)


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## mdprepper

I did not know if the color, flavor or aroma of the whiskey was part of the attraction to the ants. The moonshine does not have color and really has a different flavor and aroma.

I must say 'shine is much better tasting than whiskey.:beercheer: Of course, I am not an ant!


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## Aemilia

Thanks for the ideas, I will pick up some boric acid. The whiskey idea is good, but I think DH would be jealous of the ants 

Gypsysue - I'm happy to dig a supply for you - think the US Mail would deliver it?


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## gypsysue

Well, Aemilia, you'd have to leave "air holes" so the poor little critters could breathe...and they'd probably make a break for it! Just give them something to stun them (maybe a little whiskey!) so they don't start crawling out while you're in the post office! 

We actually do have a few ant hills down the trail behind the house, so I'll probably pick up some boric acid tomorrow too. I'll save the whiskey for, um...medicinal purposes!


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## mdprepper

I tried the sugar and 'shine, plus tried putting a drop of honey on a sponge.
They called in their friends and had a party:gaah:!!! I could no longer see the lid or the sponge, they were just a huge teeming mass. 
So, I did what I had to do with what was on hand. I ran to the bathroom and grabbed the hairspray! (Don't judge me ) It killed them! Of course, it also stuck them to the counter. 

I am off to get some poison, and scrub the counter top!:surrender:


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## kyfarmer

I,am very surprised no ones said anything about cinnamon, if they are sweet ant's dust around the area with the cheap dollar store or any other brand. They will leave, every spring i dust all around the house under sinks or anywhere i thing they might come in from. It works till i done this every year they would invade not any more. don't see one. Non poisonous and is cheap enough, ya don't need the good stuff for it to work. Good luck.  Forgot if they are not sweet ants just put out some grits that will put a hurtin on them to.


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## mdprepper

kyfarmer said:


> I,am very surprised no ones said anything about cinnamon, if they are sweet ant's dust around the area with the cheap dollar store or any other brand. They will leave, every spring i dust all around the house under sinks or anywhere i thing they might come in from. It works till i done this every year they would invade not any more. don't see one. Non poisonous and is cheap enough, ya don't need the good stuff for it to work. Good luck.  Forgot if they are not sweet ants just put out some grits that will put a hurtin on them to.


I tried the alcohol/sugar, sponge/honey, poison, grits, hot soapy water--nothing worked! I saw the cinnamon suggestion and....WOOHOO no ants!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Kyfarmer.:congrat:

ETA: I found where they were and why they were there. I had a collectable liquor bottle under the counter, it had fallen over and I guess with it being so old the cork became soft and let some leak out and the ants were all over this thing! I do not know if I should take the cork out and see what the remaining liquor is like or if I should just toss the whole thing?


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## survivalseed

*how to get rid of ants....*

The best method is plain cornmeal. Sprinkle it around the area. The ants take it back to their nest, they eat it and drink water and the cornmeal enlarges in their stomach and they die. Sounds cruel but it actually works. This idea came to me from my grandmother. It works great indoors too. It is safe around your pets as it is natural. If you use it outside, it must not rain. 

- Survival Seed Bank


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## BuggingIn

Thanks for this thread. I have multiple, huge anthills all through my woods, and really need to get rid of them. I wonder, is masa flour (corn flour), going to do the same thing as cornmeal? I have some that got buggy, so I'm off to try using it around a few anthills to see if it will kill them off. Bwahahaha!


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## momof4

Hi all!
I use peppermint oil. I don't know if it kills them or not, but they run from it!


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## lotsoflead

A mixture of 50-50 sugar and Borox soap powder, just put in on paper plates and the ants will carry it back to the nests and kill them all, black ants, red ants, carpenter ants ect. we had ants here that could carry a piece of toast down the counter yrs ago, now we don't have an ant on the place.


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## HarleyRider

Tell all the uncles to leave and the ants will follow.


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## UncleJoe

:lolsmash: Good one. :beercheer:


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## PS360

I mix boric acid with sugar, they take it back to their nest and feed it to the others and they all die.


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## kyfarmer

I use the quaker Grits they seem to love them.


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## gypsysue

I did the cinnamon one yesterday (sprinkle it on the anthill) on one in my flower bed, and it worked. No sign of them today. I don't know if it killed them or if they moved somewhere else.


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## dawnwinds58

Sometimes modern technology IS a wonderful thing. I use Amdro Ant Bait. I put it in my hand crank seed spreader, "pepper" the lawn, under the house, around pillars, the raised beds and all. They pack it back, kill the Queen, no more ants till the new "squatters" show up the next year. 

Pheromone-baits are wonderful inventions I will greatly miss when the SHTF. Before them it was Pine oil on all the trails to disrupt their scent trails and bleach sprays to kill the trail of ants back to entry point.


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## Aemilia

Is it safe for gardens, children and pets? (I do let my chickens into the garden area in the fall to scratch and fertilize.)


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