Use cornmeal! Cornmeal kills ants, they take it back to the queen and it kills the colony. Put it where you see trails or ants and feed them plenty! I use Jiffy because it is sweet and they love it. It is inexpensive, safe for children, pets, and the environment. If you can, trace the trail back where they are coming in and put plenty in that spot so they get it before coming into the house. One or two good doses should get rid of a colony, depending how big. I have never had to use more than one dose on a single colony (ant hill or area near my trees). It will kill any ant. I keep Jiffy in my pantry, esp. in spring, when new colonies are moving to find new areas. We tried everything, believe me this works!
Terri, Mix 1 part 20 Mule Team Borax with 2-3 parts sugar and use a spoon to lightly tap the mixture along ant trail (keep it away from pets and children! Typically at my house we tap it along the back edge of the kitchen counters, back where the wall and counter meet, and keep EVERYTHING up off the counters for a few days while the ants swarm the sugar path). The 1st day there will be a few, the 2nd and 3rd days most likely a swarm but be strong and replace what is taken away by them each day. By the 4th day you will hardly see a one, and by the 5th day they should be all gone .. everyone in the colony, including the queen will be dead. I swear by this mixture -- use it every year. IF you want to use it outside you can do that too but it must be replaced every day once the dew dries up, and if it rains you have to wait until things dry out again but it probably wouldn't hurt to kill them on all fronts, both IN and out of the home. Good Luck, and thanks for using HOMETALK :)
They are called sugar and fat ants because they come for those types of food. Clean up the mess, go to Dollar Tree, pay $1 for a pack of two ant traps. Set them down and the ants will disappear. Wipe up their trail as new ants will follow the trails. Good luck!
Use cornmeal! Cornmeal kills ants, they take it back to the queen and it kills the colony. Put it where you see trails or ants and feed them plenty! I use Jiffy because it is sweet and they love it. It is inexpensive, safe for children, pets, and the environment. If you can, trace the trail back where they are coming in and put plenty in that spot so they get it before coming into the house. One or two good doses should get rid of a colony, depending how big. I have never had to use more than one dose on a single colony (ant hill or area near my trees). It will kill any ant. I keep Jiffy in my pantry, esp. in spring, when new colonies are moving to find new areas. We tried everything, believe me this works!
Window spray. Spray Windex and they'll die.
Terri, Mix 1 part 20 Mule Team Borax with 2-3 parts sugar and use a spoon to lightly tap the mixture along ant trail (keep it away from pets and children! Typically at my house we tap it along the back edge of the kitchen counters, back where the wall and counter meet, and keep EVERYTHING up off the counters for a few days while the ants swarm the sugar path). The 1st day there will be a few, the 2nd and 3rd days most likely a swarm but be strong and replace what is taken away by them each day. By the 4th day you will hardly see a one, and by the 5th day they should be all gone .. everyone in the colony, including the queen will be dead. I swear by this mixture -- use it every year. IF you want to use it outside you can do that too but it must be replaced every day once the dew dries up, and if it rains you have to wait until things dry out again but it probably wouldn't hurt to kill them on all fronts, both IN and out of the home. Good Luck, and thanks for using HOMETALK :)
They are called sugar and fat ants because they come for those types of food. Clean up the mess, go to Dollar Tree, pay $1 for a pack of two ant traps. Set them down and the ants will disappear. Wipe up their trail as new ants will follow the trails. Good luck!
they also get really confused by cinniman so you can sprinkle that around the periphery of where you dont want them coming in- good luck :)