How to get rid of ants: effective recipes based on boric acid

Ants are considered an example of hard work and dedication. However, living together with them sometimes causes a lot of trouble, and therefore man had to find many ways to deal with these uninvited guests. Boric acid is considered one of the most effective.

• 2 What is boric acid
  2.1 Advantages of boric acid

How does the substance affect ants?

To begin with, it should be noted that boric acid is available in the form of a powder or solution and is sold in pharmacies. The drug is inexpensive, but copes well with insect intoxication. The substance has no odor and dissolves well in water.

The acid has a contact-intestinal effect on ants. It is capable of destroying an insect, even if it simply ends up on its cover and does not enter the digestive tract. The components of the substance are able to penetrate the body through the chitinous shell and corrode the walls of the pest’s organs. If it enters the stomach, the product causes severe intoxication, dehydration and paralysis of the body. No matter how boric acid gets into the ant's organ systems, it will die over time.

A few crystals of the substance hidden in a fragrant bait can infect an entire colony if they enter their lair as a tasty-smelling trophy brought by a prey ant. Also, the possibility of infection of the colony appears if the poisoned individual dies and is eaten by relatives.

Even a minimal amount of boric acid entering the body can cause sterilization of both the female and the male ant, which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the genus.

Is boric acid dangerous for humans?

The main question that owners of apartments infested with ants ask is how boric acid affects humans. The substance is not classified as a poison and is recommended for use in residential areas to kill insects. However, when treating problem areas in your home, take precautions.

A small amount of the product, even if it enters a child’s body, can only cause an allergic reaction. If a large amount of the substance enters the body, poisoning may occur. Considering that very little acid is used to fight insects, harm to the body is excluded.

Advantages of using boric acid

As a poison against ants, boric acid shows itself in the best possible way. The advantages of the product include:

• Low cost. For one dose of boric acid powder or solution you will spend about 50 rubles, and you can buy the substance at any pharmacy.
• Variety of applications. Boric acid can be used not only in its pure form to kill ants, but also as bait. This way the effectiveness of the product increases significantly.
• High quality result. Almost everyone who has used boric acid as a poison for ants notes the excellent effectiveness of the product and the complete destruction of colonies.
• Fast action. Once the poison enters the organ systems, irreversible intoxication and paralysis occur.
• Suitable for use both in an apartment or house, and on a personal plot.
• When used in the garden, it has a positive effect on plant growth, acting as a top dressing.

Prevention of ants

It can be very difficult to drive away ants, even knowing their habits and the structure of the colony. Therefore, having finally gotten rid of the infection, you need to make every effort to ensure that it does not return.

In the garden

Pests prefer soil that is rarely cultivated. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly loosen the beds. However, it is not always possible to treat the entire area in this way, and the ants will find a convenient piece of land to build their nest.

To protect your cottage or garden from pests, it is recommended to plant or dry plants that repel them:

• marigold;
• lavender;
• lemon balm;
• mint;
• valerian;
• cilantro;
• rosemary;
• mustard;
• fennel;
• anise;
• nasturtium;
• parsley, etc.

Decoctions of these herbs are also effective. The disadvantage of this use, as well as of bunches of dry grass, is that the smell quickly disappears, so you have to spray and renew bunches of herbs often.

• promptly remove weeds and dried plants;
• get rid of aphids using special preparations;
• move or destroy the spotted anthill;
• do not scatter leftover food on the site;
• Spray the soil with anti-ant agents once a year.

In the house

To protect the house from the invasion of ants, it is considered sufficient to maintain cleanliness:

• regularly wash and sweep floors, including in hard-to-reach corners;
• always sweep away crumbs and wipe away puddles and stains from tables and upholstered furniture;
• eat in the kitchen or dining area;
• do not leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight, but preferably wash them immediately after a meal;
• Provide the trash can with a tight-fitting lid and empty it without waiting until the container is filled to the top.

It is also recommended to store bulk foods, bread and sweets tightly closed or in the refrigerator. If there are pets in the house, under no circumstances should you feed them from the floor and after each meal, wash their bowls and the floor under them if the pet has spilled food.

Ants cause a lot of inconvenience when they settle in an apartment or house, damage plantings in a vegetable garden or garden, and become a real disaster, although in the forest they are considered orderlies. It is difficult to fight them, so it is easier to follow preventive measures. If pests have settled in a house or area, traps with boric acid will help remove them.

Secrets of proper use of boric acid

The basic rule is the correct placement of the poison with boric acid. Place clean powder or prepared baits in places where ants appear so that they come into contact with the substance. Ants usually crawl around the apartment in search of water or food, so they most often appear in the kitchen or bathroom.

When treating a room, be sure to place baits under baseboards, cabinets, stove and refrigerator. For best results, be sure to remove food and block insects' access to water.

To prevent the reappearance of ants, try to always keep your apartment clean, remove all food from public access, and throw out garbage on time.

Ways to get rid of ants in a house or apartment

Any housewife, after some time in the vicinity of ants, falls into a fighting rage: insects spoil food and do not distinguish between the kitchen table and the trash can. While shuttling between them, uninvited guests can carry various diseases. What to do if ants have settled in your home?

The main task when fighting these insects is to give the poisoned bait to the worker ant so that he will carry it to the queen - the queen of the colony. Sprays and fumigators are powerless in this case; they destroy only those ants that are located directly in your house or apartment. The colony may be tens of meters away from you.

The most effective way to get rid of ants is to destroy their queen using toxic substances

You can try to scare the ants with the smells of mint, pepper, cloves, garlic and onions, and wormwood. However, cunning insects are very reluctant to leave their homes, so repelling may not work.

Ants are very original in choosing a place for a colony - it could be baking foil in the kitchen, a closet with bed linen in the bedroom, an old photo album or video cassette, even a computer mouse and iron!

Ultrasonic repellers are completely useless here, and calling professional exterminators will cost you money. How to get rid of parasites without special expenses? A proven remedy - boric acid - will come to the rescue.

Ant baits based on boric acid: effective methods

The easiest way to use boric acid is to simply sprinkle the powder in areas where ants appear, for example, under cabinets or baseboards in the kitchen. Insects will definitely appear in these places in search of food, and will bring poison on their legs and body to the nest.

To make the pest feast on the poison, make special aromatic baits. A lot of different products that every housewife has in the refrigerator are suitable for their preparation. Such options for exterminating ants are good because the bait will be transferred directly to the nests, which are most often located in places inaccessible to humans.

Recipe with egg (with yolk)

The smell of egg yolk is great for attracting ants. To prepare the bait you will need 1 packet of boric acid and 2 boiled egg yolks.

Mix the ingredients and form small balls from the resulting mixture. Place poisonous treats in ant habitats and wait for the results. Usually, using yolk balls, the entire ant colony will die within 2-4 weeks.

Do not exceed the amount of powder used in the recipe. If there is too much boric acid in the bait, the mining ant will not carry the ball to the nest, but will die on the spot. As a result, the relatives living in the nest will not feast on the poisoned “delicacy” and the colony will be exterminated longer.

Recipe with sugar

As you know, ants love sweets, so granulated sugar or powdered sugar is perfect for preparing bait. Mix a few tablespoons of sugar with a packet of boric acid and sprinkle it in the ants' habitats. The insects will definitely try the “delicacy” and will soon die.

Recipe with minced meat

Meat and its juice are excellent at attracting insects, so they are often used as an ant-attracting substance. Minced chicken, pork or beef is suitable for making bait. You will need 100 g of meat delicacy and 2 bags of boric acid. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until the acid dissolves in the meat juices and roll into small balls. The smaller the lumps, the better. Foraging ants will bring them to the nest, thereby poisoning other relatives.

Potato recipe

To make potato balls you will need:

• several boiled potatoes;
• 2 boiled egg yolks;
• 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar;
• 1 sachet of boric acid;
• 1 tbsp. spoon of melted butter.

As in previous bait options, combine the components and mix. Roll the resulting mixture into balls and place them on the ant paths.

How to make liquid bait

Liquid baits are usually prepared using sugar syrup.

You can pour the liquid into small containers or apply it to the floor surface directly in the ants' habitats. Simply dilute 10 g of boric acid powder and 2 teaspoons of sugar in one glass of warm water and treat the surface.

If you have access to the pest's nests, you can prepare a more aggressive remedy by replacing warm water with boiling water. After mixing the ingredients, immediately pour the hot syrup into the nest and wait for the result.

Yeast mixture recipe

This method is considered one of the oldest. Before making, prepare small containers for bait, for example, plastic bottle caps. You will also need 1 tbsp. spoon of yeast, 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar and a little water.

Dissolve the yeast in water, and then add sugar and 1 packet of boric acid to the resulting dough. Pour the aromatic poison into containers and place them in the ants’ habitats.

Bait recipe with glycerin

Boric acid is highly soluble in glycerin. Based on it, you can make a liquid poison and spray it from a spray bottle in the habitats of ants.

Dissolve a packet of boric acid in a glass of water and add 2 tbsp. spoons of glycerin. Use the resulting mixture to treat all surfaces in the kitchen, after removing all food and kitchen utensils.

You can also make bait balls from glycerin and boric acid. To do this, prepare a soft mass by mixing:

• 2 tbsp. spoons of glycerin;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
• 1 teaspoon honey;
• 1/3 teaspoon of boric acid;
• 1 tbsp. spoon of water.

Place the finished balls in all possible habitats of ants.

Recipe with honey, jam

Any sugar-containing products, such as honey or jam, are often used as bait. Their smell attracts insects well.

Pour some jam into a small bottle or jar and leave it on the floor. Treat the surface and neck of the bottle, as well as ant paths, with a solution of boric acid. Ants will definitely be attracted by the smell of sweets and will go in search of food. Along the poisoned road to the aromatic delicacy, boric acid will fall on the legs and bodies of insects, which will lead to their death.

Baits based on boric acid for use in the garden

It would seem that seemingly harmless ants that appear on a personal plot should not cause much trouble. However, insects can attract huge swarms of aphids, which damage garden and vegetable plants.

Before you start fighting ants in the garden, locate the anthills. This way you will know for sure where to place the bait. Do not worry that boric acid will negatively affect garden crops; on the contrary, the effect of the substance enhances plant growth and performs an additional function as a fertilizer.

Corn mixture

Cornmeal itself is already destructive for the ant. Attracted by the aroma of the corn delicacy, ants eat the product, which greatly swells in the digestive tract and causes fatal injuries.

To enhance the effect, you can add a little boric acid to the product. Prepare the required volume of poisoned mixture at the rate of 100 g of corn flour per 10 g of powder, and scatter along the ant paths and around the anthill. Please note that the procedure should be performed as often as possible, at least once every 2 days. Otherwise, the product will not work due to high humidity and the influence of various physical phenomena.

Potato-egg bait

Although there is always something to eat in the garden, ants are still attracted to additional aromatic foods.

Boil a few potatoes and 2 hard-boiled eggs. Mash the boiled potatoes and yolks with a fork and mix. Also add 2 tbsp to the mixture. spoons of sugar and 20 g of boric acid powder. Make balls and place them around the ant nests. Renew the bait about once a week. After 14-20 days you will notice that there are fewer insects in the garden.

Wood ash mixture

To make bait you will need wood ash. You can buy it ready-made at a hardware store or simply take the remains of burnt firewood after cooking a barbecue or from the oven.

For 1 kg of ash you will need 3 ten-gram bags of powder. Mix the ingredients and sprinkle directly onto the anthill. The effect will be enhanced if there is light rain after the procedure, and the poison will penetrate deep into the nest.

Sweet, effective bait

One of the most effective means in the fight against ants are sugar baits, since insects are very greedy for sweets. To prepare dry poison you will need:

• powdered sugar;
• soda;
• rice flour;
• boric acid powder.

Combine the ingredients in equal proportions and scatter on the anthill. The product is destructive to ants not only because of its toxic effect, but also due to the rice flour, which greatly swells in the insect’s digestive system and causes irreparable damage. Powdered sugar acts as bait, the grains of which are very small and are easily carried by foraging ants into their nests.

Why are ants bad?

Many people are perplexed - what is wrong with ants, what harm can they cause to a person if they do not attack him. But it's not that simple. If these insects occupy the house, you can say goodbye to your supplies of sugar, honey, jam, flour and cereals. They will eat some, drag something back to their nest, and in return leave a lot of excrement and corpses (ants often stick and drown in sweet liquids).

In the food reserves that ants store for their brood, pathogenic bacteria and fungi often develop. And these insects also run all over the house, including the toilet and garbage can. From there they can bring infections or parasite eggs into the kitchen. Pets are also unlikely to be happy with their new roommates, especially since ants bite, which is painful and fraught with an allergic reaction.

If ants have entered an apartment, they can be found almost everywhere

Ants in the garden behave no better: their vast homes can be found in any garden bed, in a flower garden and under trees. This harms plants and their roots. The fruits of soft, sweet berries, such as strawberries and wild strawberries, are also at risk: ants like their juice.

Ants are ready to go to great lengths to eat sweet strawberries.

Some species of garden ants breed aphids. And it spoils plants and is nutritious food for other insect pests.

Ants breed aphids, which harm plants.

Safety rules when using boric acid

Although boric acid is considered safe for humans, be sure to follow safety precautions when using it.

• Do not come into contact with the substance without gloves.
• Protect the respiratory tract with a cotton-gauze bandage.
• For mixing, choose either unnecessary dishes that you can simply throw away, or glass or ceramic ones that are not affected by chemical reactions. After all manipulations, wash the used container thoroughly.
• If you place baits on napkins, paper or plastic covers, discard them after use.
• When using boric acid in the garden, bury the remaining poison deep into the soil.
• If children or pets live in the house, choose inaccessible places to place baits. If a pet or even a child eats one ball of poisoned bait, most likely nothing bad will happen. With systematic use of the substance, severe poisoning of the body is possible.

Minced meat trap

Boric acid balls with minced meat are also very effective against such pests. They are prepared simply: take 2 tablespoons of minced meat, mix with 6 grams of acid, roll into balls and place near places where insects accumulate or on ant paths. The principle of action of this poison is the same as that of other baits.

Important: do not use this recipe if you have pets that eat meat. They can eat the bait before the ants.

User reviews on the results of using the product

Everyone who has tested the effect of boric acid on ants in action leaves mostly positive reviews. Many note that the product copes with the destruction of insects not only in apartments, but also in personal plots. Most housewives are very pleased with the result, noting that the complete destruction of the entire colony is carried out in about 30 days.

Rarely, but still there are negative reviews, which are based on the fact that ants do not touch treats mixed with boric acid. Perhaps in this case the recipe is violated and the poison content in the bait is simply exceeded, which leads to a negative result.

Boric acid has proven to be an effective means of killing ants. You can use the substance either in its pure form, scattering it in places where ants gather, or preparing aromatic baits for further transportation by the poison-delivering ants to the nest. The product works both in apartments or houses, and outdoors, for example, in a garden or vegetable garden.

The problem of ants appearing in the home

Ants are insects that live according to a clear hierarchical pattern. Their colonies are extremely numerous and are controlled by the queen ant, whose main activity is breeding the larvae of new individuals.

On a note. If you find a strong ant trail, then multiply the number of insects moving along it by eight or ten. In this way, you can calculate the approximate number of inhabitants of the nest, hidden from prying eyes.

The worst thing is that near the average apartment there can be from three to ten such nests. But if we are talking about a vegetable garden, then the number of anthills there is completely difficult to guess.

House ants living in apartments and heated inhabited houses multiply very quickly. In one month, the number of inhabitants of one anthill can increase by several hundred.