The best way to end your war with ants is to excavate ant colonies.
If you finally want to get rid of ants and keep them from coming
back, then you must resort to attacking their own home-the ant colony.
You can do this by locating where the colony is, and once you’ve found
it then you can flood their home with boiling water to ensure their
death. But in most cases it is difficult to find their home, so the next
resort for you is to bait them. When conducting mass destruction on your
annoying ant colony, here are the steps that you can take:
First, choose your poison. The most common bait mixture when
exterminating ants is boric acid (or borax) and maple syrup. Boric acid
has a deadly effect on ants, while the maple syrup contains the
sweetness ants really love. Once the ants bring the mixture to the
colony and distribute it to everybody else, that’s when the abomination
takes place. However, you should do this regularly, as it takes weeks
and even months for the poison to take effect. One good measurement of
ingredients for this poison is:
- 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons of boric acid.
- 3 cups of water, 1 cup of sugar, 4 tablespoons of boric acid.
Next, remove all deterrents. When you are planning for colonial
wipeout, you should take away all the deterrents you have used, and
allow them to come to you. There’s no need to use baits, as you may
attract new ant colonies while getting rid of the present. Once you see
an ant trail, place the bait beside it. That will attract their
attention and attack the bait rather than heading right home.
In case you have pets or children at home, you can place the bait in a
jar or glass canister. Cover the lid tightly and even seal it with duct
tape. Poke 2-3 holes over the lid, and rub some non-toxic bait, such as
peanut butter. You can also pack the inside of the jar with cotton balls
so the ants won’t be able to escape in case the jar tips over.
- To complete the bait, cover the bases with peanut butter bait
(peanut butter and borax/boric acid powder). Why peanut butter? Ants
like sweet and oil foods. If you give them both, the more chances
that they’ll indulge themselves into the trap.
- Give them all the fresh bait that they want. Allow them to take
the fresh, non-toxic bait to their nest until they become full. That
way you have already gained their trust.
- Remove the bait after using it. Other colonies might smell the
bait and move over to your house, and that’s the last thing you want
to happen.
Tips of Caution and other helpful tips
1. If you find more ants in your yard, you can eliminate them by
giving them treated plants. Ants love aphids, as well as other flowery
plants where they can extract sugar from. You can treat your plants so
they would have fewer places to go to when looking for food. One scent
ants hate is cinnamon. You can also cover the trails with cinnamon so
that the ants will stop roaming around.
2. The queen ant is usually larger than the rest of the other ants in
the colony. Once you see the queen, have her killed quickly.
3. When treating your home foundations, plants and other places where
ants usually hang out, use a breathing mask and a pair of gloves.
Treatment solutions are very irritating, if not poisonous.
4. Borax can be harmful to a person’s health, and touching/handling
it without protection can cause:
- Difficulty in breathing when inhaled;
- Eye irritation
- Poisonous when ingested
In case you get to encounter any of these situations by accident, get
medical help immediately. |
