How can I kill sugar ants without using pesticides?

Answer 1

diatamatious earth work very well. its is very sharp and breaks the exterior skeletons of the ant causing them to dehydrate thus killing them and is harmless to people and pets.

Answer 2

Any product used to kill ants is probably a pesticide. That can be diatomaceous earth, oil, soap and water, pyrethroid insecticides, etc. The level of toxicity I think? is what you are looking, for, something harmless?

Generally, ants have a nest and they send scouts out to find food. Once they find food, the scouts go back, following their chemical trail, get the other ants and then get the food. When you see one or two ants, they are usually scouts.

You can kill ants a few ways. First, you can kill the scouts somehow, with a toxic pesticide or you can suck them up with the vacuum cleaner or wipe them down with a wet towel, or many things. Problem is, you haven't gotten the nest and there are plenty more scouts. Plugging the hole they came into is a very effective way to keep them from coming in too, if you can find the hole!

You can also kill the nest and to do that, you need a bait. Baits use a small amount of pesticide in a container, and the ants get the bait and take it back to the nest for food, where all the ants eat it and die. I think baits are a really good thing, although they take a bit longer than sprays etc. It is hard to sit by and watch the ants take the bait and leave them alone sometimes. Anywho, those are a couple of ways and this website from the university of California, Davis has a lot of great ideas about getting rid of ants non-toxically or with low toxicity at the most.

http://ipm.ucdavis.edu

Answer 3

Depends on where the ants are. Use any detergent diluted with lots of water - spray on ants to kill them.

We always made fun of an aunt who was nicknamed Aunty Ants because she would leave sticky sweets and sprinkle sugar for the ants outside her house. This way the ants would not make their way into her home. Well, we were wrong to make fun of her, she was right - it makes sense now and it works.

Today, who knows, maybe the neighbour's kids call me Uncle Ants.

Answer 4

%. your poison. blending boric acid powder or borax with sugar water is the main ordinary bait (that's what a favored commercial ant poison, Terro, extremely includes). Boric acid impacts ants the two externally (while in powder variety; corresponding to diatomaceous earth) and internally (while ingested).The ants carry the poison (borax or boric acid) with them to the colony and unfold it around. in case you get the quantity and timing basically genuine, you could wipe out a extensive colony, despite if it may desire to take a number of weeks to 3 months. A bait it is too good will kill the ants till now they make it residing house, and a bait it is too vulnerable will purely weaken the colony quickly, so listed right here are some recipes that persons have had fulfillment with: *a million cup water, 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons boric acid *3 cups of water with a million cup of sugar and four teaspoons of boric acid. additionally i've got heard approximately cornstarch, cornmeal or corn flour mixed with somewhat mustard powder they take it returned to the nest, it expands and kills them. It takes awhile.

Answer 5

I can tell you how to get rid of them but it won't "kill" them. Cedarcide is pet and kid friendly. You can buy Cedarcide in a spray bottle or treated wood chips. I prefer to use both. I spray all over my house inside and all around the outside perimeter. It keeps them out of the house. This is the only thing I will use. I have 3 kids and an inside dog.

Answer 6

Spread bay leaves the ants dont like the smell of them. Sprinkle baking soda, they dont like them either.
Hot soaping water is also good.

Answer 7

Windex works. It also masks the scent trails they leave making it more difficult for them to retrace their little antie steps to reinhabit your house.

Answer 8

Splash them with water.

Answer 9

Pour salt on them

Answer 10

certain herbs can repell them