It’s hard to feel good about organizing or decorating when ants go marching two by two through your space. For those of you who think I lead a charmed life, sorry to pop your balloon. We have ants.
True, these ants have tenure. I’ve only lived in this house 4 years, and the ants have probably been here for most of the hundred years the house has stood here. But I don’t have to like it, and I don’t have to share my snacks with them.
Since I have kids and I like to be all goody-goody about reducing chemicals in my home, I don’t just head for the pesticide aisle. A couple of years ago, I contacted Mike McGrath, who hosts the show You Bet Your Garden on WHYY, which is a wealth of resources on plants, organic gardening, and natural lawn care techniques. He pointed me to this little product, that has revolutionized my war on bugs.
It’s a bit different because you don’t spray your stuff or your crawlers. No, this is more subtle. You just put a couple drops of Liquid Ant Bait Killer down in a little cardboard or plastic doormat (included), and let the ants walk on it. And they will, because this stuff is like Easter candy to them. Did you know that ants are very systematic? They follow in each other’s footsteps to their food source, and then the ants go marching home again, all in a line. But at my house, their little legs will be coated with blue juice, which they carry home to their colony. Within days, all of the ants in the colony have had a taste of the Kool-Aid. No more ants.
Still, they are ants, and I have to go through this every spring. I’ve been doing this for 4 years, and you see how much of this tiny bottle I’ve used? Since I’m using so little, I worry a lot less about unintended targets getting a taste of my blue wrath.
After that’s all taken care of, I can get back to the fun stuff, decorating and organizing for spring. Here’s hoping for peace around your baseboards.
Perfect timing, Darla. I came home from work and discovered the ants had found the cat food bowl. I thought I’ll have to look up the name of the product you told me about and found your post when I checked e-mail. Thanks. Anne
So glad to get you the right resources just in time. Can’t have those ants eyeing up the kitty food.
Oooohh! Must give this a try. We, too, have the yearly battle with the ants.
I had a hunch I wasn’t alone on this one. Good luck with your critters.
I’ve actually taken to spreading the area with white vinegar. That seems to have scared them away. At least until next year.
SO totally getting this. I’ve tried the cinnamon, the garlic (or is that for vampires), numerous ant baits, and professional pest control. THIS has got to be cheaper. At least I dont have vampires anymore.
A cheap and easy way to make your own ant killer is using maple syrup and boric acid. We have friends who swear by this concoction. Just do a google search on this and you’ll find lots of “recipes”. I wonder if the blue stuff you’re using is basically the same recipe of sugar and boric acid. What’s in the ingredients?