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Pesticide-free Ant Traps

Ants can often be a giant nuisance and quite unsightly especially when they crawl on kitchen counters. However, you might not want to resort to anything too drastic and place traps and baits in your home that contain pesticides just to deal with ants. This is where pesticide-free ant traps come in, and they are quite easy to make with ingredients that you can find at your local supermarket, hardware store or pharmacy.

Borax and sugar

To make a good trap, you will need two things – something poisonous to ants and a bait. Borax is one of the most effective natural insect killers, and it is widely available. You will need to boil a cup of water, add three tablespoons of borax and one cup of sugar. Wait until the borax and the sugar dissolve, let the mixture cool, and then soak some cotton balls in it. You then simply have to place the cotton balls on a paper towel in locations where you usually notice ants. If you have pets or children, it would be best to place the mixture in a sealed plastic container and just poke holes small enough for the ants to get through.

Lard, sugar and borax

Ants love sugar, but when you combine sugar with fat, you have a bait that is irresistible to ants. For this recipe, mix one tablespoon of borax with one tablespoon of powdered sugar, and enough lard to give the composition a bit of consistency, until the bait starts to look like crumbs. Place the crumbs on waxed paper and then place the trap near locations with high ant activity.

Baking soda and powdered sugar

If you want to skip the borax, you can make a mixture of baking soda and powdered sugar. Add powdered sugar and baking soda to a bit of water, and then mix the three until you get a solid paste. Place it near known ant locations and you should see results soon. Baking soda can work as the poison here, but it is not as strong/effective as borax. On the other hand, this mixture is a lot safer to have around the home.

If after using one of these baits, the infestation persists, you might be dealing with a larger colony, in which case you will need the help of a pro. Contact us today if you have persistent ant issues.