(NaturalNews) It's springtime and along with May flowers come infestations of every kind of ant, taking over house and yard. Many ants bite, and most are unwelcome visitors that are difficult to exterminate, such as carpenter and fire ants. How to get rid of ants without using toxic poisons around your home and garden? Natural ant control combines several natural products from your pantry and feed stores to create homemade ant exterminators. You must be persistent in your efforts to exterminate ants, so be prepared to apply treatments on a regular basis throughout the season.
Natural ant exterminator products
1. Mix dry active baker's yeast with an equal amount of honey or molasses. Add a little water to moisten but the mixture should be more of a paste rather than liquid. Spread small amounts of the paste on two inch square pieces of cardboard and place throughout the house where pets and kids can't reach. This natural ant exterminator is a good one to leave out all summer and takes about two weeks to work on its own.2. Another excellent natural ant control method consists of a mixture of 1/3 cup white vinegar, 2/3 cup water, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of dish soap. Combine in a spray bottle and apply to places with ant infestations, both inside and out. Expect to repeat the application weekly. Use this method with other natural ant control methods.
3. Grow some fresh catnip and sprinkle around ant hills and on pathways to the house. Ants seem to dislike catnip and will avoid it.
4. Repel ants with ground cinnamon for an aromatic natural ant control. Sprinkle the spice on the ground across doorways or on the outside of window sills where ants enter. Ants will not cross the spice barrier.
5. Apply food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) to ant hills as a natural exterminator. DE is a safe for pets and children and works well as an ant control method. DE is also effective for killing fleas, ticks, chiggers and other crawling insects in the house and garden. Buy DE from feed stores, gardening centers and online.
6. Scatter fresh spearmint leaves along the ground around the perimeter of the house as an ant repellent -- they hate it and will not cross the line.
7. Make an ant killer juice by combining one tablespoon of boric acid powder with one cup sugar and enough water to make a runny syrup. Allow the dry ingredients to fully dissolve. Pour the mixture into a squirt bottle, like an old ketchup or mustard container with a long applicator tip. Squeeze a drop or two of the liquid on small pieces of cardboard and place strategically around the house away from pets and children. The ants will at first be drawn to eat the syrup. They'll take it back to the queen and it will kill the entire nest. Use the liquid outside in hot spots as long as it's not accessible to pets. This is a highly effective method for killing all types of ants, including fire ants. Squirt some right down the hole of the ant hill and watch it disappear overnight.
The best approach for natural ant control is by using a combination of the above methods.
Sources for this article include:
WikiHow: How to Kill Ants Without Pesticides
http://www.wikihow.com/Kill-Ants-Without-Pesticides
TheFrugalLife.com : Getting Rid of Ants
http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants.html
Ehow.com: How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally
http://www.ehow.com/how_3791_rid-ants-naturally.html
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