Getting rid of ants infestation is a cumbersome task. Learn how to get rid of ants with borax and how to prevent their infestation in the first place.
What Is Borax?
Borax is a naturally occurring white powdery mineral that is widely infamous for its cleaning properties. Besides, it’s also used as an insecticide, odor neutralizer, and as a slime activator. There numerous uses of borax that makes it a popular household choice for many people. While it’s commonly referred to as borax, there are other names as well:
- Sodium borate
- Sodium tetraborate
- Disodium tetraborate
What Attract Ants?
Ants mostly draw towards the kitchen for food. Anything sweet and sticky is their favorite meal. That’s why they are always wandering around the untidy kitchen cupboards, pets bowl, and other food sources. In fact, some species of ants are allure to salt to maintain their bodily functions. Ants can infest your sugary and salty food items and destroy them. Even though their are no death cases of people eating ants infested food, it’s better to be safe. Therefore, you must get rid of ants at the earliest to prevent them from invading your food items. Learn how to get rid of ants with borax with this easy trick.
How to Get Rid of Ants With Borax?
If you don’t want to try those harsh chemicals, pesticides, or insecticides to get rid of ants, try this easy and quick hack. While maple syrup, sugar, or peanut butter will attract the ants to the bait, the borax in the mix will work on killing them.
Borax Ant Killer Recipe
Supplies
- 1/4 Cup of Sugar
- A tbsp of Borax
- Warm Water: 1 Cup
- Mixing Bowl
- Cotton Balls
- Spoon, Fork, or Stick
Directions
- Mix sugar, borax, and warm water into a bowl and use a spatula to stir it until the sugar gets properly dissolved.
- Soak the cotton balls into the prepared mixture for a minute or two.
- Place the balls onto the ant trails near their entryways and potential ants hangouts.
- When ants consume this poisonous bait, they will die within 24-48 hours.
- Redo this method twice a day until you see no signs of the ants.
If you’ve children or pets, then follow the below method:
- Take plastic jar and make tiny hole in it with a sharp point tool.
- Put the cotton balls in this jar and put the jar near the ant trails.
- This will keep your children or pets from swallowing or touching the borax soaked cotton ball.
How does Borax Kill Ants?
When ants ingest the borax, it disrupts their stomach, dehydrates them, and affects the nervous system, which causes a slow death. During this time, ants carry the bait back to their nest, and the colony will die eventually. The results are slower in comparison to commercial insecticides but satisfactory and less expensive.
Precaution
While practicing the above hack to eliminate the ants’ infestation, follow these precautions to avoid any casualty.
- Ingestion of borax is harmful to kids and pets, that’s why you must keep them away from borax.
- Always wear good quality rubber hand gloves and face mask while dealing with borax.
- Wash your hand thoroughly with soap and water after using borax.
- The above hack is effective against a less severe infestation of ants. Please seek the advice of a professional if you are facing a more severe ants infestation.
How to Prevent Ants Infestation?
Once you’ve eliminated ants from your home, it’s vital to take the below preventive measures to protect any future infestation.
- Clean food and liquid spills immediately to avoid attracting ants.
- Preserve your food in airtight containers.
- Seal all the crack, crevices, and holes around the doors, windows, and walls with silicone caulk to inhibit the ants’ entrance.
- Properly close the trash bags and secure the garbage can. Don’t forget to empty it regularly.
- Wash your pet’s food container regularly and if the food isn’t eaten, then clean it right away.
- Sweep up food crumbs and any leftover residuals from under your kitchen appliances.
- Keep your lawn clutter-free and mow the grasses regularly.
Fun Fact: Ants emits a pheromone trail from the food source to their nest, which directs other ants of the colony to the source.
Conclusion
Getting rid of ants is challenging, but the above borax trick will work like a charm. As mentioned before, don’t forget to instruct your kids and pets to stay away from the borax cotton balls. And if it’s not possible, then avoid this remedy.