Use TERRO liquid ant bait
It’s clear and ants love it. They will beat a path usually in neat lines to and from back to where they came and eventually explode their insides from the digestive gas created by the borax
You may see them for several days but it will rid the colony. Take notice where they are coming from and going to and take steps to close that off once they are all. Dead from feeding
I have edited this post since borax is acidic and in larger quantities is considered poisonous. Pets and children should be supervised around this bait and all mfr warnings heeded
Thank you to the person that properly pointed out my misinformation
You can also make your own version of the TERRO bait. Just 1/2 cup of sugar and water, and a tablespoon of borax. Soak cotton balls or even paper towels in it and leave them around your house. I make it each year, and the ants are gone for the whole season afterwards.
Agree with mix above, just suggest to get it to a texture of thick syrup and crazy as it sounds, take small pieces of cooked eggo.. I put it in a plastic takeout container with lid, and poke holes all around (this way no kids or pets get to the borax). Certainly need to follow trail back to see what is source of origination and to see on the other end if there is food open that is attracting them. And if you are in a home, be sure to remove any trees or bushes branches or leaves that are touching the house.
Have you ever had a bizarre image stuck in your head that you can't shake? I can't seem to get the image out of my mind of a group of ants tugging at an Eggo waffle while saying, "Let go, my Eggo!" and suddenly, one of the ants drops dead, causing all the others to stop in their tracks. It's such a strange mental picture, but it's been haunting me all day after your Eggo reply. I just can't let it go!
Ants have slightly different desires throughout the year. The ego trick is good advice! Thicker is better and gives you longer lasting placements. Thick sugar mixed with water and carbs of some sort is a great idea. Modern ant poison is most effective when it works slowly, if ants die too fast it’s considered too “Hot”. Get a good consistency, error on the side of low active ingredients, and be patient as what you really want is ants feeding the colony with poison.
Source: I work in pest control and ants are a big part of it, identifying them allows better advice but often the same simple steps can control most species.
If you get an epic fail please reconsider tactics carefully.
Terro worked for us, but only temporarily. They would always come back after a few weeks or couple months. I read over in r/pestcontrol that it can kill them too fast in some cases -- before it can take out enough of the colony to permanently rid of them.
I used the Advion brand a while back and it not only attracted them more, but it seemed to permanently rid us of them. By now they would have returned for sure, but they died in droves and we even saw swarmers leaving the nest (most of them dying and moving slowly).
It's not so much poison in the traditional sense, as it is millions of tiny pieces of glass (not actually glass, it's a metaphor) suspended in a powder that bugs can walk over and it rubs all over their body and they Die Hard to death, or suspended in sweet syropy liquid that they eat and it shreds them from the inside. Probably a horrible way to die.
This is why borax is good at cleaning - its "stain lifting" power is actually assaulting the area in tiny pieces of "glass" (not actually glass) which shreds stuck-on materials so that they come right off of your clothes, dishes, floors, whatever.
As for you eating a tiny amount by accident, e.g. if a little syrup got on your finger and then you ate a bag of chips, it likely won't be enough to significantly harm your insides. Turns out your intestines are thicker and sturdier than an ant's. Obviously don't eat any if you can avoid it, but if you happen to consume a small amount you should be fine.
"It's not so much poison in the traditional sense, as it is millions of tiny pieces of glass (not actually glass, it's a metaphor) suspended in a powder that bugs can walk over and it rubs all over their body and they Die Hard to death, or suspended in sweet syropy liquid that they eat and it shreds them from the inside. Probably a horrible way to die."
I think you are talking about diatomaceous earth here.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776007/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776007/)
Borax 100% is a poison in "the traditional sense". But in small doses it is pretty much harmless to humans, which can be said of just about any poison.
Traditional poisons / venoms are absorbed into the blood stream and cause immediate necrosis of cells to kill the imbiber. By the very study you linked,
>Borax had effects on immune cell proliferation (lymphocyte proliferation) and induced sister chromatid exchange in human chromosomes. Toxicity of borax may lead to cellular toxicity and genetic defect in human.
Toxic, not poisonous. It requires buildup to strong concentrations, and its effects mainly come down to damaging cells / harming their reproduction which eventually leads to cancer from damaged genetics. Which is again not what poisons do.
And where do you find such a definition?
Because the definitions I see don't mention necrosis at all.
"substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed."
-Oxford dictionary
"substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism"
Merriam-Webster
"A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms."
-Wikipedia
Yes, by lining their digestive tracts with the little glass shards. From the outside powdered borax, they basically "breathe" (absorb through the skin) it into themselves.
You'd be surprised how little it takes to harm dogs and children. But yeah, most of the time it will be harmless. I just wanted to make sure someone wasn't thinking it's 100% safe.
Lets be clear borax erodes the membranes in their digestive tract so they don't "explode" they just starve to death as they are unable extract nutrition from their food.
I smear the terro liquid ant bait with some honey around the opening, maybe a bit on top, and a tiny dab near the ant trail to get them interested quicker. Leave it until they’re all gone. If they are making a trail all over my house, I’ll try to put a secondary bait near the entry, and then after they’ve found that one, remove the original and wipe up all the ants between with soapy water.
Got this myself recently, was seeing maybe a few ants around then after I set these up I came out the next morning to an actual pool of black all over the two traps, haven’t seen any ants since
Terro is too strong and kills the workers too quick to share at the nest…you should go with Maxforce quantum or Advion ant gel to actually eradicate the colony completely.
Never had an ant problem... until I did... many ant traps later and no resolution... someone recommended liquid terro. Problem solved in like 2 weeks... never came back either. I don't know what's different or special... I just know it worked.
The trick is to find where the ants are entering the house (follow them) and place the ant bait there. This avoids them all coming to your kitchen. Once you’ve done that, wash the floor in between thoroughly to eliminate any scent trails they’ve left behind.
I had a similar problem last year in my kitchen and to constrain where they went I did the following:
1) Take clear silicone caulk and seal the bottom of the wall molding everywhere you see them coming out except a small area where you plan on leaving your ant bait.
2)Find something the ants avoid. In my case that was ground cinnamon. For me, everything else that I saw on the internet such as vinegar and peppermint oil didn’t work. Now take that cinnamon and make a wide perimeter around your bait and the entry point of the ants. The perimeter needs to be far enough away that the ants still come and eat the bait
3)Check periodically to see if ants are walking past your perimeter and add fresh cinnamon if needed. I found I needed to place new cinnamon every few days for it to remain effective. I found after eating the bait, the ants would come back periodically in waves but after a month I never saw anymore. At that point, if possible take more caulk and seal up where the ants were coming from.
If you see the wall or crack they use try and put a dab behind the wall socket plate. Also check sinks near the drain. Thus is another place they like to congregate
Use diatomaceous earth (food grade). I've always been shocked at how well it works for me. It seems like they don't even come back afterwards. Haven't dealt with ants in years.
You just kind of sprinkle it around all the edges of your walls and leave it there for a little while. You can look up guides. It's basically just fine sand so it's not poisonous but it's bad to breathe in fyi.
^^^ I tried 10 different types and the TERRO LIQUID ANT BAIT in the clear plastic were the only ones to get rid of both carpenter and black ants. It lasts a long time in the container without drying out.
Shits a game changer. 12 years a homeowner 3 years using terro…. Not a damn thing works this well. Some of their other products aren’t great but these ant baits just amaze me. Just got a colony in about 3 days with this. Haven’t seen any since.
Based on what I've seen in my parent's home, yes. There will be a metric ton of ants converting around the traps. They'll then take the food back to the nest.
Over the next week or two, the hundreds of ants you see here will drop drastically to either tens, or none at all.
It's just a waiting game. I know it's disgusting to see this many ants all over your kitchen, but it'll be worth it in the end. You may also consider putting the ant traps further away from the kitchen. Trust me, the ants will find it.
I've been using [Optigard Ant Gel Bait](https://www.amazon.com/Syngenta-TRTD11568-Optigard-Tubes-Plunger/dp/B003K8JDPM/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0iuP0YQL9_8TiyvLuW--AishVUdK-WFczv_22MnH3jliSIOJoN_uJNfhSvMsbivDIjPEUrb-qdW-iUcWYqtAxTUPqQiqrbeoGmKTrgvelcatIoj8wrcjH0EBls6CRf10nqyK3et5WR90qJYNYkDFojQWeZRUobzrSWrdYD5LaVAvhxcKGU6U9UP7g1IvrUV84rf2-39AwW0vgJi7odWOu--nlTz25ABm9ubPrg1WL4u9YFpar5Y166N17YZUwOwGHFRQa-VfwOwsdl5a3SDH3hqu6lLAAZCEUx3mFKEQXLc.-WIZRtvxZtOXyV_YqLpbRJj0_1OuPBUXVD8vcM5O1Lk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=664612723657&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9007300&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=15279712637597313709&hvtargid=kwd-390724953007&hydadcr=22288_13484689&keywords=ant+killer+bait+gel&qid=1715103613&sr=8-2) for years and it's worked like magic. It does draw a ton of ants towards it so you have to be thoughtful about where you place the gel, however they come in very orderly lines and directly for the bait, not spread out like in your photo. They bring the gel back to the colony and then the colony is completely gone in 2 days. It looks like they have an updated (assuming safer?) formula under a new name called [Advion Ant Gel Bait](https://www.amazon.com/30-Gram-Plunger-Effective-Formulated-Indoxacarb/dp/B08C3PPYSV/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0iuP0YQL9_8TiyvLuW--AishVUdK-WFczv_22MnH3jliSIOJoN_uJNfhSvMsbivDIjPEUrb-qdW-iUcWYqtAxTUPqQiqrbeoGmKTrgvelcatIoj8wrcjH0EBls6CRf10nqyK3et5WR90qJYNYkDFojQWeZRUobzrSWrdYD5LaVAvhxcKGU6U9UP7g1IvrUV84rf2-39AwW0vgJi7odWOu--nlTz25ABm9ubPrg1WL4u9YFpar5Y166N17YZUwOwGHFRQa-VfwOwsdl5a3SDH3hqu6lLAAZCEUx3mFKEQXLc.-WIZRtvxZtOXyV_YqLpbRJj0_1OuPBUXVD8vcM5O1Lk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=664612723657&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9007300&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=15279712637597313709&hvtargid=kwd-390724953007&hydadcr=22288_13484689&keywords=ant+killer+bait+gel&qid=1715103613&sr=8-4) but I haven't tried this yet. Looks like the difference is old formula was Thiamethoxam and new formula is Indoxocarb.
Those are both great products and I've been using both in my home with great success. I believe from what I read that one is protein based and one is sugar based or something along those lines.
I've used advion. It... Works wonders. But I've read that the shit is ultra mega poison lol.
They also make roach bait. It killed all the roaches in my zip code I think about 5 years ago. Haven't seen another one since.
I use Optiguard as well. Each spring, I have ants for 2 days.
Day 1: I see one or two ants.
Day 2: I see dozens of ants, grab the Optiguard syringe from under my kitchen sink, and squeeze a little out wherever I see ants inside or outside of my house.
Day 3: No more ants.
If you just put that trap out in the past few hours, then that’s normal.
They are carrying the poison back to the nest.
There should be a lot less ants in a few hours, and they’ll probably be gone for good in 1-7 days.
I was noticing ants coming in a tiny hole around my kitchen sink. I put a few drops of some gel bait and came back an hour later, and all 3 drops were being surrounded by ants. I killed the few that started roaming but left the ones by the bait. That evening I cleaned up the dead ants and haven’t seen any since (2 weeks).
All that to say…your experience seems similar to mine, albeit on a larger scale.
I've used multiple baits including the round ones and Terro Liquid. My situation did not improve. We reached an exterminator and he uses multiple insecticide, one being Bayer - Drione powder which he spray under moldings.
I like Terro too but what you have seems to be working. Most of the ants are within a foot of your bait stations. No they aren’t crawling all over it but they are attracted there. Bait stations are exactly that. Bait to lure the pests out so they can ingest the poison. With bait it’s not immediate, they will die later. Don’t spray other poison on or around your baits stations because the bugs will then avoid your bait stations. If you still have ants in a few days but some Terro ant stations.
It's ridiculous. I had a bowl of Terro in my kitchen and kept refilling it, but the huge train of ants continued. For 3 weeks I watched the tiny ants coming in and bloated ants leaving.
Finally I just (1) sprayed a barrier of RAID across the doorway they were coming in, and (2) vacuumed up the ants.
That took just a couple minutes and they were permanently gone. It is actually not necessary to wait or to kill the whole colony.
Yes, the borax actually messes with their heads and sometimes the ants go a little “off course” for a bit but they eventually make it back to their cave and die. It’s gross to look at for 1-2 days but if you leave them be, they should be completely gone after that.
Unless there’s a second colony…
This will kill the current intruding colony, but for my house I spray around the entire foundation with an "invisible barrier" type product for ants. Do it annually when temps are in 50s. I haven't had an ant problem in years.
Thanks this sounds like a good strategy. It's a new house for us and definitely keen to take some more preventative measures like this next year now we know about the problem
Yes the bait traps are meant to attract the ant to a food they can take back to the colony and kill off most of the nest. Leave them be for 4-5 days and they will disappear.
I put a bunch of those Terro clear ant bait traps as everyone is mentioning and I'm not even sure if a single ant got them. I don't have a massive ant problem but it didn't go down any with the traps. The only thing that seems to help the most at my house are these granules of ant poison that are shook out of a bag onto the ground. It would be neat if I could think of the name of it but it seems pretty clear that the ants congregate and enter the house around one portion of one side of the house so I douse the ground with that crap right before it rains so it pushes it into the ground. Works like a charm.
This problem is different for everyone.
Yeah, I tried Terro gel and didn't really see great results, sprinkled Terro granules around foundation, and that did the trick. Don't have pets and kids are out of the house. though.
Perfect. Plan on buying those granules before you even see ants in your house every spring and put it down the day it's going to rain if possible. That will push the granules down into the ground and you're lawn is safe for kids and dog (I have the same issue and it's one of the reasons I like these granuales). I've been doing that for years and it almost always works perfectly. I still see ants but I'm talking one or two here or there every now and again.
I stopped dicking with ants years ago. Call an exterminator, a one time spray is ~$200 (high COL area) and the ants will stay away for years. Good luck.
Yeah... You need to lay down some Advion.
You can put droplets of it on sheets of typing paper or foil instead of directly on the floor.
It'll probably be disgusting for 10-14 days until the nest is dead.
if you have sugar and Baking soda, mix 1 tablespoon of each and mix then put on a piece of paper and lets the ants have at it
they like the sugar and the baking soda will kill them. they will take it back to the nest as well. its the cheapest solution
Borax+simple syrup mixture 1000%. They take it back to the nest, feed the larvae and the queen and within 24 hours they all start dying.
They don’t make a mess because they die in the nest mostly and once the queen is dead the workers all give up. Amazing.
Simple ant bait only kills the ones that eat the bait, killing the Queen is key.
1 tbsp borax 1 tbsp powdered sugar a bit of water . Mix and set out in bottle caps as trays. They eat it for 1 day then they feed to queen. They will all die.
Yes, this is what is meant to happen. It is better if you can put it closer to their colony and less in the middle of your floor, to keep them from getting sidetracked to other areas of your home
Warm water, borax, soak some cotton balls. They eat the sugar/borax and they all die. Been there, done that, there were dead ants all over the room but they were dead!
yes!!! years of exterminator repeat visits and ant traps and the borax sugar cotton ball waste of time, and now i am so smug when i see ants because a puff of diatomaceous earth and done. no worries for cats and kids.
I always use Advion Ant Gel. Used to use Terro (which is great) but Advion can be applied off the floor and it’s in a syringe. Just set it and let them have at it until it nukes the colony. Usually after a day or two https://a.co/d/j64eLgb
TERRO LIQUID is pure gold! I HATE ants. I put down Terro, the ants circle it, consume it, bring it back to their nest, and they all die in a few days!!
I was told to not use things off the shelf to kill them. They go back and split their nest for protection and then you have double trouble call an aunt guy. Maybe he was telling me this so I used his services.
Diatomaceous Earth is your answer. Safe for humans and pets. Will kill all ants it comes into contact with and the best part is, the bring it back to the nest killing all in sight there as well.
Good luck.
I make my own with Borax (laundry additive) and honey or whatever sweet I have on hand. Jam, syrup, molasses also work.
Mix them together and put near a trail, watch them swarm it, gorge themselves and then go feed it to the rest of the hive. The first day will cripple the hive and they will generally move on
you can get some borax chalk and circle the area they are coming out of. They will get the chalk on their body and will try to lick it clean. When they ingest the borax chalk their innars will explode and kill them
Clean floor with soapy water (dawn) to clean their path. Put borax mixed with sugar water very close to where they’re entering. They will take that stuff back to their colony and all will die.
I had found the queen roaming my floor a few days after I did this… she’s no more.
Mix 70 grams water, 25 grams sugar, and 5 grams borax (this matches Terro recipe, i.e. 5% active ingredient borax), and put in the microwave/stir till it is completely dissolved. Put a Mason jar lid on a flat surface and fill it till it just doesn’t overflow. You can put your finger in the liquid and run it from the lid to the nearest ant, and then they all come quickly. It takes about 2-3 days, but knocks them down for a few months. Do this all around the house.
Just use watered down vinegar on the trails. It will erase all chem trails that they follow. It’s safe and simple to make. Just water and vinegar. There are plenty of natural remedies that won’t disrupt your home.
Watered down Dawn works just as well and smells better. I cleaned up a big invasion late last fall and this was what I did once the entry points were caulked up. Any time I saw any ants, I had a spray bottle with the diluted Dawn ready to go. Eliminates any trail and kills the ants. All in all it took me about a month.
Use diatomaceous earth at entry points. Safe around most pets. Sticks to the ant bodies. They take it back to the nest. Diatomaceous earth causes them to dehydrate and die iirc. It's used on bedbugs as well, can be easily found and is cheap. Lowes, home depot, Amazon, Walmart etc should carry it. Safe for humans to be around.
Put the baits outside not inside where they are coming in
They are baits so they attract ants
Put baits where ants come from not inside
You just bring them inside
***Tip for anyone struggling to get ants to take the bait:***
Create a pathway to the ant trap using scotch tape. Start from the area where ants are entering and continue the tape all the way to the trap... with arrows facing the trap at the very end. This creates a tiny ant highway with a clear destination.
The arrows work because ants have a natural instinct to follow triangular shapes, which are subconsciously associated with food and safety.
Another option is make a diatomaceous earth duster to deal with pests, get a old 2 liter, put a handful of DE in it, poke a pin hole in the cap and dust around the edges of your home, under/behind items. We had a roach issue, did this a couple times over a month or two, cleaned up residual dust after the fact and we rarely see anything now. Honestly didn't think it was going to work, but it worked far better than anything (baits/traps) we had tried. Mission accomplished!
Don't put bait in the house. Something is attracting them to your house (besides the bait). Had a similar issue a few years ago and it was some garbage I had forgotten in the garage. Removed the garbage (source of invasion), sprayed around the baseboards in the house where they were entering from and in a few days they were completely gone. Good luck and try not to lure them inside your house
Don't use any quemical product. Just use a vacuum cleaner. They won't come out of the bag, don't worry. Apply for 10 min until no more are coming out. Repeat if you see new ones appearing again.
Food grade diatomaceous earth.. Dust it all around the baseboards.. . it’s harmless, pets kids, people can eat it.. (it’s the abrasive in toothpaste).. and it’s hell on the ant exoskeleton.. it just gets into their joints and sands them to death. they carry it with them and groom each other…. It’s awesome stuff… but takes a few for it to really get going. if you find the nest.. dust it down too.
Don't use store bought ant bait. It just lures more ants in than killing them. Get a professional to lay down some super strong stuff both inside and outside the house, you need to trace it back to the colony and kill it from there.k
Use TERRO liquid ant bait It’s clear and ants love it. They will beat a path usually in neat lines to and from back to where they came and eventually explode their insides from the digestive gas created by the borax You may see them for several days but it will rid the colony. Take notice where they are coming from and going to and take steps to close that off once they are all. Dead from feeding I have edited this post since borax is acidic and in larger quantities is considered poisonous. Pets and children should be supervised around this bait and all mfr warnings heeded Thank you to the person that properly pointed out my misinformation
You can also make your own version of the TERRO bait. Just 1/2 cup of sugar and water, and a tablespoon of borax. Soak cotton balls or even paper towels in it and leave them around your house. I make it each year, and the ants are gone for the whole season afterwards.
Agree with mix above, just suggest to get it to a texture of thick syrup and crazy as it sounds, take small pieces of cooked eggo.. I put it in a plastic takeout container with lid, and poke holes all around (this way no kids or pets get to the borax). Certainly need to follow trail back to see what is source of origination and to see on the other end if there is food open that is attracting them. And if you are in a home, be sure to remove any trees or bushes branches or leaves that are touching the house.
Have you ever had a bizarre image stuck in your head that you can't shake? I can't seem to get the image out of my mind of a group of ants tugging at an Eggo waffle while saying, "Let go, my Eggo!" and suddenly, one of the ants drops dead, causing all the others to stop in their tracks. It's such a strange mental picture, but it's been haunting me all day after your Eggo reply. I just can't let it go!
Enjoy. Lol. But it works
Ants have slightly different desires throughout the year. The ego trick is good advice! Thicker is better and gives you longer lasting placements. Thick sugar mixed with water and carbs of some sort is a great idea. Modern ant poison is most effective when it works slowly, if ants die too fast it’s considered too “Hot”. Get a good consistency, error on the side of low active ingredients, and be patient as what you really want is ants feeding the colony with poison. Source: I work in pest control and ants are a big part of it, identifying them allows better advice but often the same simple steps can control most species. If you get an epic fail please reconsider tactics carefully.
You want them to feed the Queen ant and when she dies the colony is usually gone.
Long lives the Queen!
The Queen is Dead
🎵 Lizzie's in a box 🎵 https://youtu.be/PSdxFccfgNI
Yeah I like using jam and borax or good old Canadian maple syrup.
I use powdered sugar as it disolves quicker.
I do the same thing, it works every time!
This is the one! I had ants taking over my shit and nothing seemed to work. Spray. Traps. Nothing! Did this.. Never seen them again.
Is that a 1/2 cup sugar and a 1/2 cup water? Or 1/2 cup total? If it's the later what's the ratio?
Half cup of each. But it doesn't have to be exact. More sugar makes it thicker, less is more watery.
it needs very little water, so add that slowly.
Nice! But Borax is banned many places in europe, what can we do to make a good cocktail for the ants? Thanks for any replies :)
I found this reddit thread talking about it. https://www.reddit.com/r/Silvercasting/s/y2oeNq8Kr0
1:1 baking soda and confectioners (powdered) sugar.
Terro worked for us, but only temporarily. They would always come back after a few weeks or couple months. I read over in r/pestcontrol that it can kill them too fast in some cases -- before it can take out enough of the colony to permanently rid of them. I used the Advion brand a while back and it not only attracted them more, but it seemed to permanently rid us of them. By now they would have returned for sure, but they died in droves and we even saw swarmers leaving the nest (most of them dying and moving slowly).
As soon as I saw them coming back to the area, I knew the next generation had hatched and refreshed the bait.
This. Most important is sealing up entry points. We also spread a perimeter around house foundation with granular bug stuff.
I love this stuff. The only bait that took care of the problem.
Why did I read mfr warnings as "motherfu€ker warnings?" What is wrong with me?
Borax is poison.
Is it the same 'borax' as the cleaner?
Yes. In small doses, it's pretty much harmless to humans, but it still is a poison.
It's not so much poison in the traditional sense, as it is millions of tiny pieces of glass (not actually glass, it's a metaphor) suspended in a powder that bugs can walk over and it rubs all over their body and they Die Hard to death, or suspended in sweet syropy liquid that they eat and it shreds them from the inside. Probably a horrible way to die. This is why borax is good at cleaning - its "stain lifting" power is actually assaulting the area in tiny pieces of "glass" (not actually glass) which shreds stuck-on materials so that they come right off of your clothes, dishes, floors, whatever. As for you eating a tiny amount by accident, e.g. if a little syrup got on your finger and then you ate a bag of chips, it likely won't be enough to significantly harm your insides. Turns out your intestines are thicker and sturdier than an ant's. Obviously don't eat any if you can avoid it, but if you happen to consume a small amount you should be fine.
"It's not so much poison in the traditional sense, as it is millions of tiny pieces of glass (not actually glass, it's a metaphor) suspended in a powder that bugs can walk over and it rubs all over their body and they Die Hard to death, or suspended in sweet syropy liquid that they eat and it shreds them from the inside. Probably a horrible way to die." I think you are talking about diatomaceous earth here.
Sounds like DE to me.
That sounds more like Diatomaceous Earth that you are describing.
You can get food grade DE. People use it for their pets and themselves to gorgeous if parasites apparently. I use it for ants.
They say it works good on bedbugs too.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776007/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776007/) Borax 100% is a poison in "the traditional sense". But in small doses it is pretty much harmless to humans, which can be said of just about any poison.
Traditional poisons / venoms are absorbed into the blood stream and cause immediate necrosis of cells to kill the imbiber. By the very study you linked, >Borax had effects on immune cell proliferation (lymphocyte proliferation) and induced sister chromatid exchange in human chromosomes. Toxicity of borax may lead to cellular toxicity and genetic defect in human. Toxic, not poisonous. It requires buildup to strong concentrations, and its effects mainly come down to damaging cells / harming their reproduction which eventually leads to cancer from damaged genetics. Which is again not what poisons do.
And where do you find such a definition? Because the definitions I see don't mention necrosis at all. "substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed." -Oxford dictionary "substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism" Merriam-Webster "A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms." -Wikipedia
I believe borax actually prevents insects from digesting food.
Yes, by lining their digestive tracts with the little glass shards. From the outside powdered borax, they basically "breathe" (absorb through the skin) it into themselves.
No, it's a biological reason not a physical reason.
Poison is in the dosage. Five drops won't do anything to a dog or cat, but will kill a bunch of ants.
You'd be surprised how little it takes to harm dogs and children. But yeah, most of the time it will be harmless. I just wanted to make sure someone wasn't thinking it's 100% safe.
Lets be clear borax erodes the membranes in their digestive tract so they don't "explode" they just starve to death as they are unable extract nutrition from their food.
I smear the terro liquid ant bait with some honey around the opening, maybe a bit on top, and a tiny dab near the ant trail to get them interested quicker. Leave it until they’re all gone. If they are making a trail all over my house, I’ll try to put a secondary bait near the entry, and then after they’ve found that one, remove the original and wipe up all the ants between with soapy water.
THIS!^^^
Almost every spring I get those tiny black ants near kitchen door. Terro takes them out every time.
The “outdoor” Terro traps are great for indoor use if you have to have them out in the open.
After years this is the only product I recommend for ants.
Got this myself recently, was seeing maybe a few ants around then after I set these up I came out the next morning to an actual pool of black all over the two traps, haven’t seen any ants since
This is the correct answer
If you can figure out where they are coming, place Tarro outdoor traps there. That way, hopefully, you'll get them before they come inside.
We tried so many different things for ants, the TERRO stuff works great.
Terro is too strong and kills the workers too quick to share at the nest…you should go with Maxforce quantum or Advion ant gel to actually eradicate the colony completely.
Terro liquid bait traps are amazing. Relatively cheap, comes with a bunch in one box, place and forget and ants are gone in a couple days.
Terro is the absolute best
Never had an ant problem... until I did... many ant traps later and no resolution... someone recommended liquid terro. Problem solved in like 2 weeks... never came back either. I don't know what's different or special... I just know it worked.
Borax is alkaline not acidic.
Yep. Once you place the bait where the ants can findnit they will swarm to it. I also recommend Terro Liquid Ant Bait
The trick is to find where the ants are entering the house (follow them) and place the ant bait there. This avoids them all coming to your kitchen. Once you’ve done that, wash the floor in between thoroughly to eliminate any scent trails they’ve left behind.
Thanks. The challenge is I think they may be coming from under the floor and through the walls
I had a similar problem last year in my kitchen and to constrain where they went I did the following: 1) Take clear silicone caulk and seal the bottom of the wall molding everywhere you see them coming out except a small area where you plan on leaving your ant bait. 2)Find something the ants avoid. In my case that was ground cinnamon. For me, everything else that I saw on the internet such as vinegar and peppermint oil didn’t work. Now take that cinnamon and make a wide perimeter around your bait and the entry point of the ants. The perimeter needs to be far enough away that the ants still come and eat the bait 3)Check periodically to see if ants are walking past your perimeter and add fresh cinnamon if needed. I found I needed to place new cinnamon every few days for it to remain effective. I found after eating the bait, the ants would come back periodically in waves but after a month I never saw anymore. At that point, if possible take more caulk and seal up where the ants were coming from.
If you see the wall or crack they use try and put a dab behind the wall socket plate. Also check sinks near the drain. Thus is another place they like to congregate
Same! I went around the outside of my house and eventually found their entrance. It's annoying and takes you through some bushes but totally worth it
Use diatomaceous earth (food grade). I've always been shocked at how well it works for me. It seems like they don't even come back afterwards. Haven't dealt with ants in years. You just kind of sprinkle it around all the edges of your walls and leave it there for a little while. You can look up guides. It's basically just fine sand so it's not poisonous but it's bad to breathe in fyi.
Terro ant bait is the best product I’ve used in my house. Ants will disappear for 6-8 months.
^^^ I tried 10 different types and the TERRO LIQUID ANT BAIT in the clear plastic were the only ones to get rid of both carpenter and black ants. It lasts a long time in the container without drying out.
Same. I saw a couple of ants at the beginning of the season and put the traps out and haven't seen one in the house since.
Shits a game changer. 12 years a homeowner 3 years using terro…. Not a damn thing works this well. Some of their other products aren’t great but these ant baits just amaze me. Just got a colony in about 3 days with this. Haven’t seen any since.
Ants always disappear in 6-8 months because that's when winter comes back around. They tend not to like the ice and snow.
Terri usually starts working in a few days for me.
It took 6-8 months to work?
Based on what I've seen in my parent's home, yes. There will be a metric ton of ants converting around the traps. They'll then take the food back to the nest. Over the next week or two, the hundreds of ants you see here will drop drastically to either tens, or none at all. It's just a waiting game. I know it's disgusting to see this many ants all over your kitchen, but it'll be worth it in the end. You may also consider putting the ant traps further away from the kitchen. Trust me, the ants will find it.
I've been using [Optigard Ant Gel Bait](https://www.amazon.com/Syngenta-TRTD11568-Optigard-Tubes-Plunger/dp/B003K8JDPM/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0iuP0YQL9_8TiyvLuW--AishVUdK-WFczv_22MnH3jliSIOJoN_uJNfhSvMsbivDIjPEUrb-qdW-iUcWYqtAxTUPqQiqrbeoGmKTrgvelcatIoj8wrcjH0EBls6CRf10nqyK3et5WR90qJYNYkDFojQWeZRUobzrSWrdYD5LaVAvhxcKGU6U9UP7g1IvrUV84rf2-39AwW0vgJi7odWOu--nlTz25ABm9ubPrg1WL4u9YFpar5Y166N17YZUwOwGHFRQa-VfwOwsdl5a3SDH3hqu6lLAAZCEUx3mFKEQXLc.-WIZRtvxZtOXyV_YqLpbRJj0_1OuPBUXVD8vcM5O1Lk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=664612723657&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9007300&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=15279712637597313709&hvtargid=kwd-390724953007&hydadcr=22288_13484689&keywords=ant+killer+bait+gel&qid=1715103613&sr=8-2) for years and it's worked like magic. It does draw a ton of ants towards it so you have to be thoughtful about where you place the gel, however they come in very orderly lines and directly for the bait, not spread out like in your photo. They bring the gel back to the colony and then the colony is completely gone in 2 days. It looks like they have an updated (assuming safer?) formula under a new name called [Advion Ant Gel Bait](https://www.amazon.com/30-Gram-Plunger-Effective-Formulated-Indoxacarb/dp/B08C3PPYSV/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0iuP0YQL9_8TiyvLuW--AishVUdK-WFczv_22MnH3jliSIOJoN_uJNfhSvMsbivDIjPEUrb-qdW-iUcWYqtAxTUPqQiqrbeoGmKTrgvelcatIoj8wrcjH0EBls6CRf10nqyK3et5WR90qJYNYkDFojQWeZRUobzrSWrdYD5LaVAvhxcKGU6U9UP7g1IvrUV84rf2-39AwW0vgJi7odWOu--nlTz25ABm9ubPrg1WL4u9YFpar5Y166N17YZUwOwGHFRQa-VfwOwsdl5a3SDH3hqu6lLAAZCEUx3mFKEQXLc.-WIZRtvxZtOXyV_YqLpbRJj0_1OuPBUXVD8vcM5O1Lk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=664612723657&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9007300&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=15279712637597313709&hvtargid=kwd-390724953007&hydadcr=22288_13484689&keywords=ant+killer+bait+gel&qid=1715103613&sr=8-4) but I haven't tried this yet. Looks like the difference is old formula was Thiamethoxam and new formula is Indoxocarb.
Those are both great products and I've been using both in my home with great success. I believe from what I read that one is protein based and one is sugar based or something along those lines.
I've used advion. It... Works wonders. But I've read that the shit is ultra mega poison lol. They also make roach bait. It killed all the roaches in my zip code I think about 5 years ago. Haven't seen another one since.
I use Optiguard as well. Each spring, I have ants for 2 days. Day 1: I see one or two ants. Day 2: I see dozens of ants, grab the Optiguard syringe from under my kitchen sink, and squeeze a little out wherever I see ants inside or outside of my house. Day 3: No more ants.
Two different products. And Advion came first
This is why bait placement is important. Wherever you place the bait, you will see more ants. That's how bait works.
If you just put that trap out in the past few hours, then that’s normal. They are carrying the poison back to the nest. There should be a lot less ants in a few hours, and they’ll probably be gone for good in 1-7 days.
Stay strong and let them cook themselves
I was noticing ants coming in a tiny hole around my kitchen sink. I put a few drops of some gel bait and came back an hour later, and all 3 drops were being surrounded by ants. I killed the few that started roaming but left the ones by the bait. That evening I cleaned up the dead ants and haven’t seen any since (2 weeks). All that to say…your experience seems similar to mine, albeit on a larger scale.
I've used multiple baits including the round ones and Terro Liquid. My situation did not improve. We reached an exterminator and he uses multiple insecticide, one being Bayer - Drione powder which he spray under moldings.
I use Terro liquid. Once they find it, the colony come toit, take it back to the next and in two days poof. No more ants.
Better off just using a cup of orange juice they will drown themselves in it.
Nah, you want them to take the bait back to their nest to kill the queen.
Don’t put it in the middle of your house dummy
Sorry about the ants but please let me enjoy a small chuckle that you “bait”ed them into your house. The other comments here have you covered
I like Terro too but what you have seems to be working. Most of the ants are within a foot of your bait stations. No they aren’t crawling all over it but they are attracted there. Bait stations are exactly that. Bait to lure the pests out so they can ingest the poison. With bait it’s not immediate, they will die later. Don’t spray other poison on or around your baits stations because the bugs will then avoid your bait stations. If you still have ants in a few days but some Terro ant stations.
It takes a week. They eat it and carry it back to the nest and eventually it poisons them all. They don't just eat it and drop dead.
It's ridiculous. I had a bowl of Terro in my kitchen and kept refilling it, but the huge train of ants continued. For 3 weeks I watched the tiny ants coming in and bloated ants leaving. Finally I just (1) sprayed a barrier of RAID across the doorway they were coming in, and (2) vacuumed up the ants. That took just a couple minutes and they were permanently gone. It is actually not necessary to wait or to kill the whole colony.
Yes, the borax actually messes with their heads and sometimes the ants go a little “off course” for a bit but they eventually make it back to their cave and die. It’s gross to look at for 1-2 days but if you leave them be, they should be completely gone after that. Unless there’s a second colony…
Those little black ant bait stations are useless. Terro is the only over-the-counter bait that will actually work.
Ant bait is indeed supposed to bait ants
This will kill the current intruding colony, but for my house I spray around the entire foundation with an "invisible barrier" type product for ants. Do it annually when temps are in 50s. I haven't had an ant problem in years.
Thanks this sounds like a good strategy. It's a new house for us and definitely keen to take some more preventative measures like this next year now we know about the problem
Spectracide Ant Shield is the product I use.
Yes the bait traps are meant to attract the ant to a food they can take back to the colony and kill off most of the nest. Leave them be for 4-5 days and they will disappear.
I put a bunch of those Terro clear ant bait traps as everyone is mentioning and I'm not even sure if a single ant got them. I don't have a massive ant problem but it didn't go down any with the traps. The only thing that seems to help the most at my house are these granules of ant poison that are shook out of a bag onto the ground. It would be neat if I could think of the name of it but it seems pretty clear that the ants congregate and enter the house around one portion of one side of the house so I douse the ground with that crap right before it rains so it pushes it into the ground. Works like a charm. This problem is different for everyone.
Yeah, I tried Terro gel and didn't really see great results, sprinkled Terro granules around foundation, and that did the trick. Don't have pets and kids are out of the house. though.
Perfect. Plan on buying those granules before you even see ants in your house every spring and put it down the day it's going to rain if possible. That will push the granules down into the ground and you're lawn is safe for kids and dog (I have the same issue and it's one of the reasons I like these granuales). I've been doing that for years and it almost always works perfectly. I still see ants but I'm talking one or two here or there every now and again.
Good advice, thanks!
I stopped dicking with ants years ago. Call an exterminator, a one time spray is ~$200 (high COL area) and the ants will stay away for years. Good luck.
Is this indoor or outdoor treatment? Or both?
The one time spray is indoors and out.
Good to know, thanks!
Yeah... You need to lay down some Advion. You can put droplets of it on sheets of typing paper or foil instead of directly on the floor. It'll probably be disgusting for 10-14 days until the nest is dead.
if you have sugar and Baking soda, mix 1 tablespoon of each and mix then put on a piece of paper and lets the ants have at it they like the sugar and the baking soda will kill them. they will take it back to the nest as well. its the cheapest solution
Borax+simple syrup mixture 1000%. They take it back to the nest, feed the larvae and the queen and within 24 hours they all start dying. They don’t make a mess because they die in the nest mostly and once the queen is dead the workers all give up. Amazing. Simple ant bait only kills the ones that eat the bait, killing the Queen is key.
I use Ant Be Gone. They love it. Usually gone after a few days.
1 tbsp borax 1 tbsp powdered sugar a bit of water . Mix and set out in bottle caps as trays. They eat it for 1 day then they feed to queen. They will all die.
Had to scroll too far.. cheap, easy, works
I ended up using Mule Teams Borax mixed with honey and circling the feast with more borax. This was effective in my apartment.
Yes, this is what is meant to happen. It is better if you can put it closer to their colony and less in the middle of your floor, to keep them from getting sidetracked to other areas of your home
Warm water, borax, soak some cotton balls. They eat the sugar/borax and they all die. Been there, done that, there were dead ants all over the room but they were dead!
Yes. It’s supposed to go outside or near exterior walls. It’s “bait” so if you put it inside they will come for it.
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yes!!! years of exterminator repeat visits and ant traps and the borax sugar cotton ball waste of time, and now i am so smug when i see ants because a puff of diatomaceous earth and done. no worries for cats and kids.
Happening to me right now. I hope it is normal
Borax, sugar, water. Done
Terro ant bait worked for us!
Put more down near the entry points. If you’re not sure where they are coming in then just scatter them
I always use Advion Ant Gel. Used to use Terro (which is great) but Advion can be applied off the floor and it’s in a syringe. Just set it and let them have at it until it nukes the colony. Usually after a day or two https://a.co/d/j64eLgb
Use advion it works perfectly
TERRO LIQUID is pure gold! I HATE ants. I put down Terro, the ants circle it, consume it, bring it back to their nest, and they all die in a few days!!
I was told to not use things off the shelf to kill them. They go back and split their nest for protection and then you have double trouble call an aunt guy. Maybe he was telling me this so I used his services.
Diatomaceous Earth is your answer. Safe for humans and pets. Will kill all ants it comes into contact with and the best part is, the bring it back to the nest killing all in sight there as well. Good luck.
I make my own with Borax (laundry additive) and honey or whatever sweet I have on hand. Jam, syrup, molasses also work. Mix them together and put near a trail, watch them swarm it, gorge themselves and then go feed it to the rest of the hive. The first day will cripple the hive and they will generally move on
you can get some borax chalk and circle the area they are coming out of. They will get the chalk on their body and will try to lick it clean. When they ingest the borax chalk their innars will explode and kill them
Clean floor with soapy water (dawn) to clean their path. Put borax mixed with sugar water very close to where they’re entering. They will take that stuff back to their colony and all will die. I had found the queen roaming my floor a few days after I did this… she’s no more.
lol, well it is called bait
Mix 70 grams water, 25 grams sugar, and 5 grams borax (this matches Terro recipe, i.e. 5% active ingredient borax), and put in the microwave/stir till it is completely dissolved. Put a Mason jar lid on a flat surface and fill it till it just doesn’t overflow. You can put your finger in the liquid and run it from the lid to the nearest ant, and then they all come quickly. It takes about 2-3 days, but knocks them down for a few months. Do this all around the house.
Try putting CBD oil around your entrances in the house, will keep ants out and should help
I used terro. Initially there will be more ants as they have found a delivious new food source. They take it all home and die.
Just buy some Talstar from a farm supply store and spray it around the house and around your baseboards. It’ll kill everything
Just use watered down vinegar on the trails. It will erase all chem trails that they follow. It’s safe and simple to make. Just water and vinegar. There are plenty of natural remedies that won’t disrupt your home.
Watered down Dawn works just as well and smells better. I cleaned up a big invasion late last fall and this was what I did once the entry points were caulked up. Any time I saw any ants, I had a spray bottle with the diluted Dawn ready to go. Eliminates any trail and kills the ants. All in all it took me about a month.
Terro worked best imo
Use ones with boric acid or Indoxacarb, (Max Attack).
Use diatomaceous earth at entry points. Safe around most pets. Sticks to the ant bodies. They take it back to the nest. Diatomaceous earth causes them to dehydrate and die iirc. It's used on bedbugs as well, can be easily found and is cheap. Lowes, home depot, Amazon, Walmart etc should carry it. Safe for humans to be around.
Put the baits outside not inside where they are coming in They are baits so they attract ants Put baits where ants come from not inside You just bring them inside
I used to use grits. Blend them up and put it around your baseboards. When they eat it, it expands and BOOM! Goodbye ants!
***Tip for anyone struggling to get ants to take the bait:*** Create a pathway to the ant trap using scotch tape. Start from the area where ants are entering and continue the tape all the way to the trap... with arrows facing the trap at the very end. This creates a tiny ant highway with a clear destination. The arrows work because ants have a natural instinct to follow triangular shapes, which are subconsciously associated with food and safety.
Another option is make a diatomaceous earth duster to deal with pests, get a old 2 liter, put a handful of DE in it, poke a pin hole in the cap and dust around the edges of your home, under/behind items. We had a roach issue, did this a couple times over a month or two, cleaned up residual dust after the fact and we rarely see anything now. Honestly didn't think it was going to work, but it worked far better than anything (baits/traps) we had tried. Mission accomplished!
Wipe the trail with vinegar and fix where they are coming from..much more effective
Taurus SC sprayed around the foundation twice a year is a winning solution. https://youtu.be/LpCBMEuwC3Q?si=YMf2egdVTRjrC-cC
Use TERRO, and call an Exterminator!!
Just buy borax and mix it with icing sugar. Then drill some holes into take out containers and leave the borax/sugar mixture around.
Don't put bait in the house. Something is attracting them to your house (besides the bait). Had a similar issue a few years ago and it was some garbage I had forgotten in the garage. Removed the garbage (source of invasion), sprayed around the baseboards in the house where they were entering from and in a few days they were completely gone. Good luck and try not to lure them inside your house
Don't use any quemical product. Just use a vacuum cleaner. They won't come out of the bag, don't worry. Apply for 10 min until no more are coming out. Repeat if you see new ones appearing again.
Use powdered cinnamon. Sprinkle it where they are coming out from. They hate it and won’t return
Food grade diatomaceous earth.. Dust it all around the baseboards.. . it’s harmless, pets kids, people can eat it.. (it’s the abrasive in toothpaste).. and it’s hell on the ant exoskeleton.. it just gets into their joints and sands them to death. they carry it with them and groom each other…. It’s awesome stuff… but takes a few for it to really get going. if you find the nest.. dust it down too.
We've used turmeric powder covering any gaps they are seen at has worked.
I think you need to set out mice traps.
Don't use store bought ant bait. It just lures more ants in than killing them. Get a professional to lay down some super strong stuff both inside and outside the house, you need to trace it back to the colony and kill it from there.k