An Awesome Ant Control Product

Ants.  They have their purpose in the world but, in my opinion, there is almost nothing more disgusting than ants marching through your home or office.  Ants are pesky and extremely difficult to control.  But I have stumbled upon an inexpensive, effective, and safer way to get rid of ants. I am so excited about this product that I have to share it with you.

My Ant Infestation

Almost everyone has had to deal with ants.  And there are many ways to exterminate them; professional pest control, chemical sprays, solids, liquids, and so on.  Recently, I had such an overwhelming invasion of ants that it was almost fun to watch then marching on their invisible super highway.  But before long it got old and was no longer interesting.

I work in a historic, beautiful old building.  My office is on the third floor. As autumn turned colder, I suddenly began sharing my office space with what seemed like millions of ants.  They marched up from the floor, up across my wall, and behind a bulletin board.  I wasn't sure where they were coming from or where they were going. Or why they were interested in an old bulletin board. But they were there and they seemed intent on staying.

Initially, I was content to watch them march up and down the wall, until they began also marching up onto my desk and occasionally up my legs. Since I found a can of ant spray in the supply closet, it seemed that ants were probably an amenity that pre-existed my employment.  So I sprayed with the ant spray. I sprayed and I sprayed.

The ant spray only killed the ants that I was able to hit directly and soak. It's more likely they drowned than were killed by chemicals. The rest of the ants just marched around the wet spots until the wet spots dried.  Then they resumed their march on their normal path.  The only apparent outcome of using the spray was triggering my migraines.

I started to look for more natural ways to get these ants out of my space.

Pest Control Options

I searched the internet for solutions. Exterminators are pricey and the agency was unlikely to pay for it.  Sprays were clearly not effective and the chemicals hurt my head.  So I looked for options with fewer or no chemicals.  I decided to do a water and vinegar spray. That concoction seemed completely ineffective. Then I decided to do a boric acide and sugar water mixture. Trouble was, I didn't know exactly what boric acid was and where to find it.  It also sounded frightening. While looking in the pest control aisle at a local store, looking for this scary sounding acid, I found my solution.

"Terro Ant Bait. It Works."

Terro liquid ant bait. It works. That's not only a slogan, it's the truth.  I am no expert on extermination. But I can say that my ant problem was large scale and persistent. And was solved by using Terro.  This stuff is the best. I've stocked up on more, to make sure I have some on hand if I need it again.

Terro Liquid Ant Bait

Have Faith and Patience

Know that at first MORE ants will come. Yes, MORE ants.  The amount of ants that came for the first 2-3 days was amazing.  But that was good. It meat the Terro was doing what it was supposed to do.  I returned after a weekend, and the number of ants was dwindling.  Then I was in and out of the office for the next few days and the number of ants decreased.  Approximately 7 -10 days later, the ants were magically gone.

I placed the bait in their path

Make sure to follow the directions on the packaging and take a look at the Learning Center section on the Terro site.  Also, make sure to place the bait directly in the path of the ants.  Initially, I placed my baits in three different areas; the wall, the floor at the legs of my desk, and on the floor near where they were entering  The ants did not go to the baits I placed on the floor. But they swarmed the baits placed in their path (I had taped one flat against the wall in their path).  Don't move the baits that are in the path of the ants and be patient as the infestation seems to worsen.

Terro liquid ant bait is an easy-to-use, inexpensive, and effective way to get rid of the ants invading your home or office.  I am overly sensitive to smells and chemicals, due to my migraine issue, and while I noted that there was an extremely slight scent, it was not a harsh chemical smell and it did not trigger a migraine.  If you have an ant problem, I highly recommend Terro.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Review: How to Get Rid of Annoying Crawling Insects Like Ants without Poisons

Ant Attack!

Is there any worse way to start the day that walking into a kitchen that's been invaded by ants? I realize a medical emergency or a house on fire could be worse, but it's still a real downer to go into the kitchen to fix breakfast and find the counter full of ants.

That’s what happened to me again this morning. I had them pretty well cleared out and hadn't been bothered for about two weeks, but today they had found another way in I did not have guarded. Fortunately, this time I knew what to do. I was prepared. The ants you see above I was trying to kill with poison -- store-bought and a homemade version of the same thing. That was back in September of last year.

About three months ago, after invasion after invasion, I had purchased two five-pound bags of Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. I had tried making my own ant poison using Borax from recipes I found online. The ants loved it. They loved it so much they told all their buddies about it and I had more ants than ever. I guess there were so many ants in their hills that they didn't all die off when it was brought back. I read that the liquid bait wasn't as effective at killing the whole colony, so I mixed the recipe for dry poison. It might have worked had the ants been attracted to it, but they totally ignored it.

What Did Work

It was in desperation that I tried food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE). I used one of those little cups that had formerly held a small size yogurt to sprinkle the DE where needed. I put it where I saw the ants entering and I made borders around the areas where they were as best I could. I lined the edges of the kitchen sinks with it. Then I went away. Within 24 hours, most ants were gone or dead. I'm not sure what happened to the bodies of most of them. As more ants tried to come, they were stopped at the entrance places. Within a few days they had stopped coming. I hadn't had them for about three weeks when I went to bed last night.

How I apply DE,  © B. Radisavljevic

This morning they decided to come up from the bottom instead of where I had them blocked at the windows. The counter was covered with them and the sink was full. I had been too tired to empty the dishwasher last night and the dirty dishes had been left on the counter and in the sink. I moved all dishes into the sink and spread my magic powder on the floor where the ants were coming in and put a border back on the counter and around the sink. I now apply the DE with an art paintbrush – a medium width one. It's large enough to spread my borders and also to brush ants that are outside the borders back inside them. Professional dusters are available, and might do a better job of spreading, but I decided to do the best I could with what I had on hand.

If an ant walks on the DE, it will die. It will puncture their stomachs and they will lose their body fluids. However, the food grade DE is so safe that humans can eat it and it won't hurt them. In fact some people use it to treat constipation instead of using a laxative.

In the reviews on Amazon, people have reported great results using DE on bedbugs and fleas. Since it is non-toxic, it won't hurt pets or children. It will work with any crawling or flying insect. But it has to be dry to work. If it gets wet it is no longer effective, so it doesn't do much good for snails, slugs, or other bugs outdoors where you water. I don't dust any outdoor plants where a bee or butterfly might land, though I might try it on my chard that has no flowers.
I hate using any kind of poison in the kitchen or anywhere else in the house unless there is no other solution. DE won't be carried back to kill off a colony, but the ants in your house won't be returning to their colony to show their pals the way to your kitchen, either. They die quickly and don't go anywhere.

Ants Killed by DE, © B. Radisavljevic

The picture above was taken in an invaded bathroom, I had left a measuring cup that had been full of homemade liquid ant bait with a Borax base. It finally dried up. The ants had loved it. A few days ago the ants found a way through my DE barrier and headed right for the cup, even though the bait had dried up long ago. So I sprinkled DE into the cup. You can see the result in the dead ants at the surface. It was the DE that killed them. Had it been the poison they would have taken it home.

There is a downside, but I can live with it. You have to keep the DE on your counters and floors until the infestation is gone. It doesn’t look nice, but it won't hurt you. Only food grade DE, not the stuff used for swimming pools, is harmless to pets and humans. So be sure to get food grade.

I have focused on ants here because I don't have pets, so no fleas. I don't have bedbugs, either, thank goodness. Ants are my biggest problem. But if you have fleas in your house or bedbugs, you might want to try it to get rid of them, too. To get your supply, just click below. I had a tough time finding food grade locally. Why not get yours today so it's on hand the minute an invasion begins. 

 *Top Rated* Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth 10 Lbs

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON: