Q & A - Natural Ant Killer?

Are natural ant killers effective? Can you control ants in your home without exposing yourself to the toxic chemicals in most ant killers? The answer is yes.

1. A non toxic all purpose insecticide is Wondercide, an organic cedarwood oil based spray that is safe to use indoors and out and on your pets. I have personally used it to control ants. Wondercide kills the individual ants and erases the chemical trail that ants follow.

2. Another option is setting out cornmeal baits. Ants are attracted to it and treat it as food, but they can't digest it, so they slowly starve. It won't kill a colony as quickly as poison, but it's incredibly cheap, and completely safe to use in a house with pets or small children.

3. A least toxic option is Terro Liquid Ant Baits, which have borax as their active ingredient.  Boric acid is an effective insect stomach poison. While boric acid is somewhat slower acting than other options, it is highly effective over a long period of time. 

Follow the instructions on the package, and place the baits near ant trails or wandering ants. At first, it might seem that the traps increase the population of ants, as a thick ant trail will form, but after a few days the ant population will be under control.

4. If you have ant infestations in multiple areas of your home Beyond Pesticides.org recommends drying um out with food-grade diatomaceous earth. Place the dust in wall voids or cracks and then seal them, or sprinkle powder lightly around the edges of carpeted areas or brush it into the carpet, wait three days, and then vacuum.

In cracks, the dusts can be effective for many years, as long as they are kept dry. Once-a- year applications to carpets should suffice.

5. To keep ants from coming in your home put a food attractant placed in a dirt-filled, clay flowerpot in your yard. This will lure the ants away from your house. Once they’ve moved into the pot, kill them with boiling hot water.

For more info on natural pesticides check out the following posts.