Tired of watching those intrusive, disrespectful tiny insects stream into your home as if they own the place?
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It’s a common sighting for ants to take over, especially during spring and summer. They forage for food, shelter, and water during warmer months, and will find their way inside.
You are watching: 5 Homemade Ant Killer Safe for Pets
If indoors, a simple tip to diminish their numbers is to clean up food scraps, but that won’t put ants out of business altogether.
Making a homemade ant killer that’s safe for pets is the ideal and ultimate action to take to send them packing.
Although you may prefer a homemade ant killer, buying commercially formulated products is also a pet-friendly option, as they come with bait stations. If you’re unsure as to what to look out for in a commercial ant killer, I explained in this post how they work and some of the best options available.
But, since you’re a DIY person, let’s discuss 5 homemade ant killers safe to use around pets.
Homemade Ant Killer Safe for Pets
While these homemade ant killers are safe for use around pets, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to allow cats and dogs to roam in places where treatments are placed. Always monitor the situation.
Homemade ant killer safe for pets #1: Baking soda
Some sources say that the acid in sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) reacts with an ant’s digestive system. This is toxic to ants, as it tears up their insides and dries them out.
To make a homemade ant killer safe for pets with baking soda, you’ll need 2 ingredients.
These include:
- 1 box of baking soda
- ½ cup of sugar
Method:
Combine your sugar and baking soda in a container. Any container will do. Ensure that everything comes together well.
Once done, walk around your home and sprinkle the mixture in areas where ants frequently congregate. This baking soda homemade ant killer is especially handy when used in corners, as ants love these areas.
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Behind your fridge is also another great spot to sprinkle with the mixture.
Is there a particular area where ants enter your home? Add some of the mixture in that area as well.
Note: Sugar isn’t a necessary ingredient for this homemade ant killer to work. The baking soda does all the killing. However, adding sugar doubles its effect, as it will serve as a needed attractant to lure ants in.
Although a homemade ant killer, this mixture kills cockroaches and spiders, too.
Homemade ant killer safe for pets #2: Borax and sugar
Borax is toxic to ants, but not so much to humans and animals.
While it kills ants, borax does something more. It allows you to target an entire colony. This means that a bait set up to wield ants in can find its way back to the queen. I expound on this a bit further in the article, so let’s talk about the ingredients you’ll need.
- ¾ cups of sugar
- A teaspoon of Borax
- Bottle
- 500 ml water
- 2 oz. cups
Method:
Combine your water and sugar in a bottle. The sugar should be completely dissolved in the water.
Add the other 250 ml of lukewarm water.
Follow up with your borax. Adding a little borax is what does the trick here. Although you want to kill ants, you don’t want it to happen quickly. When ants feed, they take scraps back to the colony to attend to the needs of their queen. This means that they will also be bringing the poison borax with them.
Hence, with this method, you can kill an entire colony.
After your mixture is complete, get a bunch of small transparent 2 oz. cups with lids. If you can get smaller, that’s great!
Before adding your bait killer to the container, bore a few holes into the sides and top. This will allow the ants to crawl in.
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Afterward, pour your poison into the cups and close them. This prevents other insects like bees and pets from getting into them. Place around the home. Leave for about a week for it to work.
Since you’ve already made enough of this mixture, you will have it to use, as ants do tend to return.
Remember, it’s okay to not see a lot of ants in the container when you go back to check. That’s the reason why we didn’t use a lot of borax from the outset. We want to make sure that the poison is taken back to the colony.
Tip: Add bits of solid food to the cups when you set the trap. This is so that ants can break off portions to take back to the colony. Add a small slice of pancake or whatever solid food you think ants will find appetizing.
Homemade ant killer safe for pets #3: Borax with honey
Follow the same procedure for homemade ant killer safe for pets #2 but substitute the sugar with honey. This ingredient works the same, just a change in the attractant.
Homemade ant killer safe for pets #4: Dish soap and water
A homemade ant killer solution made using dish soap is one of the most used DIY for homeowners. It’s simple and, if you don’t like leaving things around the home, spraying with this solution is quick.
To make, fill a bottle with water and add about 3 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid. A popular option used for soap is castile soap, but any dish soap lying around the home should do.
Add the solution to a spray bottle and use directly on ants to kill.
Homemade ant killer #5: Food-grade Diatomaceous Earth
Food-grade diatomaceous earth is a safe ingredient to use around the home. It’s harmless to us but sucks the moisture out of ants and tears them up.
If you have a garden and struggle to keep ants at bay, diatomaceous earth can be sprinkled around your garden to kill them.
For indoor use, combine sugar with diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle it in targeted areas of your home.
Note, diatomaceous earth seems to work best when kept dry.
Homemade Ant Killer Safe for Pets, Conclusion
With these homemade ant killer solutions that are safe for pets, you may see a decline in their numbers when used in the garden or home. For your garden, ants typically work alongside aphids, so if you can get rid of ants, you’ll have a better chance at dealing with aphids.
Are you interested in learning about ants? This article highlights 10 cools facts you probably didn’t know.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Outdoor
