Yes -- Borax got rid of the ants!
Here's how to use Borax to get rid of ants when those little tiny ones get into your home! It's so easy, and so much more affordable in the long run than buying commercial ant baits.
Note: This post is a blast from the pretty far past. Originally published in 2013, using Borax to kill ants is still relevant today -- because these darn ants, they are back every year.
When I ran a Borax giveaway a while back, several of you asked if using Borax really did get rid of the ants. Survey says: Yes! I haven't seen one in my kitchen since putting out this homemade ant-killing Borax recipe a couple of times. It works at least as well as, if not better than, the little ant bait things -- and is so much more affordable in the long run than investing in baits over and over again.
It's easy to use Borax to get rid of ants, and picking up Borax is a better long term investment, since you can also use it for other purposes.
Use Borax to get rid of ants
Is it just me, or do you see a new annoying batch of tiny ants in your house every spring, too? I always get a bunch of little ants coming into my kitchen under one of the cabinets that backs up against an outside wall. I originally saw a suggestion online to sprinkle a line of Borax and sugar along where the ants are coming in, but didn’t want to leave that out because of our cats.
So instead, I used this effective ant-killing Borax recipe from The Happy Housewife:
- Mix ½ C sugar, 1 ½ tablespoon Borax, and 1.5 C warm water.
- Soak some cotton balls in the mixture, and put them out near the mess of ants.
- The sugar attracts the ants, and they'll take the Borax with it back to their home.
- Eating the Borax kills the ants!
If you have small children or pets, be sure to keep them away from Borax -- and always wash your hands after using.
Note: Thanks to several commenters who add that: If your ants don't seem to be attracted to sugar, try mixing in some peanut butter instead. They may have a savory tooth rather than a sweet tooth! Just like people, insects are all different... 🙂
Some ants do love sugar...
BOY do these particular ants like this mixture. In the initial Boraxian experiment, I locked the cats in the bedroom for a few hours and set several soaked cotton balls in a line along the edge of the cabinet where the ants were coming in. I let the ants go to town, picked up the cotton balls, wiped up the floor, then let the cats out. Then, I repeated the experiment for a second round of about an hour later in the evening (seeing many fewer ants on this second go-round). By morning? No new ants in sight.
Tip: Try mixing in peanut butter for a more savory ant-attracting formula, if your batch of ants doesn't seem to care for the sugar.
The Borax Effect lasts for some time. When the ants inevitably return, though, it's super easy to whip up another little batch.
Have you tried Borax to get rid of ants in your home? Comment here and let us know how it worked for you!
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Thank you, this worked great for me! Second floor condo unit. Ants came into the kitchen from under the sink, I think through an opening in the dry wall for the water pipe. I used the exact recipe posted and placed several cotton balls on the kitchen counter. The black ants immediately went for the cotton balls and surrounded them. The hard part is letting the ants feed and not squishing them -be patient with this! I left the cotton balls on the counter overnight for about 8 hours, and in the morning all the ants were gone except one lone straggler on the floor. No new ants since that night. I have leftover Borax liquid stored in a jar to use if the ants do come back.
Yes . ! It really works. Much better than the raid baits! When we moved into the house I noticed any baits in the bathroom. Well we had ants everywhere! Bedrooms,bathroom ,kitchen and living room. The baits were not even working. Maybe a day or so and then they would be back. It was disgusting. Well my husband found the borax tip on line. It worked! Not one ant has been seen since.
I live in an apartment and have had my manager come and spray the apartment. They were gone for awhile and then they came back. I found this link online and decided to give it a try. Right now the ants are feasting on the cotton ball...there are MANYYYYYY in there and I'm not killing them. I hope they will take that stuff back to the QUEEN and BYE BYE!! Hopefully there will be NONE there in the morning.
Can we be sure that this Borax strategy isn't being promoted by the company that makes Borax?
Well, this ant bait product says it contains borax:
http://www.terro.com/terro-liquid-ant-baits-2-pack
yes...it is an old method and it does work...the results are often amazing!
What happens if the cotton ball dries before the ants really get to it?
Thanks.
I have a small pet syringe ( no needle) and just fill it with the sugar borax solution and each day re-moisten them. Usually just needs one follow-up the next day and they are gone.
Trying this 'recipe' today. Had no ants all summer and then woke yesterday to gazillions of the teeny black ones absolutely everywhere. EVERY. WHERE. THousands. The borax amount in the recipe is small....hoping it works though!
It does seem to be working. Is so gross watching them I want to kill them but know I cannot. Anyway, down to couple of ants left poking around. I will try one more feeding.
Tip ONE, the ants were attracted to some washed out Chinese Take-Out containers that I had stored in my cabinets. Always throw plastic Chinese containers away.
Tip TWO, this gave me an idea. In addition to the original recipe, add one packet of common Chinese Duck Sauce that one gets from the take-out. My ants are love Duck Sauce..
I mixed sugar and Borax and placed it where I seen ants. The ants have been all over the piles for about 4 days and they are still coming. I am going out of my mind with these ants! When will this stuff work?
Maybe try Optigard Ant Gel Bait Insecticide?
http://www.syngentapmp.com/product/optigard-ant-gel-bait-insecticide?tab=overview
Did you mix sugar and borax in warm water?
I know this is an old post, but maybe someone will still read this? Everywhere I read is that either Borax works great, or they aren't attracted to it at all. I can't find anywhere where they are attracted to it (mine are grease ants) and they come by the hundreds. However, we are into week 3 already, and they are STILL coming!! I don't know if the ant colony is just really really really large or there's more than one... or if the Borax simply isn't killing them!? Has anyone else had this problem? The first week we used some random food mixed with honey and borax. It attracted them, but they still kept coming, so we followed a recipe we found online of 2 T. honey, 2 T. peanut butter & 1/2 tsp. Borax, but they still were coming, so the next week we doubled the borax.... and still they keep coming...and coming....and coming....!
I'm reading this old post because I'm now in the process of trying this method. Still in week #1, but have also noticed that they keep coming. I increased the boric acid content of the bait, but they still keep coming.
It took 2 days for the ants to finally find one of the cotton ball baits (they chose the furthest one, even though there were a few along their trail. Who knows why.)
Anyway, one night I saw a couple dozen of them on one cotton ball drinking away! Watched them all go back to their nest behind one of the kitchen cupboards. Next morning there was maybe one or two, and then a few throughout the day. Definitely fewer. Then, last night - another swarm! Maybe not as big as the first, but still a lot. This morning there are a few still milling around, drinking the poison.
So, why are they still coming?? Did the queen survive? Is there more than one queen? Do I need to continue treatment until all the eggs hatch and cycle through the sugar baits? Frustrating!
Update for those who may be interested:
Day after I wrote the above post, small worker ants were fewer, but still foraging and drinking the bait. Suddenly, I noticed one ant at a bait station that looked different - bigger overall, and with a much larger abdomen. Looked like the queen might have left the nest looking to establish a new colony elsewhere.
Since the queen's death, there have only been a few stragglers, and today - I'm happy to report - there hasn't been even one ant in sight. Going to keep the baits for awhile because there may still be eggs hatching. Hoping that after that generation dies there will be no more ants!
Pretty sure they are Pharaoh ants, which can have multiple queens, apparently. Fingers crossed that the queen I saw was the only one in my particular colony.
Any suggestions on getting rid of med. size black ants? I have tried Terro, Borax with sugar and Borax with peanut butter. They are not interested! They are running around my kitchen like maniacs. We sprinkled Ant and Roach powder around the foundation and also sprayed the foundation with mint. Our yard is full of a variety of different ants. We've been in this house 45 years, and nothing is different. Yikes!!!!!!
Go outside, and try to figure out where they are entering your house. When you are able to find the entrance, pour lots of vinegar down there. I used to use this trick when I lived in a first floor apartment, and it got rid of the ants. You have to make sure though that you have found their colony though.
Have you tried tea tree oil and vinegar?
Very Helpful article. Couple of questions: Does the sugar Borax cotton ball baits work on the BIG Black Carpenter Ants? Also since this stuff is toxic to cats, would I be safe in placing the baits inside a jar with holes ?( outdoor use) SZ
Very helpful ideas. I have seen a couple of ants in my kitchen today so will buy some Borax and try this before I end up with many more. So glad I saw this site on Facebook.