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 so much for this suggestion. We weren't sure how to get rid of these little ants each spring. They can smell sugar from a mile away. This totally worked within 36 hours or less
I use this mixture every spring and it WORKS every spring. I put it on window seals, at each door, in every corner of my kitchen and under each appliance. Most always, I only have to use one round of it; otherwise, I may have to do it again in late fall. Spray Ant Killers do not work.
Can you use powdered sugar in place of regular sugar? I made cookies and used up all my sugar but I still have the powdered sugar left. Would this work as well?
I am going to try this, too. I live in a house where it is easy to close off parts of it so my dog can't get to the baits. I've also smeared the legs of my furniture with Vaseline to keep the little critters from climbing up there.
I have tiny red ants. I think they're attracted to sugar? So far, I have a white Raid ant trap, a Terro liquid ant trap, and two cotton balls with the borax/sugar water mixture. They seem interested in everything, but it's been 24 hours (at least) and they're still here. Can I add more borax? Or will they taste it and avoid the cotton balls then?
As long as they are eating the bait, it's a good sign. Last year we had hundreds of ants and when I put out the bait they ate it and I put out new bait until no ants showed up. You need them to take the bait back to the nest and share it to get rid of them. It's kind of scary when you see so many of them eating the bait.
Thanks for your reply Mandy! It's so hard to wait for them to stop coming back. It seems like the black ones die more quickly than these tiny red ones. I cleaned all the counters with soapy water and then vinegar yesterday, except the little area where they are, right against the wall. I think that's preventing them from traveling any further into the kitchen, which is a relief!
Just to follow up---the borax-sugar-water cotton balls worked for me. I had to give it time (2-3 days) and be sure to remove anything they might eat instead, like an almost empty cookie bag or crumbs. It's been about a week and no ants have returned.
I placed the cotton balls right on the counter (wrung out a little so not too messy) but you could also set them on a piece of wax paper or a jar lid.
Whenever I see ants, I put out two baits... I make a mix of borax, peanut butter and parmesan cheese. All meat ants love that mix - hubby calls it "the heavenly hand grenade". Then I make a paste of borax, sugar, a few drops of water - he calls that "death blossom" (Yes!, to all the Last Starfighter fans).
Funnily enough, it works the same way - ants are gone within 12-24 hrs. They take their preference, or often both.
do NOT do this. Made up a large batch exactly as prescribed here but also other batches with varying levels of these 3 ingredients.
What do you GET? a pasty mess that dries into a ROCK-hardened pile almost immediately. They cannot EAT it as it's then a solid. And MESS I might add.
There needs to be something added to keep this fluid (surely what terro uses in traps so they stay fluid) as ANTS CANNOT & will NOT be attracted to a solid that is ROCK HARD & total waste.
Trust me, I've now tried this ALL over the place & followed directions precisely.
Plus this should also be noted, even WHEN liquid, they went NO WHERE near it yet swarmed the terro baits so this isn't effective even BEFORE it dries up into a rock (which is less than an hour).
WHAT horrible advice, truly. And I'm very irritated.
I tried this and it worked like a charm! I left the cotton balls on my countertops and the ants were loving it. The next morning when I checked on the cotton balls, all of the ants were gone and they have not returned!!
I originally learned of this kind of DIY ant bait from a local newspaper column in 2002, but using boric acid instead of borax. Boric acid powder can be obtained from pharmacies in the United States, but one may have to request it, as our so-called "drug stores" no longer stock many traditional remedies. On the other hand, Twenty Mule Team Borax is readily available in supermarkets and hardware stores. Instead of soaking cotton balls with the solution, I place it in shallow bait dishes cut from the bottom half-inch of aluminum beverage cans. It typically takes three to four days to wipe out a nest of the tiny Argentine ants, so one needs to be patient, refilling the bait dishes repeatedly until the ants stop coming. Having the bait in liquid form is beneficial, as ants often invade kitchens and bathrooms in search of water, particularly during hot, dry weather.
Thanks so much, Rachel! I was dealing with fire ants (which like meat) so I used some chicken bouillon in place of the sugar. This seems to be working great! I have a small dog, so I only placed these in windowsills she can't reach.