Ants are one of the most common pests that will haunt your Spring, Summer, and Fall.
They appear out of nowhere and will immediately zone in on any food in your home. You may also find a nest in your yard overnight! I don’t know how they do it!
You can implement several natural methods to eliminate ants, including household products, boiling water, and bleach.
Even vinegar or lemon can get rid of ants!
This post will look at killing ants with borax and honey. A lethal concoction for these pests!
Why Borax?
Borax is an alkaline mineral that can be found in nature. It’s also called sodium tetraborate, sodium borate, or disodium tetraborate, and it’s a boron compound. This mineral can be found on the beach, in salty lakes, and in springs.
For commercial reasons, borax is mined mainly in the Southwest United States, Searles Lakes, and regions where lakes evaporate seasonally.
This component includes cleaning items such as cleansers, toothpaste, soaps, and other cleaning supplies. You can use it to remove fungus, as an herbicide, in cosmetics, and for floral upkeep and insecticidal functions.
However, extended exposure to borax may cause skin or eye irritation; therefore, it is not considered fully safe.
When using borax in your home, it is recommended that you utilize masks and other personal safety equipment.
To prevent any mishaps, store the borax distant from children and pets.
For more details on the health hazards of borax, check this guide from WebMD.
How Does Borax Kill Ants?
Although borax has a modest toxicity threshold, it is lethal to all varieties of ants.
Due to its efficiency, borax is regarded as one of the best natural weapons for treating ant infestations. However, because ants aren’t drawn to borax, you’ll need to add substances to make the poison appealing.
The additions might be liquid or solid items, and you choose them based on the ant species.
Making a precise detection of the type of ant can assist you in achieving successful results. Since there are hundreds of distinct ants, they are divided into groups based on their feeding choices.
Sugar ants, for instance, adore sugar (carbs), while grease ants adore oils and fats (protein). You can make various borax solid or liquid baits to see which is best for your home or yard.
Borax is poisonous to ants, but how it kills them depends on your methods to get rid of them, such as ant baiting or liquid pesticide.
When you use ant baits, the ants will take them to their nests and eat them. Since borax interacts with the digestion mechanism of ants, the colony as a whole dies.
This is a long-acting method that eliminates the whole ant colony. The queen must consume the bait for their nest to be destroyed. The colony’s viability depends on the queen’s existence. As a result, patience and a well-thought-out operating plan are required.
Liquid borax pesticide or borax powder can also aid in the eradication of ant infestations.
When you spray liquid or solid borax pesticides directly on the ants, it destroys their exoskeleton, causing them to dehydrate and die, but it will not impact their colony unless you can get to them all.
Borax & Honey Ant Killer
The borax, water, and honey mixture is another incredibly effective home cure for ants.
The honey operates similarly to sugar in that it attracts the ants with its sweetness, but its characteristics, combined with the borax, make it toxic.
You’ll need the following ingredients to produce this home remedy (keep away from kids and pets):
- 3 tbsp. Honey
- 1 tsp. Borax
- Warm Water
Stir all three components together until gooey paste forms. Apply this mixture on ant trails, walkways, entrances, and openings in your home and in your yard where insects are a problem.
When the ant eats the mixture, the borax enters the ant’s body and kills it.
How Long Does This Mixture Take to Kill Ants?
The length of time it takes to get rid of ants is determined by the severity of the infestation and the approach you use to get rid of them.
There are also other considerations, such as bait location. You should see effects in about a week for lesser ant infestations.
When dealing with a larger infestation, it may take longer, and you may need to use several baits at the entrances and surrounding ant shelters.
A few weeks of borax bait treatment for bigger ant colonies will yield excellent results. It would be best to consider using pesticides or poison baits for big ant colonies.
Does this Mixture Kill Carpenter Ants?
A colony of carpenter ants may cause major structural damage to your home and property. These ants live in wet woods and establish their nests in dark, damp areas.
The mixture of honey and borax can kill carpenter ants. You can use it to keep them at bay. Carpenter ants dig timber beams or other wooden structures and can cause extensive damage.
If you notice carpenter ants in your home, use borax traps or liquid pesticides to eliminate them.
Does this Mixture Kill Fire Ants?
Fire ants are an exotic species that can create a slew of problems in your yard if they decide to build a colony.
Fortunately, borax can kill these colonies as well.
Please remember that you’re only attempting to kill fire ants, not any other type of ants. Killing every ant in your yard will allow additional fire ants to move in and take over the region.
Leaving the native ants alone will help to maintain the ecosystem’s equilibrium. Getting a jar of borax bait as close to the fire ant mound as safely possible is the easiest approach to focus your borax baits for only fire ant consumption. Then leave the rest to the worker ants to handle.
It would be best if you only were looking to control the fire ants and not eradicate them unless they are causing a nuisance.
If you have ants in your house or garden, now you know how to use borax to manufacture liquid and solid baits that will attract the ants and eventually kill them.
Can it Damage Your Lawn?
Borax is often used to eliminate ant infestations in homes and yards. Please remember that borax can be hazardous to plants if not used properly.
You can use borax solid or liquid baits inside and outside, but when applying borax bait in your garden, make sure to use a lid or container.
While physical contact with borax on the floor can cause plant harm, it can also work as an herbicide.
Sugar and Borax Ant Killer
You can create an ant trap consisting of borax and sugar to use as an excellent home cure for getting rid of ants, whether inside or outside. You’ll need the following items:
- 2 tbsp. Borax
- 1/2 Cup of Sugar
- 1/2 Cup of Hot Water
Combine the borax and sugar in a mixing bowl, then pour the warm water. Stir until the sugar and borax are dissolved completely, and the mixture has high viscosity.
The ants are drawn to this mixture by the sweetness of the sugar.
This solution can be utilized as a preventative and viable remedy to an existing ant infestation indoors.
Pour small portions of the insect bait into small cubes and position them where ants congregate in the house, such as around kitchen countertops and cabinets, to use inside.
You can place it near entryways and trails used by ants to enter the building, such as window ledges, doorways, and other openings.
Omit the water and mix the powdered sugar with the borax in the ratio of 2 parts borax to 1 part powdered sugar for use outdoors, whether in gardens or yards.
Spread this powder around the plants in the garden or the path of the ants in the yard.
It’s also crucial to remember that borax is poisonous if consumed and needs to be kept away from children and pets.
Final Thoughts
If you plan to kill ants with borax, combining it with honey or sugar is the way to go!
As I said above, borax is good, but ants are not attracted to it. The honey and sugar are the attractants, and the borax is the killer.
You can also apply borax to peanut butter. I’ve successfully used this as bait in the past (It also attracts other pests, including rodents!
Finally, killing ants with borax and honey will only control the ant population. It doesn’t usually completely eradicate them.
Good luck.
