Some of the most peskier pests to invade your lawn, especially in the summer, are ants. A quick walk through of your lawn probably leads to the discovery of those tell tale anthills. The question is: How do you get rid of them?
Ants can be pesky little pests for your lawn or garden.
(Courtesy: Lukasz Molenda at flickr.com)
There are a number of ways from using pesticides to creating your own non-toxic solutions.
One concoction that seems to work is a mixture of baking soda and confectioners sugar with water.
Gather up a plastic spoon, plastic cup, confectioners sugar, and baking soda. Put five heaping spoonfuls of the sugar and baking soda into the plastic cup and mix the substances up so that you can’t tell what is sugar and what is baking soda and then add two tablespoons of water. The solution also works on ants you may discover living in the bottom of your pots. Don’t pour the mixture on the ground or in the pot. Instead, place the cup where you have ant issues or nestle it in heavier clay pots for stability. The pot can be placed next to a collection of potted plants.
Another option is to mix the sugar and baking soda together, then toss it in areas where you have ant issues, then add a mist of water to make the powder into a moist paste.
The brew works because the ants love sugar, but the baking soda is deadly for them. They eat it and take it back to their nests to give to other members of the colony as well as the queen and after just a few days there are no more ants.
Another method that seems to work against ants is to put piles of cornmeal where you have ant issues. They eat it and take it back to the nest. The critters can’t digest the cornmeal and it kills them.
Cornmeal is deadly for ants.
(Photo courtesy of mealsandmovesblog.com/2011/05/13/fun-facts-friday)
Club soda is another way to rid your property of fire ants. Just pour two cups of the beverage directly into the center of the anthill. The carbon dioxide in the water is heavier than air and displaces the oxygen causing the ants to suffocate. It is said that a whole colony will be dead within two days. Treat each mound individually. A one-liter bottle of club soda is enough to kill ants in two to three mounds.
Pour some club soda into an anthill and it’s bye-bye ants.
(Courtesy: Sydney Reimer at flickr.com)
Believe it or not, Minute Rice also works. Just sprinkle uncooked Minute Rice over an anthill or wherever you have an ant problem. Just as is the case with the other remedies, the ants eat the rice and take some back to their nest. When they eat it the rice swells in their stomachs and kills them.
Minute Rice may be good for us humans, but it’s deadly to pests like ants.
(Courtesy: SavingOnTheEssentials at flickr.com)
