Borax is a naturally occurring mineral that’s used in cleaning and cosmetic products. It also has a reputation of being lethal to several indoor and outdoor pests like cockroaches and silverfish. Borax is especially known to be an effective and a more family and earth-friendly ant killer. Check out how using pesticides with borax can help to get rid of ants.
Is borax the same as boric acid?
Borax and boric acid both contain the element boron and affect insects the same way. The major difference between them lies in their sources. Typically, borax is mined and refined from tourmaline, kernite, and colemanite, while boric acid is extracted from sassolite.
What happens to ants when they eat Borax?
Ants aren’t attracted to borax alone, but it is odorless and can be combined with things ants do like to eat to create a bait. When ants eat a borax bait, it wreaks havoc on their digestive systems and gradually kills them. They don’t stand a chance against it!
How long does it take for borax to kill ants?
Borax has a low toxicity rate for humans and pets, but it’s very fatal to ants once they consume it. Ants that eat a borax bait will typically die within 24-48 hours. Ants also help by doing some work for you. Foraging worker ants carry the bait back to their colony to share. Gradually, this feeding and sharing process will kill off the queen and her entire colony of ants. This can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks depending on the size of the colony.
Will sprinkling borax kill ants?
No. Unless ingested, borax won’t do anything to ants. That’s why you need a borax ant killer bait. You have to trick them into eating it so it can do its job!
How Do I Get Rid of Ants in My Yard with Borax?
Before you can get rid of ants, you need to find them. Look for ant mounds, ant trails, roaming ants, and possible points of entry into your home. You can mix borax powder with confectioner’s sugar, and then sprinkle it around your yard, near anthills, and ant trails. You can also warm some honey and mix in borax powder, then drizzle the mixture in places where ants will find it. The boron in borax is a plant nutrient, but be careful because too much borax applied directly to the ground can kill plants and grass.
If you want to avoid making a mess or killing your grass, you can purchase easy-and-ready-to-use borax ant killer bait stations. Place them 5 to 10 feet apart around your home, in your garden near ant trails, and near entry points.
Common entry points include:
- Cracks in walls
- Foundation gaps
- Dryer vents & exhaust fans
- Windows & doors
- Holes in flooring
- Utility lines
- Carried in with you
Tips for Ant Baiting
It’s important to make sure that ants eat the bait and take it back to the colony. This will help ensure that ants don’t return to your home. Here are a few tips to help make your ant baiting a success.
- Eliminate Food Sources: If ants catch wind of another food source, they could pass by the bait. Clean up any crumbs or spills and keep food stored in containers with tightly fitting lids.
- Eliminate Harborage Sites: Things like clutter, piles of leaves, and grass can all act as hiding spots for ants. Keeping your yard clean and clutter out of your home will help to deter ants from coming back.
- Place Ant Bait Near Trails: Foraging ants often travel in trails. If possible, place ant bait near these trailing ants. This will help ensure they find the bait and take it back to the colony.
- Don’t Apply Sprays: While plant-based insecticide sprays are an effective solution for pests, you don’t want to spray them near ant bait. Our sprays have residual repellency, which helps keep bugs away. When sprayed near baits, it can deter ants from eating it.
- Leave Ants Alone: Though tempting, you don’t want to kill the ants that show up near the bait. They need to be able to carry it back to the colony. The larger the colony, the more time it will take to eliminate it.
What are your favorite ant kill hacks? We want to hear about them! Leave us a comment below!
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You know, I appreciate the fact that you tell people how to mix up their own borax bait, while also selling your product, unlike Terro, who like to pretend that it’s a secret formula, known only to alchemists who can read the hieroglyphs and intone the sacred chant while heating it in an alembic. (Okay, they’re not that bad, but it drives me nuts when companies feel the need to insert their product name, in bold font, in the middle of the sentences in their instructions. Surely some marketing dork insisted it would increase sales via repetition and it seems like everybody does it now.)
I will say, your syrup product is a bit easier to use than home-made mixes, and for people who don’t want to buy a whole box of 20 Mule Team, it’s perfect. The ratio definitely matters—too much borax and they’ll leave it alone; too little and all you’ve done is fed the little SOBs so they can breed even MORE. And the Maggie’s Farm syrup definitely works!what i did was mix it with jelly then put the mixture onto a plastic bottle cap. I had ants in the bathroom hundreds can and swarmed it. By morning only a few were left. Worked great. Plus it was cool to watch. I placed it on the other side of the tub from where they were coming in first one ant then he found it and took off quick within minutes 10 then 20 it was neat to watch.