Anthill Organic Pest Control
Some outdoor ants such as Fire Ants are a real hazard. If you have ever stepped on a Fire Ant hill you know why. The bites are very painful and the welts last for months. If you are fortunate enough to locate an outdoor Fire Ant nest, there are two effective products that will get rid of these ants as well as many other ant species.
Aspartame
To kill off ants at the source you can use the artificial sweetener – Aspartame, more commonly known as Equal and NutraSweet.
Sprinkle three packets of Equal or NutraSweet on the largest ant mound. After 3 or 4 days you will notice that the number of ants declines. After a week, sprinkle another packet on the mound. By the end of the second week, the ants will be gone. Although many ant species will move their mound when they are attacked, Aspartame seems to kill the colony. No new mounds will form near the original one.
If you regularly use Equal or NutraSweet in beverages, on cereal, fruits and other foods, or if you drink a lot of diet soda, you may want to rethink your intake of Aspartame. The product is highly controversial although it is FDA approved.
Turmeric
This asian herb; – an essential ingredient in Indian Food is also a great organic deterrent for ants. Although it does not kill them, the ants will move their nest far from that location. Just sprinkle a good dose of the bright yellow/orange Turmeric powder at the entrance to the nest and into the opening, Sugar-loving pharaoh ants hate the stuff.
Puree of Orange Peel
Another organic method of destroying an ant mound is to puree orange peels and to mix it with orange juice. Pour the mixture over the ant mound. I haven't tried this one, but supposedly the acid in the orange peel is toxic to ants.
Diatomaceous Earth
It maybe a mouthful to say, but this sandy-textured mix of organic dried and ground bones is a great non-toxic deterrent to ants. Diacomaceous Earth acts like jagged pieces of glass, scratching the insect's waxy outer shell and causing death by dehydration. Spread it over and around the ant hill. Reapply after rain.
Diatomaceous Earth is really a marvelous organic product as it also kills larvae (such as grubs) and it can be used as a safe dusting powder for dogs cats and other animals with fleas, ticks, lice and other external pests.
Remember, once the flow of ants to and from your bait trap diminishes noticeably, closeup the hole in the wall with a spackle compound.
Please feel free to comment below on whether the above methods have worked for you!
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Having done a building and pest inspection on my home is something that I do every month. Just last month though, I had a surprise of finding a some termites chewing away the flooring that I recently installed on my shed. Fortunately for me, the damaged done on the flooring was a minor damage and something that could be fixed easily.
I’ve had ants in my bathroom for months now, and I can’t figure out how they’re getting inside. They’re so small, there could be tiny gaps in my molding I can’t even see. I think I’m going to look at pest control options as well as try and patch any potential routes inside.
During the summer I had to deal with ants in my house everyday. Even after cleaning my house spotless I would find at least one ant crawling into my kitchen. I would do anything so I wouldn’t have to deal with that this year. What are some precautions that I can take to avoid them?
Find every small hole in every wall and baseboard and fill it with spackle.
I did not know that there were over 22,000 species of ants in the world. It seems like there are a lot more insects than people which may be a problem depending on the situation. I had a neighbor who worked in pest control for a number of years. I think he may have had certain tips for dealing with pests. I might have to contact him to see what he can tell me.
Hi Hillary, I’ve had a glitch due to an upgrade but the guys at Livefyre solved it immediately so everything should be fine now.
Cheers! 🙂
Hello Andrea! Thanks for the visit and a very happy Easter to you too!
Yes, I have been reading your wonderful articles but was unable to leave a Livefyre comment! I’ve decided to close out my account. I must see if I can now comment on you site as a guest.
Cheers
Hillary
Ants can be a pain, but they are also extremely interesting insects pretty intelligent. I’ve alwasy been amazed by those ants who cultivate mushrooms to eat feeding them with chopped leaves. And their overall organization similar to that of the Anciant Roman Army.
I saw you are not using anymore Livefyre, did you have problems with it?
Happy Easter Hillary!