How to Get Rid of Ants Without Using a Pesticide
Ants usually will come in your house looking for food and/or water. If they find it the scouts will lay chemical marker trails that worker ants will follow to the food source. The safest method for getting rid of ants without using a pesticide is cornmeal or grits. Ants will take the cornmeal or grits back to the nest and feed on it. Ants, however, cannot completely digest cornmeal or grits and eventually die from starvation due to buildup of the fiber in their digestive systems. To use this treatment effectively track the ants back to their nest and pour some small heaps of cornmeal or grits in the areas where you see ants frequently traveling. You should notice a marked decease in the ant population in a week or so.
Ants do not like the smell of vinegar. A vinegar and water solution sprayed around the area your trying to keep ants away from works wonders for a temporary treatment. At the very least it will give the cornmeal and/or grits time to work.
Boric acid is also a relatively harmless compound that will decimate an ant colony. Boric acid is virtually harmless to the environment and is actually found at low levels in many aspects of our environment. It is virtually non-toxic to wildlife and fish as well. Research shows that boric acid is just as safe as ordinary table salt. Boric acid is cheap and can be found in most drug stores. You can expect to pay less than five dollars for a container of boric acid that should keep you ant free for a long time. Use boric acid along with cornmeal and/or grits. Pour your boric acid into a clean mustard or ketchup bottle and draw a line around each heap of cornmeal or grits. The idea is to make sure the ants crawl through it to get to the food. This one-two treatment should have you ant free in no time at all.
If you know where the ant nest is a big pot of boiling water can be a devastating weapon against a ant nest. Just pour it over he nest area and the hot water will rush into the next and kill the ants on contact. Combined with boric acid and corn meal you will easily be able to get rid of the worst ants without using a pesticide.
For those who want to deal with their ant problem without killing the little creatures, you have to provide them with a food and water source they can easily find. A small container of syrup near the nest should feed the critters for a whole summer.
