Oh how cute!!
This is an edible replica of sugar ants attacking a helpless doughnut. Cute…
Sadly the real life sugar ant is NOT so cute in my book!
I moved into my house last October and from the get-go struggled with the sugar ants in the warm phoenix weather. Once it got cold they went away and I thought my problems were solved!
Wrong!
They came back this summer… I did my homework this time!
Sorry ants, but you can’t stay in my kitchen.
Here’s what I learned…and did…and it worked!
Sugar ants eat sugar, sweets, and other scrap foods. Those little spills on the counter, the crumbs under the table — all fair game for those tiny creatures! So naturally, keeping a clean house is going to be your first line of defense against the ants.
1. You need to keep your kitchen sink clean and dry. Sugar ants love a dirty sink and the water you used to wash down the leftovers. Make sure to rinse your dishes and sink every night. I used Clorox Bleach Cleanup to wash down the walls of the sink. You can even pour a little bleach down the drain and garbage disposal to remove the scent of food.2. Wipe down counter tops each night with bleach. This does double duty. It cleans up any little spill you might have over seen and it also breaks down the pheromones that ants use to follow each other to the food source.
3. Sweep and mop your floor every night during the summer. Again…you’ll want to mop with warm water and bleach. This does the same thing that cleaning your counter tops will do. Hey, I didn’t say it was going to be easy!
4. Keep it contained! Don’t eat food in places that will be harder to keep clean, like on the couch or carpet. But if you do, be sure to vacuum as often as possible!Ok, so now we have our prevention tactics…which is where I stopped last fall, and failed. Don’t get me wrong, it is the best idea to use those techniques listed above, but in order to fully get rid of those little ants, you’ll need to initiate a war.
This is the concoction that I used:
Mix together-
1 tbsp Boric Acid
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
I cut off the bottom of a paper plate and placed a nice tablespoon full of the mixture on top. I then placed the plate near the corner of my cabinet where I frequently saw ants coming and going. Then I took cover! It’s a circus! Ants EVERYWHERE!! Control your urge to clean them up! It may take 24-48 hours for this to work out right.
{I found my boric acid at Walgreens in the pesticide section}
How is this going to work you ask? The Boric Acid is hidden in the sugar mix, but it is a deadly combo for the ants. It wont kill them instantly (which is what you want). The soldier ants will eat the mixture and take it back to their queen (who is the main enemy).
Once the queen is dead, it’s not too long before your rid of your little problem!
I hope that this works for you! And remember to keep a clean house afterwards to ward off any more soldier ants trying to find a new scent!
Grilled Chicken and Corn
Florian
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