You surely won’t admire the free access of ants in your house. They are great trouble and need immediate steps to eliminate before your house is looted. But getting rid of ants isn’t an easy task if you think you can squish them one by one.
Insecticides and readymade ant traps are full of toxic ingredients, mostly borax that’s not eco-friendly. Also sometimes you don’t have borax.
So most people look for easy homemade ant traps but avoid borax. But do ant traps without borax helps to get rid of those ant colonies? Let’s know here!
Do homemade ant traps without borax work?
Homemade ant traps without borax work against ants just like the ones that have borax. Apple cider vinegar, cornmeal, dish soap, baking soda, etc. work amazingly as an alternative to borax when used in ant traps. No doubt borax is a popular ant repeller but other alternatives do the job too.
Ants invading the house is not only irritating but also destructive. So it’s important to get rid of them before the army storm the house. And for that homemade ant traps are most peoples’ first pick.
The most common thing used in the ant traps is borax. Borax is much toxic to ants and can be proved harmful to them if consumed.
Borax when consumed by the ants upset the stomach and digestive process. Eventually, it leads the ants to life loss. This active ingredient takes 22-48 hours to finish the colony of ants.
But borax is not the only way to get rid of ants. Many other ingredients act toxic for ants when used as traps. Such as essential oils, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, etc.
Homemade ant baits using any of these elements work against ants strongly since these can disturb the natural living of the ants. Almost all of these ingredients work just the way borax does, disrupting the digestions of ants.
Some of these ingredients harm the ants externally and in the end finish them off. That means DIY ant traps without borax can work effortlessly too.
What are the alternatives for ant traps if you don’t have borax?
Borax is a popular choice when it comes to fighting with ants taking over your house. But many times it can happen that you don’t have borax at home or near anywhere. Does that end your urge to get rid of excessive ants?
Thankfully no as you can still make traps for ants without using borax. Here are some of the alternatives:
Dish soap water:
Dish soap mixed with water is an instant trap you can prepare for ants. It’s always available and drives away ants in a short time.
Vinegar:
Both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar is effective to eliminate ants. You need to mix any of this vinegar with water and spray it over the ants. It erases the chemical ants release to provide the signal to their fellows and dismisses the trail.
Cinnamon powder:
Ants don’t like the flavor and smell of cinnamon thus they try to avoid places having this spice. You can spread powdered cinnamon to keep ants away.
Boric acid:
Boric acid mixed with sugar is another alternate trap for ants. When spread over it not only finishes the ants also are ingested by the whole ant colony.
How long do ant traps take to work?
Setting traps is known as the most fruitful way to put an end to the annoyance of ants. Though ant traps are more functional than other solutions it takes some time to show the result.
Ant baits work on the ant colony living in your house instead of those few ants that are visible. They don’t finish the ants instantly instead give those tiny pests time to poison their other members.
The ants eat from the trap then carry it with them to the colony and the toxic element is shared with the queen and workers.
Thus it takes more than one day for most of the ant traps to work. Approximately 22-48 hours are needed to finish off a colony of ants.
What terminates ants instantly?
Ants when overtakes the house with their endless trails and interference seek immediate elimination. Though people mostly rely on ant baits to get rid of ants, it is a time-consuming process. So instant measures are needed often.
To finish off ants a few things works very quickly. Like vinegar and baking soda mixture. When poured upon baking soda vinegar creates a foamy soda that can terminate ants on the spot.
Using hot water is another easy way to get rid of ants instantly. You can pour boiled water on an anthill to remove the whole group.
To eradicate ants at once, a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water works like magic. When sprayed over ants’ trail it wipes away the pheromone ants leave to give hints to other ants. Also, this solution terminates ants on the spot when sprayed on hard surfaces.
Spraying soap water is another quick solution for ants. Dish soaps in this case are much effective and accessible. You just have to mix water and dish soap in a 2:1 ratio to get the best result.
Besides, you can use insecticides and baits found in the market to get rid of ants instantly. They contain various chemicals in strong percentages that eliminate ants immediately.
Moreover, professionals and pest controls can be called to get rid of excessive ants in a short time.
Does ant repeller without borax work?
Ant repeller without borax works nicely. Although borax undoubtedly is a pretty effective ant repeller, if you don’t have that then you can also use vinegar and baking soda mixture, water and vinegar mixture, essential oil, etc.
Even soap water can repel ants instantly. Besides, there are various chemical-based insecticides available on market, else wise you can call pest control and get some professional help.
How to make homemade ant repeller without borax?
Undoubtedly borax rules the chart when it comes to ant repellers. But often we run out of borax at home or some people even don’t want to use this ingredient due to environmental concerns.
Besides, people, these days are more aware of the environment thus try to avoid chemical-based products. Thus people look for easy homemade ant repellers that don’t need borax or other toxic ingredients.
Here we’ve listed a few effective ant repeller recipes without borax that can be made at home!
Essential Oil Spray:
Almost all of us have one or two essential oils. To make an ant repeller with that you have to add 20 drops of essential oils into a mixture of two cups of water and vinegar. You must mix the solution well before spraying it.
Vinegar and water solution:
Mix equal parts of white or apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray on hard surfaces or over the ants and their colony.
Diatomaceous earth:
This ingredient alone is a powerful ant repeller. You have to sprinkle diatomaceous earth powder in the area of ants. The microparticles of this earth will get clogged into ants’ bodies and thus get carried to their colony.
This ant repeller can be made with cornmeal as well. In a day or two, the ants will face dehydration caused by diatomaceous earth or cornmeal and lose life.
Powdered sugar with baking soda:
To make this powerful ant repeller the two ingredients should be mixed in 70:30 ratios. The sugar must be in its powdered form since it’s the main attraction of the trap. When consumed with this mixture, the digestive system of the ants will get disturbed leading them to life loss.
Baking soda and vinegar:
Baking soda when poured on vinegar is a strong ant repeller. It’s super easy to prepare and gives instant results.
To make this first you have to spread half to one teaspoon of baking soda (depending on the problematic area) over the nest and spray vinegar on it.
The acidic foam created instantly will destroy the colony of ants in no time.
How do you get rid of ants when traps don’t work?
Often ant traps, baits, or DIYs don’t work the way we imagine or know. But since you can’t just start living with those unwanted guests watching your things getting harmed, we have a few suggestions here for you. So you can make yourself free from those pests.
Using Chlorfenapyr:
Chlorfenapyr is known for eradicating different species of ants. It’s used in many insecticides and is really effective when other plan falls. You have to spray any insecticide containing chlorfenapyr and wait a few hours to get the result.
Using Borax:
Ant poison containing borax is very effective against ants. It slowly poisons the ants along with the colony and disrupts their digestion. Eventually, the ants fall to life loss in a day or two.
Taking Professional help:
Too many ants can’t be controlled always with home remedies. Sometimes insect repellers even can’t give proper relief from ants. So it’s best then to ask for professional help like pest control.
Final Thoughts:
Ant traps that are made at home without borax work strongly against ants. Borax has its own reputation as an ant repeller but ant traps containing vinegar, baking soda or soap water are not less effective than borax. They are just different ingredients but more or less toxic to ants.