A Green Mamma way to get rid of ants???

[newg]

Is there a safe, green mamma, way to get rid of ants in the house......specifically the kitchen (counter and floor) ? We started noticing the really small, black, ants this weekend and dh went out to lowes and bought some stuff to spray outside and some ant traps....but with dd crawling/walking and two dogs...ant traps kinda worry me.....plus, the ants aren't under the stove (where dh shoved the traps to keep away from dd and dogs)...they are on the counter tops and floor where dd eats and dogs eat......
So I don't want yucky poision around them! There must be something I could spray or put out that wouldn't be harmful to them!!

TIA!!

[elliput]

Vinegar! I keep a spray bottle filled with straight vinegar and a squirt of Dawn. When I see ants on the counter I just spray them down and wipe up. They die within a few seconds.

Clean House, Clean Planet recommends just soapy water. And to get rid of the nests, pour boiling water with some liquid soap on them.

ETA- wipe the area where they are entering with peppermint oil to keep them from following the ant trail.

[newg]

Thanks!!!
Going to get a big pot of water to start boiling......and then to make some vineger/soap spray!!!

[ladysoapmaker]

Draw with chalk all around the baseboards and the doorsills and the windowsills. There is somethign about chalk that the ants don't like to cross. I think peppermint oil also works as a deterrent as does bay leaves.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Peppermint oil is supposed to deter them. Spray the counters with it, especially near the backsplash. The castille soap I use from Trader Joe's has it in there. If you can find their holes, put bay leaf in them. Keep the lights on all night b/c it messes with them and they can be killed from that.

Beth

[k_k_momma]

The chalk has worked for us -- ants don't like crossing chalk lines -- actually we used talcum powder since it was all we had in the house at the time and it's worked for the perimeters where you can draw boundaries, but for those coming up the walls the soapy water worked, but you have to keep at it for a few days.

[brittone2]

Peppermint or other strongly scented EOs work well on threshholds where they might come in, or on a little tissue or whatever stuck in corners/cracks where you see them going in/out. Lavendar leaves, mint leaves, etc also work somewhat IME. I've used peppermint castille soap and vinegar like some PPs as well.

Some people use sugar plus borax (obviously with very young kids you wouldn't want to do this if there was any chance they could access it, but Borax overall is still far more benign than most ant sprays, etc.). You actually make it more sugar w/ just a little borax so they'll take it back to their nest. It may increase traffic temporarily but you are killing more in the long run, kwim? Then you keep gradually upping the percent of borax. If you start w/ a lot of borax, it scares them off and t hey won't take it to their nest. You can google for more tips on how to make the mix.

We have the big black ones this year, as does my mom and several other people in my area have mentioned it. I find it is cyclical. A few years ago we had them, then none for the past few years. A year or two ago we had the teeny tiny "sugar ants" but no big ones.

Will have to try the chalk. Haven't done that one yet!

[ssjarrett]

I second the suggestion for Borax. I've never mixed anything with it. My goal was just to keep the ants out of my kitchen. I put it along the door threshold and in the window sills, which is how my ants seem to get in and they are repelled by it. If you are worried about crawling kids, you could put it outside those areas rather than inside your house--might need to replace it when it rains though.

We've had a bunch of rain and I just noticed a few ants have come in, so I need to get out my Borax again. May try the chalk too!

[JTsMom]

Along the lines of Borax, there is a product called Terro ant bait. It's made from boric acid, and I think it has sugar in it as well. You put just a couple of drops on a little piece of cardboard, and the ants take it back home, and they all die. I've used it several times with excellent results. B/c of the boric acid, it's not non-toxic, but b/c it's just a couple of drops, and it's not sprayed everywhere, I'm pretty comfortable with it.

[wencit]

We just got this in the newsletter with our garbage bill. Some are repeats from the PPs, some are not.

===============================================

Here are some ant control tips we have compiled through suggestions from residents in other cities that have a food scrap program and from other sources. We DO NOT guarantee the effectiveness of these ideas, but it could certainly be worthwhile to give them a try:

1. Dust the ant-infested area around your containers with baking soda or baby powder to stop ants.

2. Mix one tablespoon of biodegradable peppermint oil soap with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle, this mixture kills ants on contact and helps drive away future ants.

3. To control ants outside, sprinkle ant hills with a mixture of equal parts powdered sugar and powdered borax.

4. At the point of entry, pour a line of paprika, red chili powder, dried peppermint leaves, or cream of tartar.

5. Ants dislike salt. Spread a good layer of salt in their path and they will no longer enter.

6. Place orange peels or lemon peel in kitchen pail and cart, put peels in ant holes and add water.

7. Sprinkle plain old instant grits near ants. The ants eat them, and then go for water, which makes the grits expand inside them & they die.

8. Ants have trouble climbing up anything slick like vegetable shortening or petroleum jelly. Wipe a ring of either substance around your kitchen pail to stop them.

[newg]

ohhhhh more good ideas!!!

Thank you thank you!!

[ahrimie]

I read recently that cinnamon works too! Just dust it where they are and after a few days, you can clean it up.