Expert: Jamie Novak - 12/17/2008

Question
I don't know if you can help me; i didn't see 'pests' as a topic on Allexperts.  We have ants in our house.  Usually one wandering here, one wandering there.  Occasionally they find a crumb of food & a small group of 'em mill around it 'til i suck 'em up with a vacuum cleaner.  We only eat in the kitchen/dining room, but they are in most rooms in the house.  I have been vacuuming every day for weeks, trying to get rid of 'em.  Yes, i have tried 2 kinds of ant traps with only minimal success.  They showed interest in the one type trap for a short period of time but then they wander off in search of something more interesting.  We haven't seen 'em in our pantry until today.  So i cleaned, threw out food, & put both types of traps on the trail of ants (this is the first time we have even seen a trail).  Obviously i don't want to spray ant killer in my pantry!  Nor anywhere else if at all possible.  The fumes are too much for me, especially since it is winter & i can't open the windows for a few hours.

Do you have any other solutions?  What is a sure fire way to kill ants?  A substance they will carry back to the colony that will destroy all of 'em once & for all?  They're the small ants, not even a 1/4 inch long.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Answer
Terri thanks for your question. As you saw I'm not an expert in this area but I can image how frustrating this is and I wanted to find you an answer.

I agree you want a non toxic solution and I found some for you, I hope one works for your ants.

Keep in mind these may need to be reapplied, choose one and try it out, good luck!  

1. Spray white vinegar, ants won't cross a line of vinegar.

2. Equal parts powdered sugar and Borax and spread around baseboards or wherever the ants are traveling. Use caution with this solution as I believe Borax is Boric Acid and is harmful is swallowed by humans.

3. Spread mothballs around the foundation every spring.

4. Sprinkle salt on the path ways the ants use to enter the home. They won't cross over the salt path.

5. A thin line of ground cinnamon all along the base of the cabinets and the threshold of the door where their little marching line started.

6. Baby powder, spread the baby powder along the doors, windows or any entries the ants may come in.

7. Ants will not cross a line of blackboard chalk drawn.