Once there was a kitchen in a home where meals were prepared, crumbs were dropped, food was spattered and pets were fed. Although it was kept relatively clean, it became a favorite dining establishment for a colony of ants.<\/p>\n
After several years of unsuccessfully battling the ants with purchased bait and spray, the homeowners called an exterminator. The exterminator seemed knowledgeable and experienced about the homeowners\u2019 pests: slab ants, he called them. He said they enter houses searching for food and a warm environment to build their colony \u2014 and this kitchen with its warm pipes and easy access to food was ant paradise.<\/p>\n
The exterminator proposed injecting\u00a0a sweet bait where ant activity had been observed that would attract the worker ants, laced with a substance that they would carry back to the nest, which would poison the entire colony.\u00a0The plan sounded good to the homeowners, so they agreed to the treatment and the $130 price tag, which gave the exterminator 30 days to rid their home of the ants. The exterminator left them with the assurance that, \u201cIf you still see ants after after ten days, we\u2019ll try a different bait.”<\/p>\n
Ten days passed and, although there was some interest in the bait, ants remained. The homeowners contacted the exterminator who administered a second treatment, this one a \u2018protein based\u2019 bait which was likewise supposed to utilize the worker ants to poison the colony. At first, the ants came out in droves to ingest the protein-based bait. The homeowners rejoiced, certain their infestation problems were behind them. Thirteen days later, however, they observed more ants then ever! The exterminator returned with the ‘last resort\u2019 treatment \u2014 a spray poison that was supposed to put an end to the colony once and for all.<\/p>\n
The homeowners were guardedly optimistic about the final treatment, and proud of themselves for getting all the treatments to which they were entitled according to the agreement with the exterminator… Until the ants returned.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the homeowners turned to the internet for assistance. They knew a few things already: they were unwilling to pay another $130 \u2014 especially for ineffective treatment \u2014\u00a0and<\/em> that their particular ants preferred the protein-based bait. With a little research, they discovered a \u2018recipe\u2019 for ant bait that has proved every bit as effective and considerably less expensive than the exterminator’s.<\/p>\n \u2153 cup peanut butter (100% peanut; no carbohydrates added) Blend peanut butter with boric acid with disposable utensils in a disposable container. Label conspicuously as \u201cAnt Bait\u201d so it\u2019s not mistaken as edible. Distribute in areas where you see ants, either directly on the floor or on 2″x2\u201d pieces of cardboard placed where\u00a0they\u2019re crawling.<\/p>\n You may observe a lot<\/strong> of ant activity if the ants are attracted to it! Replace the bait every two days to keep it fresh. If the ants remain after a couple weeks, add another couple teaspoons of boric acid to the recipe and try again. This is where the patience comes in. Continue this process for several weeks until the ants are gone.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what the homeowners have done and in five weeks from the initial application, they are currently ant free. This technique comes with no guarantee but it\u2019s much<\/em> cheaper than paying an exterminator (each batch costs only a few cents) and \u2014 so far \u2014 at least as effective as the \u2018professional\u2019 treatment.<\/p>\n The moral of the story is, if you\u2019re willing to put forth the effort and patience,\u00a0a homemade remedy for ant control can be effective and much cheaper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once there was a kitchen in a home where meals were prepared, crumbs were dropped, food was spattered and pets were fed. Although it was kept relatively clean, it became a favorite dining establishment for a colony of ants. After several years of unsuccessfully battling the ants with purchased bait and spray, the homeowners called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[513],"tags":[72,53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/couponshoebox.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}High-protein peanut butter boric acid ant bait<\/h3>\n
\n2 teaspoons boric acid powder
\nAbundant patience<\/p>\n