Welcome to the Lazy Dog Ranch!

We hope you will find inspiration, information and most of all humor as we share our adventures in advancing a more sustainable lifestyle in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.



Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Return of the SUGAR ANTS




Why o Why did I not rinse out that wine glass last night!   I found a nice little caravan of black ants this morning in the kitchen- another sign at our home spring is here!

You can be lazy and buy Terro ant bait ( non toxic) or build your own!  I found this on the net awhile back and it works great if you are in the DIY mood.



Sugar Ant Trap


•1 cup borax

•1 cup sugar

water



•4 shallow lidded jars
•4 loose wads of toilet paper

In a bowl, mix the borax and sugar. Place a loose wad of toilet paper into each of four different screw-top jars. Pour a quarter of the sugar and borax mixture into each of the four jars, over the toilet paper. Fill each jar with water to one inch of the top. Screw the lids on the jars, and with a hammer and nail, make four to eight holes in the lid. Place the jars in areas where you have ants (but keep away from pets and children).



This ant trap will catch the workers but not the queen. A more comprehensive solution is to blend 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar and one tablespoon of borax and sprinkle it in ant traffic areas. There is not enough borax with this method to kill the worker ants immediately, so they take it back to the nest, ultimately eradicating it. (If the worker ants do die at the powder, cut back on the borax.)



Caution: Keep borax products away from pets and other animals. It is non toxic but an irritant!



There are also a number of herbs such as mint and pennyroyal, and spices such as cayenne pepper, that repel ants.

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