How does borax work on ants and is it effective?

Publish date: 2021-09-07

If you happen to relax in the garden, you certainly know how annoying ants can be. The ubiquitous insects not only effectively prevent relaxation, but also enter the food and drinks left behind.

Borax is a proven way to fight insects. Boric acid salt works not only as a cleaning agent in the home, but also an effective weapon for exterminating insects. Read how borax works on ants .

How to effectively get rid of ants from the garden?

Before you reach for expensive chemistry, try proven home remedies. One of them is the sodium salt of boric acid. It is a white, crystalline and odorless substance that dissolves well in water. Its caustic effect makes it suitable for use as an all-purpose cleaner, but it also works great as an insecticide.

Borax for ants is used as a poison, the use of which should lead to the destruction of the anthill. Remember, however, that these are insects that live in extensive, multifocal colonies. It is very likely that underground passages connect the central mound with smaller chambers.

To effectively get rid of ants from your garden, you will have to eliminate every insect habitat. Otherwise, they will spawn and you will be doomed to their constant (and dubious) company.

How to use borax on ants and other insects?

Sodium borate is an effective weapon to fight not only with ants, but also with other insects that haunt your home and garden. They work well in the fight against black flies, cockroaches and wasps. It should be applied regularly, preferably in the vicinity of the permanent migration route of insects or directly on it.

Unlike strong chemicals that you can buy in garden stores, borax is fully biodegradable and ecological. You do not have to worry about your plants even when you use this preparation often and abundantly.

Be careful when preparing the mixture! The sodium salt of boric acid has strong corrosive properties. Be sure to avoid contact of the substance with the skin and eyes, do not inhale the vapors from the oxidizing substance, and always wear protective gloves when working.

When using borax on ants and other insects, it is very important to choose the right proportions of the individual components of the mixture. If the concentration of the active substance is too low, its effect will be short-lived or too weak.

In turn, concentrated borax will scare away insects that will start avoiding the trap. How to choose the correct ratio of borax for ants ?

Borax for ants. Recipe and proportions

The two most common methods involve mixing borax with water and either sugar or egg yolk. The sweet mixture will make insects more likely to eat the poison, and your actions will bring faster, but temporary results. You can see a reduction in the number of insects after just one day of operation.

If you want to eliminate the entire nest and get rid of the problem once and for all, a better solution will be to mix borax for ants with egg yolk. Thanks to this, the substance will be easier to get to the nest (it will be carried there), and the extermination of insects will be comprehensive.

You will get rid of not only adult insects, but also larvae and eggs. In this case, you will wait 3 to 4 days for the effects to take effect if the colony is exceptionally large. For smaller nests, the effect will be visible even within 24 hours.

How to prepare insect poison? If you want to use borax with sugar for ants , boil half a cup of water with a cup of sugar. Add a tablespoon of borax powder (about 15 g) to this syrup and mix until it becomes jelly-like. Place it in those places where you have noticed the greatest concentrations of insects.

In the second variant, hard-boil the egg, remove the yolk from it and crush it. Add 1-2 g of borax for every 10 g of egg yolk to the resulting lumps and knead with a spoon to form lumps. You should scatter them near insect nesting sites, and if you are unable to locate them, spread the mixture along the route where the insects spawn.

The proportions of borax for ants and other insects are fixed, but the amount of poison ready depends on how many insect outbreaks you want to get rid of. We suggest using one of the described portions for each ant nest or several square meters of space. In this way, you will create a tight mesh that will do its job.

How to use borax on ants? Some useful tips

If you use borax in the apartment, remember to ventilate the interior well. Particularly sensitive to possible contact with the substance are asthmatics, allergy sufferers and pregnant women. After pouring the poison based on the yolk and completing the operation, it is best to vacuum the inside. This way you will get rid of any particles of borax from the floor. You will also avoid moving them to neighboring rooms.

When dealing with a wasp or hornet infestation, try to apply borax in the evening. The closer to dusk, the less active insects are, and thus less dangerous.

Where to buy borax for ants ?

You can buy sodium tetraborate in drugstores, pharmacies, garden equipment stores and chemical wholesalers. Especially the latter offer borax for ants at an attractive price and large packages that will last you for a long time.

When choosing points of sale, be guided not only by the assortment, but also by the opinions of other buyers. In this way, you can be sure that the store or wholesaler sells goods that are really effective. This means a good degree of chemical purification and high quality.

Using purified borax , you will quickly get rid of uninvited guests from your garden or home!