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Boric acid for ants is the most popular pest control for home and garden. The use of this substance is quite safe for children and animals. But you should not leave the drug unattended in the territory where a child or a pet is walking. With relatively low toxicity of the agent, they can be poisoned: a lethal dose for children is 5 g, for adults – 20 g.
The most popular acid in the fight against domestic and garden ants. There are many recipes for poison baits using this substance.
What is the danger of the appearance of ants in a house or on a plot
It is difficult to say whether these insects should be considered pests or useful inhabitants of gardens and orchards. It may turn out that the benefits of ants in the country outweigh the harm they bring. But in the house they definitely become pests.
In search of food, workers climb everywhere: from a trash can to a loaf of bread sealed in polyethylene. Where there is no hole, they will gnaw through it. Moving from garbage to food, ants carry pathogenic bacteria on their paws. Since foragers run not only around the house, but also along the street, they can put worm eggs on the prepared food.
Ant control indoors is really necessary. But the use of strong insecticides can be dangerous for the inhabitants of the house, so “folk” remedies are often used to kill pests. Often they are not poisonous at all: aromatic oils. But they can also be slightly toxic, like preparations with boron.
Ants occupying bread are unlikely to cause positive emotions
What is boric acid
Substance with a very wide range of applications. In nature, it is found in the mineral sassoline and mineral water. It is also obtained chemically. The drug obtained through industrial production is chemically pure. You can buy it in pharmacies. Acid is used:
- in various types of industry: from food to foundry and chemical;
- at home;
- as fertilizer;
- in nuclear power.
At home, the drug is used not only as a poison for insects, but also as a disinfectant. In medical institutions, it was abandoned due to too little effect on microorganisms. To kill microbes, the concentration of the solution must be much higher than when using potassium permanganate or carbolic acid. But due to the lack of smell, the substance is sometimes continued to be used to disinfect household premises or kill insects.
Due to the ability to accumulate, the drug was banned for use as an aseptic agent for pregnant women and infants. Most often, this remedy is used in the house to get rid of ants and cockroaches, and care must be taken that pets do not eat the bait.
How does boric acid affect ants?
For insects, it is a poison of intestinal contact action. Although, how realistic it is to get rid of ants with boric acid is a moot point. In theory, the insect eats the poisoned bait and dies. For a single copy – this is ideal. But an ant colony can number tens of thousands of individuals. And the question is not even the number of foragers, although this is important.
High fecundity – protection of all species belonging to the family Formicidae from natural enemies. The female easily restores the depleted number of foragers. To poison an ant colony with boric acid, it will have to be used in baits constantly throughout the warm season. It is necessary that the poison “gets” to the fertile female. In the country, everything is simpler: poison can be laid out right near the entrance to the anthill. Then there are more chances that foragers will drag the bait inside. Due to the long duration of action, the effect of using the poison can only be felt the next year.
Baits should be placed in places of accumulation of ants and on the paths of their movement.
What kind of boric acid is used when baiting ants
The drug is poorly soluble in water. Therefore, an aqueous solution is not produced. On sale, you can usually find two forms of the substance: powder and boric alcohol. The basis of the latter is 70% ethanol. The alcohol solution can be in a concentration of 0,5 to 5%. It is used as an antipruritic and aseptic agent, as well as ear drops.
It is theoretically possible to use an alcohol solution of boric acid from ants, since ethanol evaporates quickly. But we must remember that it is ethyl alcohol that is among the folk remedies that repel insects. From ants, boric acid is more convenient to use in powder form. You can be sure that the smell of alcohol will not scare insects away from the bait.
What ants are boric acid used against?
Most ant species are omnivores. This means that they eat whatever food they can find. Boron preparations can be used against each of these species. But in the same way, most ants have almost no contact with humans. The pests against which poison must be used are usually 2 varieties: red domestic and garden black.
Red
The house can be inhabited by 2 types of small brown ants. But one of them in the north can only live at home. This is an ant that has already set the teeth on edge of the pharaohs. Synonyms for the name are ship and home. Scientists say that the birthplace of these insects is North Africa and the adjacent Mediterranean. Thanks to trade communication and a tendency to live next to the people of the pharaohs, the ant settled throughout the planet. But in the northern regions in nature, he cannot live.
In Our Country, the ship ant settles only in dwellings. This species builds diffuse nests: several foci with females, interconnected by passages. The size of individuals is 2-4 mm. This allows them to penetrate into the narrowest gaps. It is very difficult to remove pests with local means like boron preparations. It is necessary to disinfect the entire building at once.
If the pharaoh ant settled in an apartment building, the fight against it is almost hopeless, or it will take a long time to “feed” the insects in the hope that all females will die at almost the same time
Pharaoh ants can be prepared with a sweet syrup with boric acid, but it is unlikely that you will be able to get rid of them in this way.
In the southern European regions, there is also another type of red ant. They successfully combine the functions of domestic and garden pests. This species can be found in trees where they breed aphids. They also often enter homes. Before the introduction of the pharaoh ant, they were the main parasites in the house.
These red ants differ from the ship ants in a shorter body, the ability to move quickly and a pointed posterior tip of the abdomen. The sizes of the two types of pests are approximately the same. But Europeans do not build diffuse anthills, it is easier to get rid of them.
South European small ants successfully ousted large black lasius from gardens
garden black
The most common species in Central Our Country. The scientific name is black lasius. Gardeners are often referred to simply as garden black. The color of working individuals is from dark brown to black. The size of foragers is 3-5 mm, females – up to 11 mm. They move slowly.
The main occupation is cattle breeding. Because of this, they can only be in the house by chance if they are brought from the dacha along with the plants. They prefer gardens where aphids are bred on trees for honeydew. An anthill is a small bulk mound next to a mink leading deep into the soil. They can live in rotten stumps and tree trunks.
Black lasius often lives with its “cows” on a thuja branch
Ways to use boric acid from ants
It is most advisable to use the acid in the form of a powder. Some gardeners use boric alcohol. But, in addition to the unpleasant smell of alcohol for ants, there is too low a concentration of a poisonous agent. The active ingredient in the acid is boron. It contains 17% in powder. In an alcoholic solution, the boron content is negligible.
It is best to use powder. If necessary, it can be diluted in liquid bait or made “dry”. Almost all recipes for boric acid poison from ants in the garden involve diluting the powder in a sweet liquid. This is justified, given that black lasius prefer to eat carbohydrates. In the house against omnivorous domestic ants, it is more expedient to use “dry” baits based on yolk, minced meat or potatoes. This is especially important if pharaoh ants have settled.
Foragers will take the “dry” poison to the nest, where they will poison the female. When eating liquid bait, only working individuals will die. The latter is convenient when you only need to control the population in the garden, but there is no goal to exterminate the anthill.
How to dilute boric acid from ants
There are no special tricks in preparing the bait. It is believed that this substance is poorly soluble in water, therefore alcohol solutions are used in pharmacology. But in everyday life, the powder is “dissolved” in water. Better hot. There is no particular problem in this. “Dry” baits generally do not provide for the dissolution of crystals. Therefore, to dilute boric acid in water, it is enough to pour the contents of the package into water at a temperature of about 60 ° C and stir.
How to make boric acid with sugar from ants
Liquid ant repellent based on sugar and boric acid is very popular among gardeners due to its availability. To prepare the bait, it is enough to take 2 tbsp. l. sugar and a 10-gram pack of powdered acid. The solution will require a glass of hot water. Sugar and powder are poured into it. Stir until the crystals are completely dissolved. The finished product is poured into small containers and placed in the right places.
Boric acid recipe with ant yolk
At home, the use of poisoned bait with boric acid and an egg from ants is popular. To prepare it, you need 3 hard-boiled yolks and ½ tsp. acids. The yolks are pounded, mixed with powder, and the bait is laid out in the path of the ants.
Boric acid poison for ants with honey or jam
In the presence of liquid jam or honey, water is not required. It is enough to add a sachet of powder to ½ cup of sweet thick liquid and mix. Then pour the mixture into a low dish and place it near the anthill in the garden. To get rid of insects in the house, the bait is poured into caps from cans and bottles and placed on ant paths.
Boric acid ant bait with minced meat
In the manufacture of meat bait from ants, the proportions of boric acid to minced meat are 1: 4. Everything is mixed well and laid out on ant tracks. Such a bait can be made to destroy pests in residential premises. It is necessary to change every 2 days, as the meat either dries out or goes rotten. If there are pets in the house, this type of poison should not be used.
Boric acid ant repellent with yeast
It is not entirely clear why yeast is needed in the recipe for such baits in the presence of jam or sugar. But there are instructions:
- pour 1 tbsp. l. yeast 3 tbsp. l. warm water;
- add 1 tbsp. l. jam and 15-20 g of boric acid;
- mix everything well, pour a little into shallow containers and place next to the ant tracks.
The container must be large enough in diameter so that the fermented mass does not rush over the edge.
Recipe for ant bait with boric acid and glycerin
Glycerin is mixed as one of the ingredients in any of the baits to slow down drying. Its addition is relevant for poison based on egg yolk, potatoes or meat. It can also be added to liquid baits.
One of the recipes:
- 2 tbsp. l. water and glycerin;
- 3 Art. liter. sugar;
- 2 tsp. honey;
- 1 tsp acid.
Mix all the ingredients and heat over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into shallow containers. Put them next to the ants.
Pour the syrup into a shallow bowl
Ant trap recipe with boric acid, yolk and potatoes
Boric acid potato balls from ants are one of the most common traps. Only potatoes can be used as the basis for this bait, but it is more effective to make poison with several ingredients:
- potatoes;
- egg yolk;
- vegetable / butter or glycerin.
For the manufacture of bait take 2 tbsp. l. mashed potatoes and 3 yolks. Everything is kneaded into a homogeneous mass. Add 1 tbsp. l. sugar and a packet of acid. Stir. Pour in 1 tbsp. l. vegetable or melted butter. Everything is well kneaded and molded into balls.
Oil is needed to prevent the bait from drying out. The advantage of creamy is that it itself can attract ants by smell. But if necessary, the oil can be replaced with glycerin.
Potato balls are laid out near ant trails and habitats
Dry ant traps with boric acid for the garden
Dry traps are used only in the garden and vegetable garden. Their main disadvantage is the need for frequent repetition of the procedure. The main ingredients of such baits are dusty products: flour, soda or ash. On the street, poison is scattered near the anthill, but in the house, dry dust will scatter everywhere. Since the composition of the traps contains a preparation containing boron, such “house dust” can be hazardous to health.
How to poison ants with boric acid with cornmeal
Maize attracts ants by its smell alone. But if they gnaw holes in the grains, then they can eat flour in a ready-made form. How dangerous such a “dish” is for ants is a moot point. Theoretically, the flour should swell in the intestines of the insect and kill it.
In practice, it is better to play it safe. The chances of dying from overeating are much less than 50%. But it can be guaranteed that by running through the flour, the ant will stain the bristles and will be forced to clean them. When using a mixture of cornmeal with acid, the latter will most likely also end up on the body of the insect. When cleansed, it will inevitably swallow a dose of poison.
10 g of acid is added to 100 g of corn flour and the mixture is scattered near the anthill. The procedure must be repeated at least 1 time in 2 days: the flour swells from dew and loses its “killer” properties.
Ant Bait with Boric Acid, Powdered Sugar and Rice Flour
Almost an analogue of the previous recipe, but rice flour is used instead of corn flour. Powdered sugar is also added to the mixture. It is very hygroscopic and readily adheres to insect chitin. As long as the powder is dry, the ants can carry it to the nest. Sometimes baking soda is mixed in here. The use of the mixture is the same as in the previous recipe.
An ant caught in the “dust” will have to cleanse the body and will inevitably swallow the poison
How to poison ants with boric acid and soda
A fairly simple way to prepare poison for garden ants. Mix 100 g of baking soda with a bag of acid. Sprinkle the powder on the anthill. Sprinkle with water for better contact of chemicals with the soil.
A mixture of boric acid with ash from ants
An analogue of the previous recipe, but wood ash is used as an alkali. For 1 kg of ash, 30 g of acid is required. The application is the same as in the previous method. You can not pour water, but wait for the rain and sprinkle the mixture directly in front of it.
Safety Precautions
Any substance with boron, although weak, is poison. When using it, the following precautions must be observed:
- keep out of the reach of children;
- do not use where the bait can be swallowed by animals;
- if the powder gets into the eyes, rinse them with cold water;
- make sure that the drug does not get on food.
Poisoning in humans can occur only with the targeted use of the drug: a little systematic or a single large dose.
Symptoms depend on the way the acid enters the body.
If it comes into contact with the skin, the substance can cause eczema, exfoliation of the epidermis and complete or partial hair loss. In case of poisoning through the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms are diverse:
- nausea;
- pain in the stomach;
- vomiting;
- tachycardia;
- drop in blood pressure;
- convulsions;
- psychomotor agitation;
- anemia;
- disruption of the brain;
- other.
There is no specific treatment. Washing of the stomach and mucous membranes with a 4% solution of baking soda is shown.
Conclusion
Boric acid from ants is a very popular folk remedy. But its effectiveness is greatly exaggerated. If the poison did not get into the nest and was not fed to the female, the number of worker ants does not decrease. Or slightly reduced.