The sugar attracts the ants, and the baking soda is what kills them: It reacts with the acid in their digestive system, and they explode.
Ants know to avoid pure baking soda, so you can sprinkle it around doorways, window sills, and other entry points to keep them out of your home. You can also sprinkle some in cabinets, under sinks, and in other dark, moist places where ants may find shelter in your home.
Therefore, when ants digest baking soda, it reacts with the acid in their stomachs and kills them. It doesn't make them explode, as more dramatic pest control enthusiasts might claim, but instead dries them out and kills them slowly from the inside out.
If it's a large mound, use a stick to poke a few holes into the mound and fill these with baking soda. Once you have the nest covered with baking soda, pour a liberal amount of vinegar over it. These two ingredients together will kill the mound and won't cause any harm to you or your family.
Boiling water. If you notice ant holes near your home, pour boiling water into them. This method will effectively and immediately kill many of the ants inside.
Two of the best ways to eliminate ants are Borax and diatomaceous earth. Essential oils, including peppermint and clove, are a natural way to repel and kill ants. Food and moisture attract ants, so keep your home clean and dry to get rid of ants permanently.
Diatomaceous Earth is one of the most effective ant-killers out there, and placing them in the ant entryways can solve the problem of “how to get rid of ants permanently”. Diatomaceous Earth is made from remains of diatoms. Basically, by sprinkling them, ants dry and die.
The sugar attracts the ants, and the baking soda is what kills them: It reacts with the acid in their digestive system, and they explode.
Use Table Salt + water OR no water. This solution does “kill”. It dehydrates them.
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is not only inexpensive and effective; it's non-toxic to kids, birds, and pets. And yet it destroys ants, earwigs, slugs, beetles, ticks, fleas, cockroaches, and bed bugs. As these pasts move across the powder, it sticks to their feet and legs only to get into their joints and exoskeleton.
Castile soap.
Make a spray of 1/4-cup Castile liquid soap and 1 quart of water. This spray kills ants on contact. It's effective against scout ants but won't kill ants back in the nest.
Most ants are attracted to cornmeal, but their bodies are unable to digest it. This makes it a highly-effective pesticide that's safe for household use. Spread cornmeal liberally around where you see any type of anthill or evidence of an ant colony.
Ants hate the smell of strong citrus fruits. Save your orange, lemon and grapefruit peels and scatter them around entry points. It's a natural way to deter ants without harming them.
Ants hate Vinegar. The smell of Vinegar will cause them to stay away from it or permanently leave the house. Ants crawl in a straight line, marching towards the food sources. The Vinegar solution will interfere with these pheromones, and the ants will get lost.
Ants prefer salty snacks to sugary ones, at least in inland areas that tend to be salt-poor, according to a new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Ants and other animals require sodium in order to maintain fluid balance and send nerve signals. Plant tissues are often low in salt, which is why some herbivores turn to salt licks or even puddles of urine.
Cayenne pepper / Black pepper
How it works: The spicy, strong scent of cayenne pepper (or black pepper, if that's what you have) irritates ants, and they try to avoid it. Pepper's scent also masks the ants' pheromone trails that lead them to food sources in your yard and home.
Ant bite releases methanoic acid which causes a painful sensation. Baking soda is basic in nature. When it is rubbed at the bitten part of the body, it neutralises the acid and relieves pain.
Flour, sugar, and paprika can all fall prey to ants. Keep these cooking essentials safe by slipping a bay leaf inside your storage containers.
It makes sense that you want to wipe them out the moment you spot them in your house. However, this might be the beginning of your troubles. Killing ants will, definitely, attract more ants because the dead ants release pheromones that attract or rather alert, nearby ants.
These are chemicals that send signals to other ants. Pheromones send messages of a food source, sexual desire, and death. It is advised not to squash ants, doing so will only release pheromones and trigger more ants to come to the location and cause more trouble to you and your family.
One striking feature of social insects is the lifespan of queens (reproductive females), which can reach nearly 30 years in some ant species. This is over 100 times the average lifespan of solitary insects.