Here is something kind of random but I was dealing with this the other day and thought some of you might be interested as well.
If you have any of those pesky little ants wandering around the house or yard you might try this little trick to get rid of them.
My Dad taught me this a few years ago when we had a trail of ants marching across the front stoop of the house. Call me a terrible person, but any sort of rodent, bug, snake comes along and I am ready to put the house up for sale.
In California, ants can really be a problem and I absolutely can not stand them for even a second and this tip has worked like magic for me many times.
Even better you don’t need to buy expensive products, dump all sorts of chemicals around the house or mix up complicated DIY recipes.
Just grab a standard box of corn starch- my box was $1.00 at Walmart so you can certainly be generous in applying this.
And dump it all over the ants. You want to be sure the corn starch is in the path they walk because you want them picking it up and carrying it back home with them.
I just went out side two days ago and found a bunch of ants crawling around the garbage can (BLECH!).
Now I wasn’t that interested in becoming close friend with these things so it is hard to see but we had a bunch of them climbing all over in the trash and just under the trash.
So I followed the crack in the pavement and dumped the cornstarch generously over the path they made, where they came from and the spot on the ground under the trash.
If this is in your home you can just put the cornstarch in a measuring cup and pour it right over the path they are marching in.
I had a pretty good size patch so I just used about 1/3 of the box and dumped it everywhere. You need a bit of patience to allow them ample time to carry the cornstarch back. So I would wait at least 24 hours.
Next get the ants wet. The cornstarch will become like a cement mixture and will kill the ants. If this is outdoors- turn on sprinklers or use a watering can to get the cornstarch piles nice and very damp. If this is indoors, you might try a spritzing bottle or something.
I spread this on Monday and we were actually not home yesterday. I did check it out this morning (Wednesday) and we still have a little pile of corn starch to be rinsed away but not an ant in sight!
So this is worth a shot- just note they will still slug around in the corn starch for awhile but they should be gone within a day or two.
UPDATE: This has worked many times for me since posting a few years ago. This year we actually had a MOUNTAIN of ants that suddenly popped up in the backyard. Like I initially though there was an oil spill or something because the pavement was totally black. I put down a box of Cornstarch and allowed the sprinklers to come on as usual. I repeated with a second box of cornstarch the next day and again the sprinklers just hit the spot to get the cornstarch wet. Every single ant was gone within a few days. Booyah!
Check out my DIY Pinterest board for more easy tips and tricks.
My friend told me about this and it worked for me!
Now if it would just get rid of Japanense Beetles
How does it kill the ants? They eat it and it kills them? Or is it just like a barrier thing?
I’ll stick that away for the future. We just battled ants for 2 weeks….ugh! There was much screaming on my part. 😉
We bought the liquid Terro traps and those worked like magic. I was so ready to get rid of those little guys – I would have paid anything! 🙂
Julie,
I haven’t researched this but what my Dad said is that they take it back to the nest and all the ants are exposed to it. If there is any contact with moisture or water the corn starch makes them explode. 🙂 I am sure you could Google around and get more details if you are interested.
I had heard this same tip with corn *meal* and was wondering if the huge canister of cornstarch I have would help… gonna try it today! Thank you!!
just heard literine in a spray bottle will kill and deter insects. i think 3 parts literine and one part water and spray.
that would be listerine, can’t type today.
I have tried everything else – I think I’ll try this. Our house is on a concrete slab foundation, and I am CONVINCED we’re sitting on top of Ant Metropolis.
Sarah,
I have used corn meal too. I found better results with starch but you could try either one.
If you have ants in your cabinets or counters, put plain cornmeal in a small container ( my husband used plastic soda lids) and place them in a corner of the cabinet. We no longer have ants. My problem now is weavils I must have brought in with something. I have put everything in plastic containers or bags but I opened a box of anchovies and there were weavils inside the box. Of course the container is metal so the anchovies were ok. ick, ick, ick
Great tip Donna! I bet corn starch would work too.
Not quite as cheap, but cinnamon will keep ants away too. They don’t walk through it, so if there’s a crack or place where they’re coming inside, just sprinkle some in front and they won’t cross. Also smells nice :o)
I feel y’all’s pain.
When dealing with an ant hill, I sprinkle plenty of the ‘pink’ artificial sweetener on the mound. Followed by a bit of spritzing with plain water. Give it a day os two….works every time for me! This was in the Canyon Lake area of Texas.
I like the Terro traps too. All they contain is corn syrup with boric acid mixed in, genius ! Probably invented by a woman! Lol!
I’ve heard that the cornstarch (as well as baby powder) sticks to their feet/bodies and interferes with the chemicals they track around that give them all an idea of where to go. Sounds plausible to me. 😉
THANKS for this, my MIL said baking soda, does not work! Maybe she meant corn starch just told me wrong. I will try these, I am near Roseville and our ants bite!!!
We’ve had sugar ant problems in the past. One of the things that we found fought them off pretty well is Borax. You can get it pretty cheap at Amazon.
I haven’t tried Borax but just wanted to mention to be careful with it if you have pets or small children 🙂
Is Cornstarch safe for dogs? Just want to be sure I have a small dog and don’t want to make her sick trying to get rid fo the ants.
Renita,
I would use caution. If you are going to dump this in a spot where a dog would be unattended and possibly consume a lot of it, I would call your vet first and check.
I did find this recipe for dog treats and it uses cornstarch:
http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/dog-treat-icing.html
This article says you can use it as a dry bath for dogs:
http://voices.yahoo.com/how-give-dog-dry-bath-corn-starch-5520615.html?cat=53
So I don’t think it is toxic but again I would just determine how much of this the dog will be exposed too and give your vet a call to see for sure.
I wish y’all would tell my ants about this.. nothing will get rid of them.. sigh.. little sugar ants.. I’ve tried everything but the pink packet stuff.. I guess thats next.
Kim,
I believe sugar ants mostly come around to find sweeter foods- so I assume you have everything tightly sealed up? I have heard you can mix sugar or powdered sugar with this to make it most appealing to sugar ants specifically. The sugar won’t do anything except draw them in and the most important thing is they have to carry it back to the nest. So if you only sprinkle a little in a straight line that they cane just walk around it won’t work.
Good luck,
WD 40 works ants will not cross it…also diatomaceous earth will dry them up and probably any other insects that crawl through it. Its available at almost any garden center.
I had trouble with sugar ants. I took every thing out of cupboards and scrubed them. I found no ants until I cleaned out cupboard above sink there was a bottle of berry flavored Tums. It was full of ants I never figured that there would be anything I that cupboard since only keep medice in there.
The pharmacist told me to use borac acid; however, be cautious, this is a poison The ants walk over it and carry it bacl to their nests.
C..
Did you try the corn starch I mentioned? I wouldn’t feel comfortable using toxic chemicals and this works like a charm for me each and every time.
I believe that cornstarch works for ants because they are unable to
digest it. They will take it back to the nest and share it as food
with the others and then starve to death.
A suggestion from down under,mix equal parts of icing sugar ( thinkyoucall it powdered sugar and bicarbonate of soda the ants are attracted by the sugar taks the mixture back to the nest consume it with their families and Bingo they explode.
Thanks Diane 🙂
Ok… I need help! What if u don’t actually SEE the ants? All I see are the little mounds all over my backyard and cracks in the sidewalk? Would it still work? Would I just pour a ton of cone starch around the mounds? I don’t let me daughter go out back because the mounds are literally everywhere! Spaced about an inch or less apart. I could ya connect the dots back there! Help!! By the way I’m in GA, so would it work on red ants as well?? Ugh!!
Lisa- a box of cornstarch is about $.90 at Walmart. Why don’t you try it. You have only $.90 and about 2 minutes to lose right? 😉
Oh I have been trying to find a safe method for getting rid of ants! Thank you!!! Can’t wait to try it, they should be coming around my area in month or so.
Stefanie, I hope it works for you! Just about 3 weeks ago I went outside and just about died because there was a HUGE nest. Like out of nowhere. I got 2 boxes and dumped it completely on top- left it in a mound covering them and then the sprinklers went on a few times. I revisited them about 2 days later and gone. Totally completely gone. I hope you get the same experience 🙂
I had some ants in the van – gotta love FL – and I “sprinkled” (more like dumped) a thing of black pepper all over the van floor. Ants were gone, never to return! I will def try cornstarch as it’s cheaper, but if it hasn’t worked for you then maybe try pepper. I also did it a Friday after school so the van would sit all weekend. (and obviously vacuumed up all food crumbs too beforehand)
Your parents must be proud…..your box was only $1
I had them coming in from my deck door into my kitchen with wood floods, using an orange smelling wood polish did the trick, the ants were gone with no trace.
When we lived in Missouri, I had mint growing around the house never had an ant my mother in law that lived next door was always battling ants.
excellent idea charlene .love to try it
I got rid of earnings by catching them and putting them in a baby jar with a little borax shaking them till they had it on them and letting them go they took it to the nest and killed them all!
I have not tried the cornstarch, but I have gotten rid of ants with Baby Powder & by using Cornmeal–Both of those have worked many times for me!!
If they are coming into your house the best Eleanor I’ve found is put a little used coffee grounds in all window seals and door jams even works on the crazy black ants I live in the country in Texas and I have never seen another ant in any house I’ve lived in. Not entirely sure what it does but it works like a charm to keep them out till you have time to hunt down mounds.
I had little ant coming in around my kitchen sink window. I put curry powder on the ledge and they immediately left!
Hi Charlene, just found your ant tip on Pinterest. I can hardly wait to try this when the weather warms up! My flower garden is being taken over by ants!
Thanks for the tip,
Val
Val– come back and let me know how it works out for you! It has always worked like a charm for me.
Charlene,
I am going to try this tip. How long do you wait before adding the water?
Kathy– I try to be calculating so patience is in order ;). I give them a day to get the corn starch nice and spread in the nest and then dampen it and within 48 hours you should see them gone, gone, gone. If not just repeat.
Thank you!
If you are a dog owner you should be aware of the fact that corn in any dog food should be avoided. Because of the sprays and fertilizers they use to grow corn now it has become toxic.
Wendy- this post doesn’t have anything to do with dog food?
Boiling hot water and vinegar works too..