How to Destroy an Ant Nest with Borax

[@carolburnett8372]

I began thinking that perhaps you can get an old birdhouse where the lid lifts up and close the bird hole and drill little holes around the sides and put a bowl inside with the sweet borax solution. You could lift the lid to replace fresh borax and in case of rain it would not rinse away........perhaps you would need 3-4 in your garden, but you can paint lady bugs, leaves on the birdhouse and it would be decorative and useful.......just an idea.

[@hope46sf]

I live in South Carolina. I learned quickly to avoid fire ants at all cost!!! I got nervous watching you put your hand near the nest!! Those things are VISCIOUS!! I eradicated a nest w Amdro, but that could get expensive, so I appreciate your borax formula!!

[@gennmartin3034]

My son was attacked by fire ants and I am glad to see that there is a possible solution. 5-6 ants climbing him and biting him. I’m also in Nova Scotia

[@maritimegardening4887]

They seem to be everywhere - sorry to hear about your boy

[@michelebushnik2874]

I've heard this works amazing! And now I see it does! I giggled when you placed the little ant house over it and was waiting for the ant lawn chairs etc. And then you added the ant walkway.😂 so clever. Thank you always Greg! Those red and blacks may be carpenter ants feeding on the decaying wood, but borax hits them too! Great video!

[@bmfilmnut]

Rather than putting the borax/sugar mix in the open and then covering it, I suggest you put it in a small plastic container with holes in it at the base. Containers like yogurt comes in or those cheap food storage containers work fine. Other ideas are peanut butter jars, etc., work too. Even small glass canning jars with holes punched in the top and laid sideways on the ground work great. No need for covers and rain and wind don't affect those containers although yo may want to place a rock on plastic containers. Also, this keeps excess borax out of the soil - something you seemed to be concerned about.

[@fargnbastage]

Any examples of this because my mind is coming up with some strange configuration that doesn't make sense.

[@babystepsgarden6162]

Make sure you use large diameter Glass containers, too big for an animal (dogs especially) to carry off and/or chew open (such as Glass Mayo jars or canning jars). Otherwise you may wind up unintentionally poisoning dogs, other wildlife, or even very small children. 😢

[@francesbailey3376]

)

[@KAREN_FALLS]

Thank you I really needed this info I have billions of ants in my sweet potato’s

[@ricardoaguiar2241]

@@babystepsgarden6162 Borax is not a poison on any dosage; you will just throw up, if the dosage is too high. To know this for sure look at the US poison control, check with them. I took Borax myself several times and still alive. Borax is a poison only for insects, not animals.

[@jeremyhula931]

I use borax & sugar. I mix 1 up in a dry 16 oz water bottle put the lid back on it, then make a hole where they can crawl in & out but where the rain water will not get in. Then I make another water bottle with a tiny bit of water added to it making it like a thick syrupy substance. I cut the holes in the bottle close to the cap on the rounded part of the top of the bottle. then I lay it down at a tiny bit of an angle almost parallel with the ground but the top of the bottle raised a bit, the hole I cut is facing towards the ground basically so the rain doesn't get in so you don't have to refill as often. I have learned to put some bricks around it or even some rocks inside of the bottles to keep the wind from moving them. I've been using this method for about 3 years. It works. Obviously not as fast as anyone would want it to. Hopefully I explained it properly. This method keeps you from having to put more bait out as often. Also I usually cover the bottles up with leaves, mulch or cardboard kind of like you did. For the comfort of the ant.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Good ideas - I might try that this summer if I have a problem.

[@edsharon100]

Do you put the 2 bottles right next to each other?

[@alpinereid5265]

Thank you for the video! I will definitely try this. I'm in Nova Scotia, HRM area, and am inundated with fire ants. They don't seem to hurt the garden, just the gardener! They really really sting when they bite. I have been using diatomaceous earth which they don't like, but I think they just move on to another site and rebuild their nest. I don't think it's been killing them. Thanks again!

[@maritimegardening4887]

D.E. will just kill the ants it comes in contact with. The Borax gets fed to the whole colony. Pretty brutal but it works

[@forced4motorsports]

Those are kittens compared to Florida fire ants. If you dug around like that in a FL nest you would have been bitten within seconds. Just staying in the vicinity of the nest after disturbing it, they would find and infest your shoes and started biting your ankles. They are nuts here.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Yikes!

[@babystepsgarden6162]

😂 We must have migratory Florida fire ants here in north central Alabama! That is exactly how they are here. 😢

[@msheart2]

Borax is boron, a trace mineral and in the right dilution or dose is actually helpful & healthy to people and plants.

[@Coconutoilcrazy]

I had a big ant problem in my basement. I found a "Recipe" for Borax and sugar, it called for water to make a paste. I tried that, not sure if it helped. I had sprayed bug stuff on the perimeter outside and inside, and then used the borax paste. It took a good month to get rid of them. I also bought the tape stuff that they stick to and ant traps. The tape stuff was filled every day. I did notice them moving slowly and found massive amounts dead in front of the washer. The last thing I used was Amdros around the outside where I thought they may have a nest. There were no tell-tale signs of a nest. This was during the Cicada invasion that also brought holes(larger than ant) in the yard. Thanks for sharing this, I will try the borax sugar mix dry in the future.

[@georgiegardner6794]

Really appreciate the time you spent on this video. Am going to try your method.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Glad it was helpful!

[@NewYorkJennifer]

Beets are supposed to need boron, so adding a little borax is something they should like. I don't know anything about fire ants (actually thought they were a Southern thing) , but I know the ant hills that you mow through with haying equipment are extremely fluffy and loose. Might be that the ants can kill plants by constant churning the soil and not letting things grow that way.

[@richardshort4587]

I wish you luck, we have had ants that totally walk on by past borax and honey ignoring it completely. They seem to prefer pine needles more than anything else. So I just get my can of Raid, agitate the nest and then spray the crap out of them. In the end we just displace them and they move to somewheres else in the yard. We had a huge carpenter ant problem at one point thanks to the previous home owner using old railway ties everywhere. But we got rid of them and the remaining ones where burnt or killed with chemical after we dug up the wood. We would also wait until they came out in late spring with those that had wings and where ready to fly off then we obliterated them. Still seems like a never ending battle though.

[@angiedaoust]

Malathion's is the only thing that worked for me with carpenter ants. It sinks when you spray that stuff!

[@richardshort4587]

@@angiedaoust We used to use Malathion to spray for aphids and red spider mite. Mixed in water it turns white and yes it does stink. Did not know this killed ants, I will have to research it thank you. 👍

[@luckychicav7981]

Hello Greg, I’ll have to try this. I’ve already gotten bit this spring & summer. This last time I was trimming weeds and the line disturbed a nest I didn’t see. The line send some flying to my ankles and I noticed when they started biting. When you you’ve been bit once you recognize the pain so you drop everything move away from the area and start to shaking them off so no more will bite. I read a comment below the has me concerned about crazy ants. I have been seeing those a lot lately and the comment said that they are worse. Worse than fire ants? That has me concerned enough to go find out why. Thank you for sharing, much appreciated!😉👍🏼

[@maritimegardening4887]

Crazy ants do not sound very nice at all! Sorry to hear that you've been bit!

[@jacksimper5725]

Try putting the mix into an old small plastic bottle minus lid and stake it on it`s side . This stops any animals or children accidentally ingesting the mix .

[@SwtTrisha8]

I love the results after the first 6 min. Please I wish people would just get to the point .

[@booswalia]

Great tip. That's exactly what is in those tin ant traps but they add it to peanut butter. Be careful if you have pets though.

[@sheilaa7401]

Thank you for that good information, happy to know something so reasonable works so well. God bless you

[@thehiddenhomestead4769]

I have a severe fire ant infestation in the garden, it came with the property lol unfortunately we didn't discover the problem until after purchase. I have failed at getting rid of them with every way possible. There's a nest in at least half of my raised beds, I have decided to try to co exist. There are sections of my garden that I just plant and don't tend to again until harvest time. Maybe I should be more consistent, I just saw the end of the video, it looks like you had some success with the fire ants. Congrats

[@maritimegardening4887]

Give this a try - be persistent - who knows - it may solve your problem. Coexisting is another solution - but just bear in mind, the ants don't understand that you are coexisting.

[@carolburnett8372]

@@maritimegardening4887 right, I think you can try to put up with them, but watch out, they will not put up with you digging around in your very own soil.

[@reginamecco2915]

Borax is not toxic to people when it's diluted correctly. It's actually an essential trace mineral that is depleted by commercial agriculture practice.

[@daveninjaneuro7089]

Ok Dad

[@KAREN_FALLS]

Then why does the package of borax that I bought have a skull and crossbones on it and can kill children you should research before making a comment

[@7bpotager8]

Thank you! Going to Home Depot to purchase some Borax!

[@maritimegardening4887]

Hope it works for you!

[@dougzale9611]

Hello and good day. Nice time to be talking about ants. I use a bit of water to make a paste of the sugar and borax. Then put that wet paste At each hill. They say the ants can taste the difference between sugar and borax

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks for the tip!

[@laurenjacobsen7273]

I had a big ant nest in my blueberry rows a couple of years ago, killed two blueberry bushes. They ended up moving on, or died out on their own (not sure which). I hadn’t realized that the nest could kill the blueberries or I would have done something about them before the damage. I imagine you are right to stop the ants in your raspberries before they damage the plants.

[@laurenjacobsen7273]

The blueberries were already well established.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks for the info - glad I did it now :)

[@JosePlata]

A teaspoon will not kill a human or animal. Quite the contrary Boron is an excellent heavy metal detox.

[@glenncurtiss1186]

Never heard this , can you elaborate?

[@franksinatra1070]

Wow great tip! I'll definitely keep this in mind.

[@richardcallihan9746]

The bite of a fire ant is insignificant, it's the stinger.

[@donaldlakey8164]

I going to try this on fire ants my question is how to destroy a leafcutter ant colony spot is a 20ft. X20ft. Area with mounds extending out over about two acre area

[@603chefmon]

I went from sugar and borax to simple syrup and borax and put a small puddle in my foil. they literally line up for the stuff.

[@carolburnett8372]

Yes, I have an old can of sweetened condensed milk with the lid bulging, I bet they would go for this with some borax in it.......Well, well, I hope it will be their "Last Supper" as my husband calls it....

[@robertkat]

I use pure maple syrup, my ant loves it on waffles. And whipping cream.

[@SwtTrisha8]

Yes but did it reach the Queen?

[@carolparrish194]

I have heard that fire ants are almost impossible to get rid of. .

[@johnniewasr5740]

Spinosad

[@sonjalightfoot3728]

I will sure try this thank you so much

[@davetyler3314]

You might want to try DE to help get rid of the fire ants. Thankfully I don't have fire ants but have had the tiny black ant swarm I use the DE to help get rid of most of them... I will try the borax too

[@maritimegardening4887]

D.E. can kill ants that come in contact with it - that will not take out a nest - just some individual ants. With this approach - the ants that find the Borax feed it to the whole colony - and then the colony is wiped out.

[@carolburnett8372]

@@maritimegardening4887 -- Yes, I found that the DE is better for the big palmetto bug roaches, that you can almost ride on....

[@robinleblanc4046]

Trying this tomorrow 👍

[@TheLakingc]

Thank you!

[@marychicoine2198]

I have an underground ant colony - the ant are now thick in the soil over about 120 square feet. They look like carpenter ants. After taking a live and let live approach, I started trying borax regularly for the past three years and the nest just keeps getting more widespread. What to do??

[@maritimegardening4887]

Carp[enter ants can be difficult - try different ratios of borax to sugar - and try both dry and wet (syrup-like) presentations.

[@elizabethdryjas6635]

Hello Greg, how can I kill the ants on my one acres yard, they are so many nesting full of ants. I have all kind of ants and they are going on my dogs to when they laid down on the grass. Greg please help me. Thank you

[@maritimegardening4887]

The method I show in this video is the only one I know.

[@kathypaaaina3953]

Aloha I really like your whole your handheld looks super efficient I can't not find any decent tools oh can you give me a link where I can order one I get it my Ginger grew where I had a bad at problem and I harvested it and I believe it's they're still there so now I can go take care of the situation the state of Hawaii said one tablespoon of boric acid to have a cup of peanut butter that worked a little hard to mix but it worked but not permanently and now they're attacking all my star fruit the fire ants I'm allergic to them too thank you probably don't have time to read all of this God bless your family

[@maritimegardening4887]

It's called an "ez digger" or "ho mi tool". buy on amazon - or from my sponsor using my coupon code (GAVS21) www.veseys.com/ca/ez-digger-86229.html

[@juneramirez8580]

When the ants start bitting me it is time they go. I feel sorry for them but I have to be able to enjoy my garden.

[@gennmartin3034]

Hey Greg, I am wondering if you can advise me. I foolishly put the wrong proportion of soap and water on cucumber plants and I think I damaged my cucumbers to the point of death. Is there anything I can do to save them?

[@gennmartin3034]

By the way I was battling cucumber bugs

[@maritimegardening4887]

Just soak everything with water and hopefully that dilutes everything and they recover - that's my best guess of what to do sorry

[@gennmartin3034]

I am overcome with spider mites and beetles. I am feeling quite discouraged. What can I do to get rid of all the pests? I don’t know how to get rid of pests and not damage the ecosystem

[@BeccaL2016]

I don’t think we should feel guilty of killing ants and flys or roaches 😂 I have ants around my kitchen and under my desk, very annoying. I liked 4,5 the big 🐜 - queen in the last 12 month But I tried borax and terror one, they all effective. However They come and go all the time. Never can kill them all.

[@tba1879]

If you can find the nest all you have to do is pour white vinegar over the area. I repeat at least three times until they move the queen and then the problem is solved. No poisons to pollute the environment and no need to kill the ants.

[@maritimegardening4887]

I really have no interest in pouring acetic acid all over my garden soil. A tablespoon of borax will not pollute anything; it's made of sulfur hydrogen, oxygen and boron. Boron and oxygen occur naturally in soil and are essential for plant growth. Also, since only the borax that the ants take into their nest gets into the soil, it's a tiny fraction of the tablespoon that actually gets in the soil.

[@tba1879]

@@maritimegardening4887 It does nothing to my beds but get rid of the ants without killing them. Humans are destructive enough to the environment--no need to kill the poor things which are vital to the ecosystem.

[@ceceliabeck8967]

SOMETIMES U CANT FIND THE NEST.

[@tba1879]

@@ceceliabeck8967 If they're coming in the house, it's close to the house.

[@grandwonder5858]

​@@tba1879 Ants outnumbered human by the gazillions to 1! Who gives a rat's ass if you killed them? Why don't you let them out into your bedroom and sleep with them if you love them so much? Furthermore, there are a lot of invasive ants -- fire ants are one of them! So who cares if you kill them?

[@laurieporter7723]

Fire ants will attack you if you try to disturb them, they bite really bad. Baking soda and icing sugar I find work the best. I put thr baking soda

[@laurieporter7723]

I had a whole pile of fire ants down around my mint, and I took a margin container drilled holes all the way around the bottom put baking soda and icing sugar and within a week they were all gone no more I tried everything I poured hot water I poured cayenne pepper on them I put cinnamon on them the only thing that killed them was the baking soda and the powdered sugar which I stand by just put the holes around the bottom put the lid on and let it sit there rain can't get into it and that way there you know they're gone they take it back to the queen and everything is gone

[@shawnlambrecht1052]

Will this harm other animals (birds, squirrels etc?

[@maritimegardening4887]

Unlikely - they would have no reason to eat the borax - and you are only putting out a tiny amount.

[@renahays7988]

Where can one fine that tool you are using ? I’ve never seen anything like that! Looks like a handy tool to have for gardening☺

[@maritimegardening4887]

It's called a ho mi korean hand plow

[@renahays7988]

@@maritimegardening4887

[@renahays7988]

@@maritimegardening4887 Thank you so much! Just ordered one☺

[@ronbrendag7131]

Vrey unlikely you have fire ants in Canada. In the U.S. they are only widely established as far north as Va. They are not very cold tolerant.

[@alpinereid5265]

Yes, we do have fire ants in Nova Scotia. We've had them here for several years now -- probably at least 10 or so. Our winters are not as bad as they used to be , and in fact, can be quite mild overall. Guess the ants have taken advantage of that fact!

[@tanyaharris1335]

European fire ants (Myrmica rubra) are cold tolerant and are thought to have first brought to North America via the state of Maine. Not the same species , mounds are not large but bites are painful.

[@maritimegardening4887]

It's the European fire ant - I should have been more specific sorry

[@alpinereid5265]

@@tanyaharris1335 Good to know, thank you!

[@reginamecco2915]

The ants probably give off a chemical in the soil that inhibit plant roots

[@leticiagr2222]

Helpful video. 👍🏻

[@maritimegardening4887]

Glad it was helpful!

[@leonard7736]

So I am confused I see all these reviews that this solution works great, I tried this put it down 4 days ago and still have ants, they walk all over the mixture but are still coming and going they are the small black ants. I am in Arizona City, Az.

[@maritimegardening4887]

I have to do a follow-up video - some ants don't like sugar and you need to mix the borax with peanut butter or bacon fat. Also - it takes time - 4 days is a bit soon to expect results.

[@leonard7736]

@@maritimegardening4887 Thanks for responding back, I'll give this solution more time to work maybe 5 more days, if not I'll try the bacon grease god knows I have plenty of bacon grease... lol, Thanks again.

[@leonard7736]

@@maritimegardening4887 Hate to bother you but thought I would give an up date, Sugar and borax has now been down for 14 days with no effect. when you mentioned bacon grease and borax, I whipped up a batch and put that out that was 9 days ago, I also made up the peanut butter and borax at the same time. None of these haved worked, it just might be the breed of ants that we have here in Arizon City, Az. If these little suckers had not bitten up my ankles 2 weeks ago I might not be so persistent on getting rid of them. But thanks for your suggestions and time,

[@leonard7736]

Just an update no need to respond know your busy: So now day 16 and there is reduced activity, no more lines of 60 plus feet long of ants going and coming to the hole of the nest, just ants about 1 foot dia. around the hole and I noticed that they are more active in the borax and sugar. I heard somewhere that a ant colony could contain up to 1 billion ants, maybe that's what I have here. Thanks for your time and video.

[@traceydevine9110]

I am in Phoenix. When I tried it the 1st time it had no effect. It was only 2 weeks that I tried. This time I did it for a month and it worked.

[@scottytc]

Had no idea Borax was so dangerous to us.

[@maritimegardening4887]

Its only dangerous if you eat it.

[@ericowen56]

I enjoyed your video

[@maritimegardening4887]

Thanks!

[@richardcallihan9746]

If you are in Canada you don't have fire ants. Virginia, most northern range.

[@victoriafisher6934]

Dont they come into y our kitchen?

[@maritimegardening4887]

Sometimes - so when they do we set out the same sort of thing

[@IsabelleIsabelle01]

They don't call them fire ants for nothing. I got bit by the and it's like you have fire on your skin

[@maritimegardening4887]

ouch!

[@leisa2054]

Carefully pick up that cardboard, etc., you may have black widow spiders under there

[@dandydonslife9869]

Good info on ant control. I’m using borax to and it works. I mixed borax in with some hamburger, they loved it.

[@juneramirez8580]

The hamburger will attract other animals. I only want to get rid of ants. Not my dog or cats!

[@harrycockfield5114]

Borax not cheap but maybe better environmentally friendly

[@freedomofreligion3248]

I sat in a big fire ant colony when I was still in diapers (I walked at 9 months) in Arizona when my folks took me with them to visit their friends. It was traumatic. Yes, I bawled my eyes out!

[@maritimegardening4887]

wow! Glad you survived!

[@benc1927]

Dude it's Norm Macdonald!

[@crutcrutcrut]

I concur boric acid works

[@moramen2855]

👍

[@jms3789]

less toxic than table salt at same dose

[@DsHomeyGarden]

🤬 this is my reaction to fire ants and mosquitoes. I'll never figure out why there on this planet.

[@asbjorgvanderveer5050]

They probably can't figure out why we are on the planet either. Still that would not give them license to eradicate us would it? Human intervention to control pests on this planet has resulted in many disastrous outcomes. Without knowing the longterm consequences of our actions, we are treading on dangerous ground, especially as it seems we are now on the way to the 6th mass extinction of species on our planet.

[@ColoradoTodd]

@@asbjorgvanderveer5050 You preaching to the wrong crowd. None of us are flying around spraying insect killer over our neighborhoods. But if an ant bed pops up in the middle of my garden, it needs to go. Same if a mouse comes into my house. I'm happy to throw spiders out the window when I find them in the house, but sometimes the reasonable alternative is targeted elimination. And if you've ever experienced fire ants, there is little alternative to extermination. They are an invasive species that actively exterminates their competition, such as other ants, and their behavior is incompatible with human activities. When I was growing up in Houston, we had plenty of the "normal" ants in our yards, and we just ignored them and let ants be ants. When the fire ants migrated up from Central America in the 70's, they rapidly displaced the native species, and we only had fire ants. They are extremely aggressive and can cause serious harm to people and animals. I understand your point, but there is room for a middle ground between "don't breathe because you're depriving other animals of oxygen" and "kill all pests".

[@maritimegardening4887]

I was very careful in this video to say that ants are more beneficial than harmful - and that I leave them alone 99% of the time - so I don't understand this tack that your'e taking asborg. I think everyone here agrees with you that we should always seek to work with nature rather than against it.

[@asbjorgvanderveer5050]

This tack that I'm taking GREG, is one shared by science. We are in the midst of an insect Armageddon, the consequences of which, IMO seem a greater risk to humanity than the bite of a few fire ants.

[@auntiejane46]

I’ll try this but I have fire ants. You would not stir with your finger! Very aggressive and sting like a bee. Nonnative and very destructive to native birds and small animals. I hope this can work because they are even in my house.

[@auntiejane46]

I’m in East Texas

[@gracebieliunas]

😊

[@tericarter2512]

Fire ants?

[@aprilleigh4524]

Need to really research borax more …

[@hotwireman49]

What area are you in?

[@maritimegardening4887]

Nova Scotia Canada

[@hotwireman49]

@maritimegardening4887 Wow it's so pretty there! Severe weather, though, ay? I watch another channel from there, Transcend Furniture Gallery. She was saying they had severe flooding a while back, but she loves it there.

[@ccccclark2605]

🇨🇱🇺🇸✝️❤️🙏

[@elizabethdryjas6635]

Boiler water will kill them right in

[@maritimegardening4887]

Kills some but not the nest

[@elizabethdryjas6635]

You right

[@carolburnett8372]

@@maritimegardening4887 I think we can do both.......if I have a big colony, and have hot grease to pour out, I heat the grease and go disturb the nest and fry them......It works good for the time being. Also if I don't have hot grease, I get any spray paint and go disturb the nest and spray them good, then still do the traps/borax

[@ks13077]

@@carolburnett8372 in that case why don't you just get a proper can of ant spray

[@richardesckelson1688]

Ooops! carefull

[@dw6015]

Ethics? Dude, they're ants.

[@maritimegardening4887]

the 1st 2 minutes is an ethical discussion.