(Safe for your kids and pets, not safe for the ants of course!)
With the recent heavy rains we've had, I've noticed the ants marching two-by-two in their little trails twice in my house in the past couple of days. With children and pets around, I don't want to go just grab a can of Raid and start spraying, but I want the ants to, well, die.
SO, what works for me is a spray bottle of dish soap (Dawn or whatever I have on hand) and water that I keep under my kitchen sink. Yesterday we had quite a few ants right outside our back door who had found an unfortunate worm that had been washed up from the rain. Ants were everywhere. I sprayed them with my trusty dishsoap water, including the threshold to our backdoor where they were beginning to come in the house, and they were gone in seconds. I didn't have to worry about my dogs tracking through ant spray on their way in or out. For an ant trail across the carpet, a light mist of the spray kills them, then I just dab it with a paper towel and it's dry.
There's no formula, I just squirt some dish soap into the spray bottle and fill it about halfway with water, swish it all together and voila. I also love this because it's safe, doesn't stink, and it's made with two things I always have on hand- dish soap and water!
Works for me! Head on over to Shannon's to read what works for other moms, and have a wonderful Wednesday!
13 comments:
Great tip! Especially for this time of year...and convenient, too.
Oh Thank you! Does this also work on fire ants? Thanks for the tip
ange, TX
www.havingfunservinghim.blogspot.com
Thank you! Thank you! Did you see my post today? I was begging for this advice!
I use a strong Dawn and water solution on wasps. It knocks them out of the air and kills them, after letting them suffer as they should for a few minutes!
Those pests are about the only ones I am heartless to! I disturbed a nest once as a child and was stung many, many times. I hate them!
Momma
www.homeschoolblogger.com/mommaofmany
Windex with ammonia in it works well, too. You can mark a path around your house, or spray the ants that have already invaded. If you mark a path, the ants won't cross it.
We have a major problem with ants right now, so I'll have to try this. One question, though: doesn't it leave a lot of sticky soap scum around afterward? How do you deal with that?
My in law use cornmeal. The ants carry it home to their nest where they and their queen devour it, as soon as they drink water it expands and kills them all.
I didn't know that such a simple solution could kill ants. Thanks for sharing the tip!
wow, there are so many "green" ideas for killing ants. our ant season is earlier.
i've heard that a link of chalk works in the fact that they won't cross it (but I don't think it kills them).
I have never heard of all these other way...I think I'll try "mommaofmany's" wasp solution ...we get lots of those.
~Amy
Do you have any tricks for flies?? Because I hate using the fly swatter! :)
I really like this idea. I have ants climbing up my window to get to my hummingbird feeder and I was afraid the ant spray would harm the hummingbirds.
I had to take down the hummingbird feeder to spray the window with ant spray and it left an icky film on the window.
This sounds like it will be a perfect solution.
Thanks for sharing!
Cindy, I have a recipe that I'd love to share. It's easy and makes a lot of food.
Please email me.
Sandy
sawill3@hotmail.com
Roast Chicken Chimichangas
From Cooking Light
Notes: Queso Fresco is a slightly salty, easy to crumble farmers cheese. I rolled them up like traditional Chimichangas.
These Chimichangas are oven-browned instead of deep-fried. The filling uses queso fresco. If it's not available, try shredded Monterey Jack.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup bottled green salsa
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500°.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well.
Spread 1/4 cup beans down center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 2/3 cup chicken mixture; roll up. Place rolls, seam sides down, on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of Chimichangas with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 7 minutes. Serve with salsa. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 Chimichanga and about 4 teaspoons salsa)
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