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We all know how pesky and intrusive ants can be. The little pests always seem to find their way into your home. Once they’re in, it often seems like there’s no getting them out. Miraculously, people over the years have come up with a handful of inventive ways to get rid of ant invasions once and for all. However, many methods that you’ll find on the internet for creating homemade ant traps involve harmful chemicals such as borax.

These methods may not be suitable in households with pets and young children, as leaving harmful chemicals around the house can put them at risk for contamination and exposure. Thankfully, there is a simple alternative to homemade ant traps made with borax. Here’s a method for creating a homemade ant trap made with baking soda that is just as simple and effective with none of the risk.

Why Should You Use Homemade Ant Traps?

The main problem with most methods for getting rid of ants is that they simply attack individual ants and not the colony. Methods such as sprays and deterrents simply aim to push the ants away and hope that they never come back. While there are many natural deterrants that are safe to use, such as cayenne pepper and lemon juice, they won’t entirely fix the problem. With homemade ant traps, the aim is to eliminate the ants once and for all so that they can never come back.

How to Make a 100% Natural and Non-Toxic Homemade Ant Trap

Creating a homemade ant trap involves setting poisoned bait for the ants that they will then take back to their colony, killing the entire colony in a simple and firm sweep. While they are traditionally made with borax, a substance which is harmful to both ants and humans, making them with baking soda instead is just as effective against ants while posing no danger whatsoever to humans. What you’ll need to get started is:

• A small bowl or other open container ants can easily get into
• 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of baking soda

Step 1

Take your small container and fill it with the baking soda and powdered sugar. Mix very well, so that there is no powdered sugar that isn’t properly integrated with the baking soda, or vice versa.

Step 2

Once the mixture is properly made, set the open container in an area where the targeted ants are known to traverse. If you know where the colony is, you may try placing the mixture close to the colony to speed things up.

Step 3

Simply sit back and wait for the ants to find your bait. Once they do, the ants will think that they’ve struck gold. They will instantly start working together to bring as much of the powdered sugar as they can back to their colony. Sadly, these ants won’t realize until it’s too late that what they’re actually bringing back to their colony is toxic.

Step 4

Once the mixture of baking soda and powdered sugar is ingested by the ants, the ants will internally explode. The chemical reaction caused by the digestion of baking soda in the acid of the ant’s system causes a powerful combustion that kills the ants instantly. Repeat this method until there are no ant colonies left and you’ll have perfected this totally natural and homemade ant trap.

Non-Lethal Methods for Ant Abatement

So, there you have it! This ant trap functions the exact same way as ones made with borax, minus having to handle borax. As a simple, safe, and effective way to get rid of ants in the household or garden, there can be no substitutes! If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like to kill living creatures, even the tiny ones, there are several other methods for ant abatement that are effective yet non-lethal. These include the aforementioned cayenne pepper and lemon juice mixed into sprays or simply left out and around the area you want the ants to leave alone.

Diatomaceous Earth Is Another Great Natural Solution for Killing Ants

Another great lethal solution for getting rid of ants is diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is an incredibly fine powdery substance that is non-toxic to humans but fatally dehydrates ants and other insects. You can use diatomaceous earth as a replacement for baking soda in traps, or simply sprinkle diatomaceous earth around and inside of ant hills and colonies.