DIY Borax Ant Killer
This simple two-ingredient borax ant bait combines honey with borax to attract sweet-feeding ants. Place it near an active ant trail and allow worker ants time to carry the bait back toward the colony. Always keep borax bait inaccessible to children and animals.
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Equipment
- Cardstock
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Borax
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Mix the honey and borax together in a small dish. If necessary, gently warm the honey so it is easier to stir.
- Place about a teaspoon of bait on cardstock or inside a protected bait container.
- Set the bait beside an active ant trail or near their entry point.
- Check the bait daily and replace it if it dries out or is consumed.
- Continue baiting until ant activity has stopped.
Notes
- Keep this bait out of reach of children, pets and livestock. Borax should not be ingested.
- If children or animals could reach the bait, place it inside a covered container with small ant-sized access holes.
- The recipe shown uses our stronger 2 Tablespoons borax to ¼ cup honey mixture. If ants die immediately beside the bait or have a long distance to travel back to their nest, consider reducing the borax. A slower-acting bait gives worker ants more opportunity to carry it back toward the colony.
- Colorado State Extension recommends roughly 5% to 10% borax or boric acid by weight in homemade food bait. One part borax to 19 parts honey by weight produces approximately a 5% mixture.
- Do not apply borax bait directly to garden soil. Boron-containing materials can damage plants when concentrated in soil.
- Avoid placing exposed bait where bees, birds or other non-target animals could access it.
- If ants aren't interested in honey, test a tiny amount of plain honey first. Different ants can have different food preferences.
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