Toxic Free NC Tip of the Week: Fire Ants (Part 2)

It’s been an especially good year to be a fire ant in NC, and kind of a painful one for the rest of us. How do you get rid of them without toxic pesticides? Last week, we talked about the boiling water method, which, though effective and pretty non-toxic, it’s not ideal for lawns and gardens, since it’ll cook the plants! Here’s another option for those spots.

Make your own fire ant bait with borax powder (look for it in your laundry aisle)

Sweet mix:
4 tsp. borax
1 cup sugar
3 cups water

Protein mix:
1 tsp. borax
1/2 can of cat food, or 2 Tbsp. peanut butter

It’s said that the sweet mix works better in the spring and fall, and the protein mix works better in the summer - you can experiment and see what your fire ants like better. Mix up the ingredients - don’t worry, borax powder is safe to handle. For the sweet mix, soak cotton balls with the liquid. Then, place your bait inside a glass or plastic container with holes punched in the lid. Place the bait near the nest, not on top of it.

Now, while borax is safe to handle and safe for pets and all, it’s not going to be very effective if your pets get into it before the ants do, so bear that in mind when deciding whether to go with this method or the boiling water method!

Read Toxic Free NC’s article: Coping with Fire Ants

Got a whole farm’s worth of fire ants? Check out this extension article on Organic Fire Ant Management

Get more at ToxicFreeNC.org

Have a request for next week’s Toxic Free NC Tip? Submit it here.

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