Oh my gosh it worked! How I got rid of my cupboard ants.

I am so excited! So excited that I didn't even take before photos. I suffer each year with the dreaded little ants in my kitchen. Not just in my kitchen, but on my cupboard tops which is so incredibly gross. This is our third year at this home and I never have figured out where they come from. 

I have suffered occasional ants in the past and could always follow the trail to the point of entry. Armed with a vacuum hose and vinegar, I could find and eliminate them. But not in this house where they have a secret entry. Probably behind the 80's fridge that frankly I have never moved to clean behind... even though I have learned that normal people do that once a year. In my defense I will point out that I was raised by one of the cleanest women on the planet. I honestly didn't know houses even got dirty. She cleaned somehow magically with out us being able to see that she did it. I remember my first apartment and the toilet started getting dirty and I thought it was due to hard water. I never even saw a toilet bowl cleaner. Turns out my mom cleaned the toilets by hand with gloves and rags. Jeez. We did have chores and I saw her do dishes... but never saw real cleaning.

I did not inherit her mega-cleaning genes, either.

So anyway...I digress. The ants in this kitchen are hard to conquer. No success with vacuum and vinegar. This year I tried peppermint because I read about it and tried it because it had helped with mice. My cat does NOT help with mice. Peppermint didn't work on ant control..

Does not kill mice or ants.

I tried those little red commercial ant killers. Nothing.
Last attempt before just up and moving to a new house was the sugar water and borax theory. And it WORKED!
Here is what I did:

Half cup sugar. any kind, I used raw sugar because that's what I had.

1 and 1/2 tablespoons borax. (no, more isn't better in this case. If it smells too borax-y, the ants will avoid.)

Mix them well in a sealable container.

Add 1 and 1/2 cups warm water and stir until dissolved. 

This is it, mixed up and dissolved. Mine looks brown because I used raw sugar. Be sure to use safety precautions against children, pets and family members finding it and ingesting. Especially if you use white sugar and it looks clear.

Place the mixture in flat lids and soak cotton balls in it. Then place it somewhere in the lines where the ants walk. I did 3 spots. One cotton ball right on the cupboard (no container or lid). This one I did because I couldn't see how they would walk through liquid. One in a soda bottle lid because it stayed soaked and they could get right to the cotton ball. One on a small flat lid to which I eventually added a cookie crumb, and hubby added a raisin. ?  He says ants like them. The raisin is optional. Just to make hubby feel better.

We left them all out over night and by the next evening....no ants. Not a one. Yay!!!

Our 3 ant killing traps. No need for the raisin.

I am keeping the rest of the mixture for later in summer when I am sure a new batch of ants will come along. They won't last long!

I have also been told that borax mixed with peanut butter will help get rid of the ants that don't love sugar. I may even try this outside around the house. BUT you have to be mindful of other wildlife outside and the impact of what you are putting outside and who else will eat it. Plus what will eat the ants that you are treating. So now I won't be trying this outside. I will come up with something else.

Let me know what you think!