Lines of ants marching around in your house can be obnoxious, especially if they get into your food. While ants in your garden and lawn are not particularly destructive pests, they can be a nuisance. Some ant species can bite and sting, and ants in your lawn build unsightly little mounds in the turf. Indoor ants often come in from outdoor nests, so controlling ants in the lawn can help reduce the number of ants coming into your house. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Set your mower to cut the grass a little taller. Ants can actually be beneficial insects in a lawn because they eat harmful insects and fungi, and taller grass will hide the mounds.
2. Mow your lawn regularly. Even though ants can be beneficial, too many anthills upset the soil in the lawn and they can multiply and spread quickly. It's a good idea to mow before the anthills get too large or the mower will just spread a lot of soil over the grass and smother it. Sweeping or raking the hills on a regular basis will keep the mounds from getting too tall and it might encourage the ants to move elsewhere.
3. Sprinkle the area around the mounds with an uncooked instant cereal like wheat farina, instant rice or instant oatmeal. When the ants eat it, it will swell in their abdomens and kill them. This method of ant control is not harmful to children or pets.
4. Spread a fine layer of diatomaceous earth on the anthills and along any ant trails you find. This powder is non-toxic to people and animals unless it's inhaled in large amounts, but it makes fine cuts all over an insect's exoskeleton, which cause it to dry up and die. Keep in mind, however, that diatomaceous earth is also harmful to beneficial insects.
5. Try a sugar and borax mixture to get rid of ant colonies taking over the lawn. Mix a tablespoon of borax into a cup of sugar and add enough water to make a thick paste. Drop bits of the paste around the mounds. The ants will take the sugar into the nest and the borax will kill them. Borax is toxic to people and animals, so children and pets should be kept off the lawn if there is borax present.
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