Introduction to natural ant control
Copyright 1972-2012 All rights reserved
Invisible Gardener
Organicdatabank.info
InvisibleGardener.com
Intro
I started in the 6th grade learning about ants. I read "Do Ants Sleep?" and then I saw a national geographic video on ants. I then went out an bought an Uncle Milton Ant Farm and started to use it on my own home. That is to say that I decided that I could control the ants by using the ant farm as a method of controlling ant thru feeding them! Really works! Just run one tube or two out side and you allow them to enter into the ant farm and they will eat what you give them.
"Your best bet is to learn how to control the ants.
"Keep em out of the house and in places you don't want them to be."
Andy Lopez
Invisible Gardener
A few things you must understand...
It is better to control the ants then to kill them all off.
Just spraying soap or pesticides is not the answer to long term ant control. I developed this system myself and have been using it since 1972 and know that it works. Let me help you with your ant problem. I have set up many videos which explain what you can do as well as a website with content designed with helping you.
Why do you have ants inside your home?
The first rule of natural ant control is to know the law of cause and effect.
The ants are not the cause, merely the effect!
andy lopez
Invisible Gardener
Natural Ant Control Step 1
Observation
The very first step in controlling ants around your home is for you to take a walk around and see if you are really cleaning up after yourself as well as you can. Ants are very smart they know a good thing when they see one. If you are providing food and water for them then they certainly will know it and come around looking for it. So this must change. Clean up better after yourself, don't leave out food over-night, dispose of garbage properly. Usually the areas where the ants are seen in the house are near sources of either food or water or both. Do not provide a water source for them. Leaky water systems, such as hose connections will always become a source of water and a ant colony will be set up near it.
There are many water sources around the house for ants to tap into into not just obvious water sources like under the sink or in the bathroom but in other water sources such as dog or cat water bowel, plants water trays, forgotten bottle of soda, morning dew on plants also are a great source of water for ants. Are your children helping?
What do you do with your pet food?
Another important aspect of step 1 is to locate any ants that are coming into your house and find out how they are coming in. Follow them around and see if they are entering through holes or cracks in the wall.
Smart Ants
Ants use many methods of locating food sources around them and your home environment is just another forest that they can use to their benefitfit. Ants are just aware of us as we are aware of them and they behave accordingly unless us humans) and it is for this reason that I often say that ants have humans trained.
Ants respond to plant stress, so the more stressed your plants are the more ants you will have! Ants know that stressed plants are better food source for the aphids and other insects that they farm. Andy Lopez
On Ant Trails
1.....cleaned up
2.....control sources of water
3.....observe how they enter and exit house etc.
4.....observe what type (s) of food they are going after.
5.....observe any trails around the outside of the house and where they are coming from.
6.....walked around your property and locate current ant colonies.
7....go shopping for the following items:
Any natural Peppermint soap. You can get this soap at any health food store or food co-op.
They also make Almond Oil, Lavender etc, soap, and several others. I would pick up one of each since you can rotate using them for best results. Essential Oils are good here.
4 Finch bird nesting houses or bricks (see above) You buy at your local pet store. or bricks
8 oz Honey or white sugar or corn syrup
4-8 oz plastic cups one each goes inside the bird houses.
A quart sprayer (or gallon sprayer OK)
A caulking gun and caulk
Get Boric Acid Powder. This is sold at most garden centers or through mail order.
or try Natural Ant Baits with the boric acid added. Ants Like Terro..see my website for terro
See also about using boric acid.
Its Alive! radio shows, I do a regular show called "Its Alive!" which is about the living soil. On my radio shows, I talk with my callers
and answer their questions. When ever I do this show, many callers want to know how does the health of the soil have any thing to do with natural ant control?
"I answer explaining that all plants that are growing from the soil have this relationship with the soil so that if anything is going wrong with the soil, the plants will also suffer. The ants are merely responding to the situation".
"Plants stress has caused the plants to produce less sugars and carbohydrates and therefore this makes them for of a food source for aphids and other insects which they herd. Ants do not attack plants directly but farm out other insets which they then milk for their nectar".
Andy Lopez
The Invisible Gardener
GOT ANTS?
Get Immediate Help Now!
Here some immediate things you can do now to help you with the ant problem you are having. This will help yo right away.
For Immediate Relief Inside:
Using Natural Soap
To control ants immediately use any Natural Castile Peppermint (or any other flavor like Lavender, Herbal, etc) soap. I like Using Dr Bronners Soaps but you can us what ever natural castile peppermint soap you want to use. Add 1 oz per gallon water. Spray directly on ants in the house. If they die then it is the right strength, if they do not die and get up and laugh at you then I would make it 2 oz per gallon and then try another different batch of ants and see what happens.
Still not strong enough? Don't fret, I have used 8 oz per gallon many times until they are reduced but remember that it is for immediate relief only and not the whole answer.
If the soap doesn't work by itself, try adding a little bit of the OTKO or CitraSolv Citrus. Start in the bath room and work your way towards the outside of the house.
This will last for only a few days. You will have to spray daily in bad areas. Then switch to a Lavender soap or some other natural soap.
Because it's a two way street we must try to understand why ants do what they do. While ants learn quickly, people do not. So don't be ashamed that it will take you and the ants some time to understand what you want of them and what they want of you.
They are usually after food and water. So clean up after yourself. Donʼt leave sugars, protein, oils, bread, etc, and other foods around for them.
Sometimes a simple thing as a regular cleaning up inside will be enough to keep the ants outside.
So the first step is learning to keep your home clean inside and outside and then you will need to learn about what natural soaps and citrus oils you can use that work against the ants.
The main control is using something that has a strong smell to the ants which covers up their trails The soaps are great for this but so are essential oils, cedar, citrus oils, even using steam against the ants.
ADDITIONALLY you will need to learn which are you own ants which live on your property and what colonies are present. Learning Population control is another big part in natural ant control.
Invisible Gardener
Natural Ant Control.
By now you should have the list of materials that I gave you of things to buy in
Dances with Ants Using Ant Bait
Bottle Natural Peppermint or Lavender or any other natural castile soap,
A quart sprayer (or gallon sprayer OK)
A 3 gallon sprayer is better for out doors while a 1 gallon spray in better for inside.
Essential Oil.
Use the natural Soap at the rate of 1 tablespoon per quart water (make stronger if needed). Start in center of house and spray the areas ants are seen in, ok to add to mop water. Spray in the bathrooms and in the kitchen as well as the floors and walls, especially in the areas, holes, cracks they where seen entering and exiting. Spray also around the outside of the house where the wall meets the ground as well as any other ways the ants are coming in.. i.e. they follow electrical wiring, water pipes, air conditioning ducts, etc.
Once you have sprayed the soap then you caulk up all entrances and exits that the ants were using.
2..... Caulking gun and caulk any type of material can be used to close these entrances.
I sometimes use chewing gum! Elmer's glue is ok to use if you donʼt mind the smell. Any type of natural compound can be used.
3.... 4 Finch bird nesting houses or 4 ant cafes or use the Brick Model: Once you have sprayed and then closed off all known entrances to the house, then you are ready for the ant cafes. If you have kids or small animals like puppies or cats then I would also can screws to attach the lid down with. More on this in step 3.
Or use any other store bought or check out the ideal ant cafe using bricks.
4...... 4-8 oz plastic cups:
Inside the ant cafes you will place 1- 8 oz plastic cup. This is where you will place food and or water for the ants to eat. You can alternatively use any other type of container that fifits inside the ant cafes, I have used cat or dog food containers, glass bottles, etc.
Alternative sprays.. These are some things that you can use to spray with that are natural and safe to use as directed: OTKO is a natural citrus based cleaner and actually not a soap. This has a pleasant citrus smell but if you are sensitive to odors then you should take a light sniff before you buy it. This stuff will dissolve most insect bodies it comes into contact with yet it is safe to use in the home and garden. Use 1 tablespoon per quart water. Cedar works wonderfully here also.
Learn the strength. Any Herbal liquid soaps such as Natural Dog Shampoo or essential oil with its many different herbs used to make it. You only have to add 1 tablespoon per quart water of this stuff.
Once you have gotten the ants out of the house by spraying the soap, you have to keep them out.
Again, the ant cafe will play an important role in this. Use the Peppermint soap (1 capful (1 capful = 1 tablespoonful) per quart water) to spray around the house.
Spray where the ants trails are found, usually along the wall and ground. Ants will leave trails almost anywhere so look carefully for them.
Avoid spraying directly on plants as this mixture is too strong and it will burn them (the plants). This mixture is strong enough to kill ants on contact and will provide protection for a day or two depending on the time of year and conditions of the
ant colony's).
Can't Find natural Peppermint soap?
Look at your local health food store or food co-op. But if you need to use something fast then I would suggest that you use vinegar, or cedar, or OTKO.
Yes, plain vinegar will do. Use 1/2 water. Fill quart sprayer with vinegar/water and spray where ever ants are seen in the house. Start with the center of the house and work your way out.
Also try the OTKO or CitraSolv citrus.
ants are good not bad or evil
they respond to stress
control water
keep house clean
use beneficial insects
Please read about Killing or Not Killing Ants. We can talk about this.
Boric acid is sold at most garden centers.
Immediate Relief Outside:
Learning to use various natural soaps as a natural barrier
While the many types of chemical soap available at your local store can be used direction the ants as an immediate aid in controlling them you would be better off if you used a soap made from natural ingredients. The many chemicals in the soaps are not good for you nor for the environment. A preference of mine is mixing Natural Castile Peppermint soap and OTKO or CitraSolv or Natural Cedar.
These can be mixed with water and sprayed directly onto the ants and the ant trail. The amount that you mix with water depends on what works. Right? So try out a small amount on the ants first and see what happens.
Try 1 capful of soap and 1 capful of OTKO or CitraSolv per gallon.
Doesn't work? Then try 2 capfuls each. If the ants did not die then make it stronger. You can also use CitrsSolv or OTKO can be used outside and indoors!
Use what smells good for you. Spray the soap around the outside of the house as well as inside to keep the ants out. Length of time that this will keep the ants away will depend on many things.. sometimes days but more likely hours.
Ortho sells a clean boric acid as well as as there are ant control brands that you can buy. See Info about using these productsinin another section of this ebook.
See also about using boric acid.
Alternative sprays
citrus oil
essential oils
vinegar
Dont mind the smell. Any type of natural and safe to use as directed: OTKO is a natural citrus based cleaner and actually not a soap. >4 Finch bird nesting houses or 4 ant cafes or use the Brick Model
Watch out for the smell if you are sensitive to odors then you should try it out first.
Once you have sprayed and then sniff before you buy it. Use 1 tablespoon per quart or Any Herbal liquid More this in step 3. Or use any other Shampoo or essential oil with its store bought or check out the many different herbs used. You only have to add 1 tablespoon per quart water of this. 4-8 oz plastic cups: Inside the ant cafes you will place Once you have gotten the ants attention, and then you will place food and or water for the ants to eat. You can alternatively use any other type of natural soap.
1-8 oz plastic cup. This is where you get them out of the house by spraying the smelly stuff
Again, he ant cafe will play an important part in keeping ants out Use the cafes, I have used cat or dog food.
Use Peppermint soap (1 capful (1 capful = 1 tablespoon ful) per quart water) to spray around the house. Spray where the ants trails are found, usually along the wall and ground. Ants will leave trails almost anywhere so look carefully for them.
Avoid spraying directly on plants as this mixture is too strong and it will burn them (the plants). This mixture is strong enough to kill ants on contact and will provide protection for a day or two depending on the time of year and conditions of the ant colony's).
Can't Find Natural Peppermint soap?
Look at your local health food store or food co-op. But if you need to use something fast then I would suggest that you use OTKO. Yes, plain orange oil will do. Fill quart sprayer with water, add 1 oz per quart and spray where ever ants are seen in the house. Start with the center of the house and work your way out.
Also try CitraSolv.
Home Made Ant Cafe Unit
Learning how to make the Ant Cafe an active food source for the ants is a very important part of the treatment. It cannot be overstated. The ants will not be able at first to find this food source for many different reasons and sometimes they will not want it and ignore it. You must make them understand that this is a food source for them. This is what I call “Dances with Ants”. Therefore it is good to go slowly at first when introducing the Ant Cafe to the ants.
Providing food and water for the ants outside while using the peppermint soap inside the house may be enough to control your ant problem inside the house.
We call this part Dancing with the Ants also, because it takes time to get the ants to go for the ant cafes and not go into your house or on your roses.
CONCERNING THE CONTAINER USED TO BUILD YOUR ANT CAFE
I have experimented with many different types of containers in order to find the one which worked best. There are many problems with using plastic containers due to their pollution abilities (damage to our OZONE layer from their manufacturing process, damage to our oceans, etc.) so I do not recommend using this material unless it is made properly. After trying out many different types of containers and after making different types of my own,
I have decided that it is easier to go to your local pet store and buy a finch bird house or you can make the brick ant cafes units.
Here are some important points to keep in mind when you are looking for that “perfect” Ant Cafe: It is very important that the unit is able to be locked, screwed down or in some way made impossible for children, dogs, cats, etc., to get into.
We are after only ants here! If you are concerned about kids getting into it then donʼt use any boric acid—use only sugar, honey etc. The container must hold enough ant gel (or plain sugar water) to last a week or two and be small enough to be hidden from view. Natural Pest Control The Ant Cafe Unit is an important tool used to provide food for the ants. Yes, that's right, food! By feeding the ants,
You can better control them, keep them out of your home and garden. TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL The Ant Cafe when kept clean and stocked with their food, it will keep the ants out of your house (used all the Natural Castile Peppermint soap spraying). it will be enough. However, if ants are too many then you can reduce their population by adding into their food. Boric acid is also available at your local drug store or garden center or see my website. The garden center variety is much stronger then the drug store so be careful. See Boric Acid Formula Adjustment page You can alternately purchase Terro which is 5% boric acid formula.
Different types of Ant Cafes you can make.....
Here is a cleaver way to make your ant cafe unit.. from bricks!
Use Bricks
place around home
place around property
keeps pets out
keeps children out
only ants get in
Making your own Ant Cafe You can build your own Ant Cafe or you can buy one at your local pest store or use any store made units or see the brick design. Buy or make four for your house and two for your garden. Inside, place an 8 oz plastic cup which you've fifilled with water, plus 1 tablespoon sugar or honey. See Boric acid formula.
What you feed them makes a difference.
This process of learning what's best to feed the ants is very important and will take time and patience. I prefer not to use any poisons at all. By trying to understand the way of the ant you can retrain them to stay out of places that you have a right to keep them out of. It is not necessary to fikill them but merely to dance with them. The Ant Cafes should be placed around the outside of the house (4 ant cafes, one at each corner), and along their trails. Keep out of direct sunlight as heat will ferment the sugar mixture.
Replace with a new mixture when this happens. Cover with rocks to keep other creatures out, children and pets out. Check regularly to insure that they are being kept full and clean. Attach a screw to keep lid down. Check out the ant cafe made from bricks. Or use the brick model if you have children or pet issues.
Thanks Andy
