[Dailydrool] Ant hills

[Esther Strom]

Sarah,

I seem to recall that citrus is a natural repellant. The (possibly old-wives-tale) solution I've heard is to put citrus peel and water in a blender to liquefy, then pour over the anthill.

Here are a few other natural solutions I found online at http://www.gnomestories.com/gnomesites/wiladvice.htm#i (I've never tried any of them):


Start by drowning the ants with boiling water. Approximately three gallons of boiling water to each mound should do the trick. Follow with a natural repellent of citrus peelings and water. Blend in a blender and pour it over the anthill.

You can either saturate cotton balls with peppermint oil or mix it up in a spray bottle with water and apply where needed.

Another natural remedy is to mix equal parts of sugar and borax. Place the sugar/borax mixture strategically around the yard in small containers (jar lids work just fine). The ants are attracted to the sugar and carry it back to the mound and within a week or two the borax will kill the mound.

One other natural remedy is to use instant grits or cream of wheat. Sprinkle the grits over the mound. The ants will eat the grits and the grits will expand and blow up inside them. This method has been known to remove an ant hill within a day or two.

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Esther Strom
Visit my Etsy shop: http://HookedByEsther.etsy.com


----- Original Message ----

Hi All,

Do any of you have any suggestions for a safe way to take care of some  
ant hills that have popped up in our yard.  I don't want to poison the  
dogs while trying to get rid of the ants!

To Mary about the cracked nose...my spaniel's nose peeled and  
cracked...and it turned out to be that her thyroid was low...once she  
got on medicine for that, it cleared right up.

Sarah
Basset mom to Rosie & Obie(ATB)