Many people know that boric acid-based products are effective against many insects, including ants. This tool has a number of advantages. Firstly, it is absolutely safe for humans, and secondly, it is not expensive and accessible, since boric acid is sold in pharmacies. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare the product.
The article describes how to quickly prepare bait from available means, as well as how it works on insects.
Reasons for the appearance of ants in the apartment
Ants are quite hardworking living creatures that are useful, but when they appear in a person’s home, ants become harmful creatures. In nature, ants can be found everywhere, and in fairly dirty places, such as trash cans, various landfills, etc. Moving into human housing, they carry pathogens of various ailments on their paws. When they appear in an apartment, they can be found in various bulk food products, which does not bring much joy to the residents.
Ants are attracted to a person’s home by a number of factors, such as:
- The presence of bread crumbs, spilled tea, compote, jam or honey on the dining table.
- Storing bulk food products in accessible form.
- The apartment is warm and humid.
- Free access to water.
- The ants wait out the winter in the apartment.
Good to know! Determining the place where the ants' nest is located is not at all difficult. As a rule, a living path of ants stretches from food to the nest, carrying food to the nest for their relatives. The task is also simplified because these insects are diurnal and rest at night.
An effective insect repellent
To get rid of unexpected guests as quickly as possible, you need to choose the most effective method of exterminating these insects, ensuring the safety of family members. Chemicals are handled with extreme caution.
The desire to exclude the possibility of poisoning becomes a priority, and therefore folk recipes are studied first. One of the main ingredients for preparing “treats” for an army of crawling predators is rightfully boric acid.
Boric acid is a transparent, odorless and tasteless powder . It is an antiseptic and is sold in pharmacies as a disinfectant in the form of a solution or powder.
The relative safety of boric acid for humans makes it attractive for use in pest control. Availability and low price increase the rating of the product for those who are interested in spending money on a table for those you want to get rid of.
ATTENTION! Being a recommended antiseptic, boric acid has a number of side effects, which are mentioned in the instructions for use. Carefully study the consequences of taking and using the drug before using it.
How does boric acid work? This substance attacks ants from three sides:
It affects the nervous system, disrupting its functioning. As a result, causing paralysis of the entire body.- Destroys the chitinous shell, which performs the function of a skeleton (that’s why experts call it: ecoskeleton). Without such a foundation, the remaining parts of the body die.
- Sterilizes individuals, depriving them of the ability to reproduce.
Very important is the fact that the drug affects the entire hierarchical chain of the insect caste:
- females;
- males;
- working individuals.
It is difficult to find the location of the nest in an apartment ; it may be a cavity in a concrete partition or ceiling. It may seem that in the garden or at the dacha, this is easier to do, since it is quite easy to detect an anthill. But an anthill is also a nest; it is known that the depth at which the colony is located is several meters. And in a country house it will not be possible to mechanically get to the uterus and its guardians.
This problem is easily solved with boric acid. It is known that food obtained by representatives of a huge family of ants is delivered to the nest by individual individuals. There the distribution takes place between all family members. Thus, by offering the ants the right poison, the problem of access to the queen and her defenders can be solved.
In order to make a decision on choosing a drug to kill ants, you do not need to find out which order or family they belong to, where they came from and what they eat.
The described means are equally effective on all types of ants:
- black;
- redheads;
- indoor;
- gardening
The effect of the active substance spreads throughout the colony the faster the greater the number of individuals who have received their portion of the drug.
Boric acid: release form
Boric acid is sold in pharmacies or household chemical stores. It is packaged in plastic bags, weighing 10 g. Boric acid is a white powder that is used to prepare baits. A sachet weighing 10 g is enough to prepare bait for a whole week. This product is sold freely, without a prescription.
Boric acid is not dangerous to humans or pets. It is not dangerous even for small children and, if accidentally consumed, can cause signs of mild intoxication or diarrhea. Despite this, it is better to place insect control baits so that children and pets cannot reach them. You should not endanger your family and friends.
Security measures
Any substance with boron, although weak, is poisonous. When using it, you must observe the following precautions:
- store in a place inaccessible to children;
- do not use where the bait can be swallowed by animals;
- If powder gets into your eyes, rinse them with cold water;
- Make sure that the drug does not come into contact with food.
Poisoning in humans can only occur with targeted use of the drug: systematically little by little or one-time in a large dose.
Attention! Boric acid has a cumulative effect: with prolonged ingestion, it can cause poisoning.
Symptoms depend on how the acid enters the body.
If it comes into contact with the skin, the substance can cause eczema, detachment of the epidermis and complete or partial hair loss. In case of poisoning through the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms are varied:
- nausea;
- pain in the stomach;
- vomit;
- tachycardia;
- drop in blood pressure;
- convulsions;
- psychomotor agitation;
- anemia;
- disruption of brain function;
- others.
There is no specific treatment. Washing the stomach and mucous membranes with a 4% solution of baking soda is indicated.
How it works
Boric acid, in relation to insects, manifests itself as a means of contact-intestinal action. The white powder ends up on the legs and intestines of the insect. Over time, the white powder sucks all the liquid from the insect’s body, corroding the walls of the digestive organs. As a result of this effect, the insect dies.
Boric acid also acts in another way. If part of the colony dies, then the other part will no longer be able to reproduce. Therefore, the entire colony dies, and in a short time.
Boric acid has the same effect on cockroaches and ants. The insects themselves help destroy the entire colony, since they carry food to their nest for their relatives. They gradually become infected and die. The product does not emit toxic fumes, so it does not pose a danger to people and pets.
Minced meat trap
Boric acid balls with minced meat are also very effective against such pests. They are prepared simply: take 2 tablespoons of minced meat, mix with 6 grams of acid, roll into balls and place near places where insects accumulate or on ant paths. The principle of action of this poison is the same as that of other baits.
Important: do not use this recipe if you have pets that eat meat. They can eat the bait before the ants.
Benefits of boric acid
Boric acid is distinguished by its popularity and availability. Almost everyone who made baits based on boric acid appreciated their merits and effectiveness. As a rule, all reviews are positive, regardless of the method of preparing bait.
To use boric acid for preparing baits, you should pay attention to five factors, such as:
- The product is absolutely safe and does not contain toxic ingredients.
- The product is time-tested, based on several recipes.
- Based on it, it is quite simple to prepare compositions for killing harmful insects.
- As a rule, it is possible to destroy the entire colony, and at a distance.
- Availability of the product and low cost.
3 ways to get rid of ants in your house. It is very easy!
User reviews on the results of using the product
Everyone who has tested the effect of boric acid on ants in action leaves mostly positive reviews. Many note that the product copes with the destruction of insects not only in apartments, but also in personal plots. Most housewives are very pleased with the result, noting that the complete destruction of the entire colony is carried out in about 30 days.
Rarely, but still there are negative reviews, which are based on the fact that ants do not touch treats mixed with boric acid. Perhaps in this case the recipe is violated and the poison content in the bait is simply exceeded, which leads to a negative result.
Boric acid has proven to be an effective means of killing ants. You can use the substance either in its pure form, scattering it in places where ants gather, or preparing aromatic baits for further transportation by the poison-delivering ants to the nest. The product works both in apartments or houses, and outdoors, for example, in a garden or vegetable garden.
Boric acid recipes for ants
As a rule, these are simple recipes that do not contain scarce components. Therefore, anyone can prepare them without much effort or expense. Both dry and liquid forms of bait are suitable for fighting ants.
- Remedy No. 1 . Prepare sweet syrup based on water, sugar, jam, honey and boric acid. To prepare the bait you will need 250 ml of water, 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of honey or jam. First, water and sugar are boiled for about five minutes, after which jam or honey is added to the syrup, as well as half a bag (5 g) of boric acid. The product is mixed well, after which it is placed in a saucer or other containers with low sides so that the ants can get to the substance. Every week you need to prepare the product again.
- Tool No. 2 is dry bait. To prepare dry bait, you need to take powdered sugar and boric acid in equal proportions, after which they are thoroughly mixed. The resulting product is scattered over problem areas. This remedy also has a detrimental effect on cockroaches.
- Remedy No. 3 . This recipe is known to many. A product is prepared based on boiled yolk. First you need to boil the egg and separate the yolk from the white. Then take a teaspoon of boric acid and mix it with the yolk, adding a small amount of water. After this, balls with a diameter of about 1 cm are rolled out and placed in places inaccessible to children and pets.
- Remedy No. 4 , based on jam and boric acid. Take 2 tbsp. spoons of jam and a packet of acid. The product is mixed well and applied to strips of cardboard, which are laid out in places where ants appear. Since ants have a sweet tooth, they will definitely try the bait.
Boric acid for ants.
Why are ants dangerous?
Let's figure out whether ants can cause harm to humans, and if they can, then how. Let's start with the fact that these hard workers, with their characteristic persistence and energy, spoil food. They can move on absolutely any surface, including a trash can or dirty floor. That is, they are in no way inferior to insects such as cockroaches in the spread of various infectious diseases.
Photo of ants
When ants bite, they release a very burning substance - formic acid, which, in addition to pain and burning, can cause an allergic reaction and even anaphylactic shock in humans.
And this is already a serious reason to send these insects back to the forest and field.
The benefits and harms of ants - video
Capture
Let's say you're lucky and you see a queen crawling on the ground. If she has not shed her wings yet, it is better to leave her alone, she may not be fertilized yet. We only need queens that have already shed their wings - they will definitely be somewhere nearby. If you see one, then you can put it in the incubator.
Never grab the uterus with your hands! You can easily damage its legs or abdomen. She needs to be driven into the incubator, you can use improvised objects - adjust and guide the queen with a blade of grass, or a thin twig, or a piece of paper. The main thing is not to damage! If you don’t have an incubator with you, you can use another container to bring the queen home, but you don’t need to drag it, but move her to the incubator as quickly as possible. After that, try to identify the species. If it is a social parasite, release it; if the queen establishes a colony on her own, remove the incubator to a dark, quiet place and do not disturb
Check back carefully in a couple of days - most likely she will already have a clutch of eggs. Now all you have to do is wait - it is advisable not to touch the queen at all for several weeks; every peek you take may result in the brood being eaten, and you will have to wait all over again
Uterus Serviformica cunicilaria in vitro
