Best sugar ant bait/battle?

[Kiana]

For the first time, we seem to have those quick, scurrying little brown sugar ants in the kitchen. Seems they have a nest in one wall. Thought we would get some Terro ant traps. Any other ideas for what would work best? Mahalo!

[DoryGray]

diatomaceous earth

[Lee M-S]

I mix borax laundry additive with sugar and water. Makes a bait similar to Terro. Ants bring it back to the nest and it wipes out the whole bunch. Then more ants move in, and you repeat.

Don't leave out the water; my mom used just the borax and sugar, and the ants sorted out the grains of sugar, leaving the borax behind. Kind of amazing.

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[oink]

Boric acid powder (often found under the brand name of "Roach Ridd") dissolved in water with sugar. Boric acid is essentially a more refined version of Borax. Mix it with peanut butter and a little clarified butter, if needed, rather than the sugar water and it works for fire ants.

Edited for spelling.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[alaskyn66]

I second borax mixed with anything sweet.. one box will last you your lifetime.. plus you can use it for other things.

I use borax mixed with a Lil bit of jelly... seems to work good.

Work..Consume...Obey - There's your meaning of life....

[Tink]

I use either Boraxo soap for the borate, or the real deal when treating for termites as well. Construction phase "buttering" the cuts, or just maintenence brushing pier posts, sub framing.

Community begins with Aloha

[Kenney]

Our Fire Ant Guys (KFA) said the presence of sugar ants indicates there are no fire ants around. I guess the LFA's take over territory they over-run. Sugar ants don't seem as bad to me now. Good luck with baiting the little sweet eaters!

[Kiana]

Mahalo nui loa to one and all. I will start today. They are pesky little things.

And yes, KFA treats our property for fire ants and we have them down to almost zero. We have some areas of the "nice" big black ants now in parts of the yard.

[Kiana]

I'm thrilled to report that the boric acid powder with sugar and water worked amazingly well. I did a 50:50 ratio to make a runny paste and spooned some onto a piece of cardboard. Wasn't long and a few ants were there. They must have sent out their "report" to the other ants, as soon there were 100+ maybe 200 ants enjoying this snack, each scurrying back to the nest with a hunk of it about the same size as their body. They are amazing little creatures. Now, no ants.

Thank you again to all for the great advice!