Any suggestions for less toxic way to kill tiny ants in kitchen?

[Anonymous]

I think they come in through the back door. We are pretty good about cleaning up crumbs etc. but we do have cat food sitting out most of the day. It's not a huge amount of ants, there just seems to be a constant few around the sink.

My mom was telling me corn meal works but my husband says only for the big ants. Does anyone have recommendation for a non-or-less toxic way to kill these tiny ants? Otherwise my husband will want to spray something awful!

As an alternative, we are going out of town for the weekend, so I suppose I could let him spray a small section of the kitchen right before we leave.

[Anonymous]

boric acid

[Anonymous]

We use Raid ant bait traps, and they work pretty well.

[Anonymous]

I used my thumb and got 3 out 4 that I spotted last night at my sink by the knife I'd used to cut watermelon -- same thing... tiny little ants. I was so surprised that my reflex was to smash them as fast as I could catch them. Upon more reflection, I have committed to keeping the sink and counter extremely clean at all times and not to throw anything in the garbage that could go down the garbage disposal. I'm hoping they'll simply leave and go to somebody else's house! I really don't like killing anything, even though I reacted violently to the invasion.

[Anonymous]

vinegar and water

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used my thumb and got 3 out 4 that I spotted last night at my sink by the knife I'd used to cut watermelon -- same thing... tiny little ants. I was so surprised that my reflex was to smash them as fast as I could catch them. Upon more reflection, I have committed to keeping the sink and counter extremely clean at all times and not to throw anything in the garbage that could go down the garbage disposal. I'm hoping they'll simply leave and go to somebody else's house! I really don't like killing anything, even though I reacted violently to the invasion.

I agree. Squash them. If you just have a few, do your best to keep crumbs off the floor/counter, and just squash them everytime you see them. You may have to be aggressive at the start, but after a few days, you should just see one or two, and then hopefully, none. IMO, it beats having any of the nasty chemicals around.

[Anonymous]

I use outdoor ant spikes just outside the back door. They help draw the ants away from your house and to the bait.

[Anonymous]

peppermint

[Anonymous]

I've heard that sprinkling cinnamon works, but have never tried it. Have also heard that if you disrupt the trail they're following, by wiping it down with a weak bleach/water solution, they will stop taking that route (so start where they're coming in and wipe down the whole trail). I've also found that the ants are worst when it's wet/rainy out, as it has been for so dang long now...

[Anonymous]

baking soda -- we put some baking soda at the bottom of our kitchen garbage can and it solved the problem

[Anonymous]

I put a layer of baking soda along the sliding-door frame where they were coming in, and it worked until the soda ran out of potency.

Also, I found the 7th generation all-purpose cleaner kills them dead instantly, so I spray them when they get in.

[Anonymous]

cinnamon will not kill them but will deter them; they don't like the scent.

[Anonymous]

Baby powder. Nothing else worked for me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baby powder. Nothing else worked for me!

ditto.

it works for roaches too.

[Anonymous]

We had this problem and we bought something from Home depot that was organic--I can't remember the name but will write in again after the kids go to sleep and it worked so well!!! The other thing you have to do ,and we had them coming in from the doors off our breakfast area, is to secure the weather stripping by the door--you will see they walk a little line right up to your kitchen and yes it is soooooooo gross!!