Get Rid of Ants and Creeping Charley (April 21, 2001):

Special—2 tips this week!

Tip #1: Do you have ants in your house? Do you know why? The reason is that the worker ants are doing their job. They are out getting food and taking it back to the ant nest to feed the others who all have jobs in the nest. Something simple you can do is mix 1/3 boric acid, 1/3 corn meal, and 1/3 powdered sugar. Mix it good and put it in hamburger containers like you get at McDonald's. Sit these around basement windows, by the back porch, front porch and the outside of your house. This does several things; it makes the worker ants’ jobs easier because they don't have to come all the way in your house to get food. They will also take boric acid back to the nest and kill off the other ants. You can also use this in the house because it is safe for pets. If they get in it the boric acid will burn their tongue.

Tip #2: An easy way to get rid of Creeping Charley without using chemicals. When the temperature is in the mid 70's, mix 10 oz of Twenty Mule Team Borax (laundry soap) with 2 1/2 gallons of water. Mix well and keep it mixed well. The best way to apply it is to use a sprinkling can. It is very hard to mix it well enough to get it to go through a sprayer. Pour this mixture over the Creeping Charley and with in several days it will die. We have used this in our yard and it did not harm our grass. If you use it around other plants, test a small area first and let it sit for about a week or so to make sure it does not harm other plants. Do not make the mix stronger or it may kill the grass too.