On Tue 26 Aug 2008 05:43:40a, dadiOH told us...

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
I posted the following to alt.lawn.home.garden, with little response.
So I thought I'd try here...

We live in the Arizona desert near Phoenix and have a significant
problem with large black ants in the yard. We have had exterminators
(costly), but they were only successful for a period of time before
the ants returned.

I had read somewhere that one could make a solution of water, sugar,
and borax (boric acid?), which was an effective poison for ants. The
problem is that I don't know the proportions that should be used.

Can anyone here help with this? Are there other homemade options
that I don't know about? We're trying to steer clear of commercial
products, and also stay as "green" as possible.

Borax and boric acid are two totally different things. You want boric
acid. The proportions of water/sugar/boric acid aren't particularly
important. I prefer using 50/50 flour and boric acid with enough water
to make a paste. After drying, either crush it to small pellets and put
them where the ants are and go or just leave it as a cake and put those
cakes in a few strategic places.



Thanks! Interesting twist to what I've been reading on the 'net. BTW,
what's the diference between Borax and boric acid? I thought they were the
same thing.

--
Wayne Boatwright

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Date: Tuesday, 08(VIII)/26(XXVI)/08(MMVIII)
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