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.

TIA



The recipe is 1 part of Borax and 19 parts icing sugar, then Add enough
water to make a thick slurry and deposit it anywhere you see the ants.
Don't overdo it with the Borax - a high concentration will kill the worker
ant before it can get to the queen.

Links:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/ANTKEY/pavebait.html
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.house.html
http://www.greensmiths.com/ants.htm


a