How to Kill Ants with Cornmeal

Ants are one of the world's most unappreciated insects because they have a way of inviting themselves in and around the homes of millions of people. There are many pesticides on the market today, but these are often not as effective as one would hope, and generally not safe for use around pets and children. Cornmeal is a great way to kill the ants that are in and around your home in a safe, easy and effective manner. Cornmeal works because the ants are unable to digest the cornmeal and, as a result, they die.

Instructions

Get Rid of the Ants

1. Determine to the best of your ability where the ants are entering your home or where they are coming from outdoors.

2. Pour a half a cup to a cup of cornmeal around the ant hill, if it can be located. Pour a half cup of cornmeal onto a plate and place it where the ants are entering your home.

3. Check back in 12 to 24 hours to ensure that the ants are still active in that area and that they are carrying the cornmeal back to their home.

4. Check to see whether there is still activity at the site of the cornmeal after 72 hours. If there are still living ants in and around the cornmeal, add a bit more cornmeal to the area for good measure.

5. Check back every day until there is no more ant activity at the original sites and check for any new sites. Check for other ant hills or points of entry and treat as needed. Remove cornmeal when activity has ceased and clean up any dead ants.

Tips & Warnings

• After removing the cornmeal from points of entry, check back one week later to be sure that there are not new ants populating the ant hill and coming into your home. If you find any activity, re-treat.

• Cleanup with cornmeal can be quite frustrating, so be sure to contain all cornmeal placed indoors in a plate. Using a dust pan and small broom will make the cleanup easier and more efficient if any cornmeal has been spilled.

References

• Keeping Ants in Nature Where they Belong