How to Kill Red Ants Naturally

These tiny aggressive invaders need to be dealt with quickly.

Ants are a problem wherever you find them, namely because it's never just one ant. If you've found one ant on your property, there are probably a million more that you haven't seen yet. Red ants pose an even bigger problem, as these tiny pests are more aggressive than the other ant varieties and leave stinging welts. You can kill red ants naturally, eliminating these tiny territorial insects from your property, if you know what to do and if you are willing to practice the diligence and patience it takes to do so.

Things You'll Need

• Bucket
• Dish soap
• Long-handled shovel
• Dry ice
• Rebar or crowbar
• Dry grits or cornmeal

Instructions

1. Fill a bucket with hot water and add enough dish soap to make it very sudsy. Pour the soapy water onto the anthill. Dish soap kills many ants on contact. Repeat this process as often as you would like to greatly diminish your red ant population. Be prepared for ants to come after you after you do this. It may be wise to dump the water and run to avoid getting swarmed.

2. Dig a hole directly into the ant hill with a long-handled shovel. Be sure to wear gloves, pants and a long-sleeved shirt. The less skin exposed, the better, in case angry ants decide to climb up the shovel. Drop a piece of dry ice into the hole and force it down deep inside with a re-bar, crowbar or the handle of the shovel if it is long and sturdy enough. Cover the dry ice with dirt and leave it. The dry ice will kill off many ants, including the queen, forcing the remaining ants to move on.

3. Scoop up a shovelful of ants from one ant hill and drop then into a different anthill. Be sure to protect yourself with gloves, long sleeves and pants. Also, be sure to do this quickly so ants will have less time to retaliate. The angry ants will fight to the death, killing each other off so you won't have to.

4. Sprinkle dry grits or cornmeal wherever you find red ants foraging or directly on top of their nest. Ants can't digest these things, so when they bring the food back to the queen it will kill her. When the queen is gone, the ants will die off or leave.

5. Dig up the anthill when the temperatures are cooler using a long-handled shovel. The ants won't move quite as quickly when the weather is cool. Fling the unsuspecting ants into a shaded area, being careful where you fling them so as not to upset your neighbors. Fill the hole back in with fresh ant free soil. The displaced ants will have to regroup and hopefully move on.

Tips & Warnings

• Ants don't care for the smell of certain plants such as mint, marigolds, lavender and tansy. Planting these around your property may help to keep ants out.

• Use caution when dealing with red ants, as they are known to bite. Always protect yourself.

References

• Fire Ant.net: Kill Fire Ants
• UC IPM Online: How to Manage Pests Pests of Homes, Structures, People, and Pets
• Planet Natural: Natural Born Pest Killers