What is a pesticide that is good for killing ants but safe to use around children??

Question

I live in TX and there are A LOT of bugs...I also have a 2 year old that likes to hide food....that is why they are coming in. We are working on keeping her from hiding stuff I just need to know how to get rid of the few we have right now. We didn't have this problem last year so I know that the reason they are coming in is due to my daughter leaving food and crumbs in not-so-obvious places!

Answer 1

You need to find where they are coming in.  If you have a dishwasher or a water line to your fridge spray where the lines are coming in.  You will need to pull out the dishwasher to spray the line.  I know it is a pain to do but if you get a spray that has at least a 4 month stay on you will only need to do it every 4 months.  The next thing you might want to do is spray around your foundation outside.  I know with kids that is hard but it will prevent the ants from coming in,  Hope that helps.

Answer 2

None, get an aardvark as a pet

Answer 3

If they are fire ants, try club soda...

Answer 4

Get some rapid rise yeat, and molasses.  Mix the two together, so it is very thick, like spackle.  Put it in small batches, where-ever you see the ants coming in.  

I usually say to put into the caps of soda bottles, but they are not safe for two year olds.  A two year old can swallow a soda bottle cap and get it lodged in their throat.  Perhaps the caps from those "big mouth" soda bottles?  

Even if your daugter eats a spoonful of the molasses and yeast it will not harm her.  The ants are attracted by the molasses sugar smell.  They eat it, and carry it with the yeat back to their home to share with other ants.  The yeast begins to grow, and bursts the stomachs of the ants, killing them.  

Of course this is completely non-toxic, and completely safe to use around children and pets in small spoonful amounts.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 5

whenever i see a trail of ants around my house, i spray them with soapy water from a squirt bottle.  it kills them (i dont know how) and doesnt smell bad like other bug sprays.  i dont think it's effective at keeping them away tho...just for killing

Answer 6

A human foot.

Answer 7

Use a mix of cinnamon and sugar. The ants will pick up the sugar, along with the cinnamon, and take it back to their queen. Ants can’t digest cinnamon and once the queen dies from not being able to digest the cinnamon the colony will die without her.  If your kids get into it, no big deal!  It's something you eat anyway!

Answer 8

NONE.  Try to go natural on that one.  I have no idea what it'd be, but there is no chemical of that kind that's safe for children ( don't trust labels - look at what Dow did - said "Agent Orange" is safe - HA).