What is a way to detour or get rid of small ants?

Question

I ask only because on my patio i have lots of plants, and all are healthy, but today I found a trail of ants and would like to stop them killing my plants.

Answer 1

The africans of the Otaku tribe developed a dance. Unfortunately I cannot tell you more then 2 steps, You start by pricking your index finger of your right hand and drawing a swastika on your lawn. Put one foot on each arm of the swastika

and howl in a deep masculine voice. The ants should come out of their nest but you need to do a few more steps to get them to actually leave, If you stop the dance now they will just go back into their tunnel.

Answer 2

Borax  mixed with karo syrup. Fill small bottel cap put where ants can get it but pets can't.

Answer 3

First, if you mix borax with karo, it won't kill any ants unless they drown in it.

The correct boric acid that will kill ants is disodium-octoborate-tetrahydrate 98%.  You'll have to mix it between 5% and 8%. Any less won't work and any more will make it taste bad.

Bay leaves, cinnamon, mint oil, chalk and other druid-style remedies may deter ants but will not kill them. They'll simply go around the obstruction and continue being ants. This can sometimes make the problem worse by driving the ants inside, or by cutting-off a sub-colony so they can't get back out... which turns them into a separate, full colony.

Hire an exterminator who is completely confident they can solve your problem. Never hire a wishy-washy company for anything, regardless of price.

Answer 4

Seven Dust works wounders.  When I use it the aints are gone.  you can buy it at walmart.  and its cheap.

Answer 5

Wiping down a surface with vinegar works great at keeping them out of places they don't need to be, like in the kitchen, BUT, I don't know what it would do to the surface of your patio since vinegar is an acid.  I might do more harm than good.  Chalk works good too, they say that the ant's won't cross a chalk line. I've never tried that one before, but some folks swear by it.

You might try wiping your pots down with a rag diluted with a vinegar/water solution,  BUT don't get it on the plants, some say you can kill weeds with straight vinegar.

Just be careful, and good luck.

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

Ask them politely to leave.

Answer 8

bread crumbs.....

Answer 9

Feed them corn meal. They eat it. They take it back to their nest and feast on it. They can't digest it and it kills them. Also, corn meal won't harm children or pets. I'm dealing with ants, too, right now and I'm glad the cornmeal is working. If they get it to the queen and it does away with her then she won't be alive to lay more eggs.

Answer 10

I use Grants ant traps.  They have a small hole that the ants go into and take back to the queen and they all die.  I use a toothpick to kind of stir up the stuff inside the trap a bit.  Must be kept away from your pets if you have any.