Ant Invasion! (And our homemade solution)

We've been overrun by these six-legged creatures.
We get ants seasonally,
but this was the worst invasion I've ever seen
since I've lived in Florida.

They showed up about 2 weeks ago
mostly in the kitchen.
We're fairly vigilant about keeping the counters wiped down,
so we couldn't figure out what they were after.
They also hung out around the sink.

Even in the bathroom, where no food is found,
they were making themselves at home.
The third spot they seemed to like
was on our son's bedroom window sill. 
No food or water there,
but there they were, taking over. 

Since we make a conscious effort to keep the toxins out of our home,
we looked for a homemade solution
using common ingredients that would be harmful
only to the critters trying to overthrow the locals.

 First, I tried a dry mixture of borax and powdered sugar.
I left it in strategic places for a few days.
Nothing happened.
So, I researched other solutions.
This time, I added water to the same combination.

The mixture was placed in the locations 
 the ants frequented.  

 
BINGO! 

At first, just to test the concoction out,
we placed it directly on the countertops.
The ants came scurrying within an hour...

and surrounded the sweet slurry.

 We also tried using it on a piece of cotton,
and it worked well.




Since we knew they were attracted,
we decided to use bottlecaps instead.
(This stuff dries after a few hours,
so it made it easier than scraping it up off the counter.)  

Although the ants were quite a nuisance for a few days,
they slowly became less noticeable. 
The idea is that they bring the solution back to the nest
and eventually, they all die off.

Now, two weeks later, there's hardly an ant to be found.
I can't tell you how impressed I am with this stuff.

We also made up a spray solution
that is more of a bug repellant,
which can be used at the first sighting of unwanted critters.

Here are the two recipes we used and their resources.
(The names are our own creations.)

 





Ant B Gone
(Creeklinehouse.com)
1 C sugar
1/2 C water
1 T borax

Let solution sit until sugar is fully dissolved.
Place directly where ants have been seen
(we spooned it into plastic bottlecaps).
Repeat as necessary.

Ant Away
(Mom4Real.com)
Using a small spray bottle,
fill 3/4 full with water.
Add 2 T witch hazel and
12 drops of peppermint essential oil.
Shake and spray.
Not only does this spray repel ants,
your house will smell fresh.

The next time you get unwanted visitors,
(and I'm not talking about your crazy Uncle Bert),
try one or both of these concoctions.

Ants
don't
stand
a
chance!

***Update:  Since posting this, we haven't seen one stray ant!