If there is a problem of ants in your house, you should be clear that the problem starts from your yard or garden. Therefore, it is best to discover the colony outdoors and take effective measures to prevent and kill ants. Here are some tips to keep your yard and garden clear of them.
To prevent ants from entering your yard and garden, you should:
1) Mow your lawn every week or so, and trim away the shrubs and trees.
2) Keep firewood away from your house, as ants usually take firewood as habitat.
3) Sweep your yard and keep it clean, so that ants won’t find yard debris to eat.
4) Wash beverage cans or bottles with water before putting them into the recycle bin, so that ants like drinking beverage.
5) Keep your yard clear of water. Make sure there is no leaky pipes or gutters in your yard, as ants like to gather in moist areas.
6) Spray insecticide around your yard to kill ants and other pests and prevent them from entering your yard.
To get rid of ants outdoors, you should try some of these ways:
1) Discover the nest and pour in some hot water. To avoid damaging your lawn, be sure to fill hot water only in the nest.
2) Put the same amount of vinegar and water together and add a little liquid soap. Then pour in the ant nest. To avoid damaging your lawn, be careful when doing this.
3) Water the nest with a large amount of water, and do it again a day later. Ants will be drowned in water within a whole day, so it is necessary to do it twice.
4) Make an ant bait. Put some sugar or peanut butter and boric acid together and add some water. Heat the mixture on the stove. Then after cooling off, the ant bait is done. Find a plastic bottle and punch holes in it. Then put some bait into the bottle and cover it with the lid. Put the bottle near the areas where ants occur. Coming in and out of the bottle, ants will eat the bait and die.
5) Apply an ant-killer pesticide to the ant nest. The pesticide will kill ants directly, but some ants may move to another area, so monitor your yard to take further measures if you find other ant nests.