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Frugal Friday ~ Effective Homemade Ant Bait

by 19 Comments

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I don’t know how it is in your neck of the woods, but out here in Eastern Iowa it seems to be a bad year for ants. I’ve got ants coming into my house and I don’t like it. I also don’t like using pesticides, though, so I started googling and found out that I can make my own homemade ant bait that isn’t toxic to humans but is deadly to ants!

The best part: it’s super easy to make, it uses ingredients I have on hand, it’s frugal AND all natural!

homemade ant bait

How to Make Effective Homemade Ant Bait

Making your own effective homemade ant bait is very easy, and I bet you have the ingredients in your pantry too! To make your own homemade ant bait, mix together equal parts of powdered sugar and baking soda and then add a small amount of dry active yeast. The sweet sugar attracts the ants and the baking soda essentially blows them up! I’m not sure what the yeast does, but I read on several sites to include it in the mix so I have. It’s working quite well at my house!

The Recipe

  • 1 TBS powdered sugar
  • 1 TBS baking soda
  • 1 tsp dry active yeast

Mix it all together and set it wherever your ants are getting in!

For more green and frugal tips, check out these posts:

DIY Green Carpet Cleaning Tips

Tips for Setting up a Freezer Meal Exchange Group

What to Eat when the Pantry’s Empty

Top 10 Tips for Saving $$ at the Grocery Store

Our Eclectic First Grade Homeschool Curriculum

That’s it! Have you tried a homemade bug bait? I’d love to hear your opinions!

 

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About Michelle

Michelle Marine is green living enthusiast and rural Iowa mom of four. An avid traveler, Michelle has lived on three different continents and has driven all four kids across the entire USA (by herself!). She loves sharing farm-to-table recipes, their family travel adventures, and gardening and homesteading tips on her popular lifestyle blog, SimplifyLiveLove.com.

Comments

  1. Stacey says

    I wonder if older yeast would work. The only yeast I have is pretty old (a couple of years), not sure how 'active' it would be...
    Reply

    • Michelle says

      I made this without the yeast the first time and it seemed to be a good deterrent for a day or so. I'm not sure it killed them, but they did go away for awhile. I'd really like to figure out what the yeast does. It doesn't make sense to me. You could always try it with your old yeast and see what happens! Good luck!
      Reply

  2. mjskit says

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will be setting some of this out this week. We don't have problems with ants in the house, but they are everywhere around the house and all throughout the garden beds. I hate spraying even with "natural" sprays because we have wild turtles and I'm afraid of harming them. This sounds like a great solution to my problem. I've heard exterminators say that Albuquerque was built on one big ant hill which keeps them quite busy.
    Reply

    • Michelle says

      You're welcome, MJ! I hope it works for you. If you don't want to kill the ants, you could also just spread a perimeter of baking soda. They won't go through it, from what I've read. Come back and let me know how it worked for you!
      Reply

  3. Sandy L says

    I think the yeast may act as a carrier for the sugar/baking soda so the ants can carry it back to their nest. Sandy L.
    Reply

  4. Michael Magic says

    If only this formula would work on bed bugs too. That would be awesome. But thanks for the tip!
    Reply

  5. margaret peg m says

    now that i have small grandchildren, i will make a batch of this in the spring, especially since i have an 'ant' phobia. spiders, no problem, but ants...
    Reply

  12. Ramon Martinez says

    I tried making this ant bait because in my village which used to be a sugar plantation farm, there are ants everywhere. And just like you, I don't want to use pesticides These stuff really works, I tell you. You ought to try these!
    Reply

  13. Dianna @ The Kennedy Adventures says

    We have a huge problem with ants, every year -- they make me insane! Like you, I hesitate to use strong chemicals, because we have kids and pets in the house. Ours have been a pain in the butt to get rid of. I'll try this recipe this spring and see how it works. Thanks a bunch! I think we've chatted on Twitter before? I'm stopping by today from the BYB challenge!
    Reply

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