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Ant and Termite Control
How to Kill Ants with Borax and Sugar (& Keep Them Away!) Download Article Learn to make a safe, low-cost, and effective ant killer at home Co-authored by Kevin Carrillo and Bailey Cho
Last Updated: June 4, 2025 Fact Checked
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DIY Borax Ant Killer Recipe
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How does borax kill ants?
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What type of ants does borax kill?
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Other Ways to Kill Ants
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This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo and by wikiHow staff writer, Bailey Cho. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,220,054 times.
If you’re looking to get rid of ants without using store-bought pesticides, borax is a cheap and effective solution. In this article, we’ll teach you how to make a borax and sugar ant killer at home so you can eliminate the entire colony. We also interviewed pest control specialist Kevin Carrillo to find out the best ways to kill ants and prevent them from returning.
Using Borax and Sugar to Kill Ants
Mix ½ cup of sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons of borax, and 1 ½ cups of warm water in a jar until it becomes a paste. Soak cotton balls in the borax and sugar mixture, then place the cotton balls around areas you see ants. Alternatively, mix 3 parts sugar and one part borax together, and sprinkle it around potential entryways.
Steps
Section 1 of 5:
Killing Ants Using Borax and Sugar Water
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1 Mix sugar, borax, and warm water in a jar until thoroughly combined. Pour ½ cup (100 g) of sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons (38 g) of borax into a jar, then slowly stir in 1 ½ cups (350 mL) of warm water.[1]XResearch source Mix until the sugar and borax are completely dissolved and the mixture becomes a paste-like consistency.[2]XResearch source
The water can be any temperature, but warm water helps the sugar and borax dissolve better.
Alternatively, mix 3 parts sugar and one part borax together, then sprinkle the powder across your doorway and window ledges. Carrillo says to “use a duster to apply a thin layer,” or the ants will avoid it.[3]X Expert Source Kevin CarrilloPest Control Specialist, MMPCExpert Interview
2 Soak cotton balls in the borax sugar water solution. Place a couple of cotton balls in the jar and wait until they’re completely saturated in solution. How many cotton balls you need depends on how bad your ant infestation is. If you have a small infestation, start off with 4 cotton balls to test where the ants are coming from.
If you have any of the solution left over, save it for later use by putting the lid back on the jar and storing it in a cool, dry place.
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3 Set the soaked cotton balls where you see ants. If possible, place the cotton balls along ant trails, which are invisible pheromone trails ants create to guide other ants to food. The best way to locate these trails is to see if there’s a trail of ants anywhere. Check the cotton balls after a few hours to see if the ants begin swarming and taking the bait back to the colony. You can then determine exactly where they’re coming from!
If the ants are entering your house through your windows and doors, place the cotton balls across your doorway and window ledges.
If you don't want your floor or window ledges to get dirty, place the cotton ball on a shallow dish, index card, or lid. Just make sure you don’t use the dish or lid for food purposes again—borax is toxic to humans and pets!
4 Change the bait every 2-3 days and seal entryways into your home. Use silicone caulk to seal any cracks and crevices in your home, and replace your old bait with fresh bait to eliminate the entire ant colony. If you notice the ants are entering through the gaps around your doors, put weather stripping up.[4]XResearch source
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How long does it take borax to kill ants?
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Generally, it takes 24-48 hours for borax to kill an individual ant. Borax doesn’t kill ants immediately, and it usually takes 3-4 days to eliminate a smaller ant colony. It can take up 4 weeks to eradicate a larger colony, depending on your bait placement.[5]XResearch source
Section 3 of 5:
How does borax kill ants?
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Borax disrupts an ant’s digestive system and damages their exoskeleton. Borax contains boric acid, which is highly poisonous to ants. It inhibits enzyme activity in their digestive system and absorbs the waxy layer on the ant’s exoskeleton, leading to dehydration and death. Since it acts slowly, it allows the worker ants to consume and carry it back to the colony, which can help kill the queen and rest of the colony.[6]XResearch source
Can you just sprinkle borax to kill ants? No, ants won’t eat borax alone so you need to mix it with sugar.[7]XResearch source Make sure to follow the recipe above for the correct ratio of borax to sugar. If you don’t add enough borax, it will not be effective.
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What type of ants does borax kill?
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Borax kills many types of ants, including sugar, fire, and carpenter ants. It can also be effective in getting rid of common household ants like Argentine ants, pavement ants, odorous house ants, and Pharaoh ants. With that being said, some ant species have different feeding preferences, and they may not be attracted to borax baits.[8]XResearch source
If the ants aren’t attracted to your sugar borax baits, try adding 2 tablespoons (32 g) of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon (7 g) of honey to the mixture.[9]XResearch source
Section 5 of 5:
Other Ways to Kill Ants
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1 Eliminate any food and standing water sources. According to Carrillo, “reducing all food sources…and removing all moisture sources will help reduce the ant population.”[10]X Expert Source Kevin CarrilloPest Control Specialist, MMPCExpert Interview Clean your home and make sure you haven’t spilled any sugary liquids, like honey, syrup, or soda. Lift the range on your stove, check the trap on your toaster, and keep everything as dry as possible.[11]X Trustworthy Source Consumer ReportsNonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing Go to source
Carrillo says you can also use an “herbal scented product that’s Piperonyl based” to deter ants.[12]X Expert Source Kevin CarrilloPest Control Specialist, MMPCExpert Interview
2 Spray a mixture of 1 part water and 1 part vinegar around your home. Vinegar is a natural ant repellent, and it destroys the pheromone trails that ants leave behind. Mix equal parts of water and vinegar together, then spray an even layer over ant trails or anywhere you’ve seen ants.[13]XResearch source
Alternatively, add a few drops of peppermint or cinnamon essential oil around the perimeter of your home.[14]XResearch source Ants hate the strong scent!
3 Sprinkle diatomaceous earth near your doorways and windows. This is a non-poisonous insecticide that cuts the exoskeletons of ants that try to enter your home. The ants don’t die instantly, but you can see results in as little as 1 to 2 days. Just apply a thin layer to ant trails, ant mounds, or any place you’ve seen ants before.[15]XResearch source
Make sure to use food grade diatomaceous earth for safe and effective use.
4 Spray insecticide around the perimeter of your home to keep ants out. Ant sprays are specifically designed to kill ants upon contact, making them a great choice if you have a visible infestation. Apply insecticide around potential entryways in your home, paying close attention to window and door frames. You want to spray enough to wet the surface, but not soak it, so keep about 4 inches (10 cm) between your spray and the surface you’re spraying.[16]XResearch source
Choose an insecticide that contains permethrin, bifenthrin, or deltamethrin.
Some ant sprays contain chemicals that can irritate the respiratory system and cause irritation, so avoid using them around children and pets.
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Help! What's the best way to get rid of ants? WikiLorisWatcher950 I’m going nuts here. Every morning I wake up and find dozens of ants wandering around in my kitchen and living room. It doesn’t seem to matter how many traps I set out or how deep I clean my home to get rid of food scraps or whatever the ants seem to be after. Does sugar water get rid of ants? I feel like I heard something like that somewhere but I have no clue if any of that stuff actually works. What will actually solve this problem? I don’t even hate ants like that, but leave my living space alone, ya know? Read More Chris Parker Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control Ants follow waterlines very consistently. So, we'll often see ants in kitchens and bathrooms and they’re not always coming in through the windows—if there’s a water line running through a crawl space they can come in that way, too. We also see ants on the weather wall of the house, which is typically the southern wall. Physically excluding ants is nearly impossible. They’re just so small that caulking your windows or blocking your crawlspace just isn’t going to work most of the time. I’d recommend traditional bait traps. You just have to be really persistent. Good luck! Read More Elmer Bensinger Pest Control Specialist Sugar water won’t do anything to ants (besides make them happy). It’s the same with all of those “hacks.” Cinnamon is another popular one that I hear from time to time—that won’t do anything, either. With ants, there are sort of four levels of control, and if one level doesn’t work you escalate to the next level. Level one is exclusion—seal up any cracks or openings in your home. Level two is sanitation efforts; get rid of any food or water that the ants would be looking for. Just continue keeping your home clean. Then, level three is physical traps, glue traps, vacuuming, things like that. If that still isn’t getting the job done, level four is pesticide. That will end your ant woes if it gets that far. Read More See all 12 Replies and Read Discussion
Expert Q&A
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Question How long does it take for borax to kill ants? Kevin Carrillo Pest Control Specialist, MMPC Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. Kevin Carrillo Pest Control Specialist, MMPC Expert Answer Ants will try to dig a separate tunnel to escape, but the borax will probably kill around 100 within 24 hours. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 7 Helpful 30
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Borax is a mineral made of sodium, oxygen, and boron, while boric acid is a refined form of borax that consists of other minerals like boracite and colemanite. Both are commonly used as pesticides.[17]X Trustworthy Source National Pesticide Information CenterOrganization run by Oregon State University providing objective, science-based information about pests and pesticides Go to source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
According to Chris Parker, Founder of Parker Eco Pest Control, you can “trim the trees and bushes away from [your] home” and “remove any debris and vegetation around your house…to deter as much [ant] activity as possible.”[18]X Expert Source Chris ParkerFounder, Parker Eco Pest ControlExpert InterviewThanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Warnings
Borax is toxic to humans and animals.[19]X Trustworthy Source PubMed CentralJournal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source If you have any borax ant killer left over, put it in a tightly-sealed container and label it. Make sure you put it in a place where children and pets won't be able to reach it. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Co-authored by: Kevin Carrillo Pest Control Specialist, MMPC This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo and by wikiHow staff writer, Bailey Cho. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. This article has been viewed 1,220,054 times. 3 votes - 100% Co-authors: 15Updated: June 4, 2025 Views: 1,220,054 Categories: Ant and Termite ControlArticle SummaryX
To kill ants using borax, mix sugar and borax in a large jar, then pour in warm water and stir until the sugar and borax are dissolved. Soak several cotton balls in the borax solution, then set the cotton balls near where you’ve been seeing the ants. The sugar will attract the ants, and the borax will kill them. For tips on using borax to kill the entire colony, keep reading!Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Reader Success Stories
Tish Nish
Aug 12, 2022
"I did this last night. I could follow the trail of ants through the living room to the kitchen. And there were many. Single file. Fascinating to watch but had to get rid of them. I put a small cotton ball soaked in the mixture last night on the kitchen counter. Not a single ant anywhere to be seen in the morning. The single file trail gone. Kitchen devoid of them. I was skeptical but I am oh so happy. No poisonous insecticide to be sprayed. Dog safe. Thank you. "..." more Rated this article:
More reader stories Hide reader stories Share your story If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Did this article help you?
Yes No Advertisement If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Kevin Carrillo Pest Control Specialist, MMPC Co-authors: 15Updated: June 4, 2025 Views: 1,220,054100% of readers found this article helpful. 3 votes - 100% Click a star to add your vote
Tish Nish
Aug 12, 2022
"I did this last night. I could follow the trail of ants through the living room to the kitchen. And there were many. Single file. Fascinating to watch but had to get rid of them. I put a small cotton ball soaked in the mixture last night on the kitchen counter. Not a single ant anywhere to be seen in the morning. The single file trail gone. Kitchen devoid of them. I was skeptical but I am oh so happy. No poisonous insecticide to be sprayed. Dog safe. Thank you. "..." more Rated this article:
Patricia DeBoard
Aug 7, 2017
"My best friend asked me how to get rid of ants. We are both in our 70s & I used to be able to just answer without thinking. But years have passed and I had to have help remembering. I thought it was Borax but not sure. So thank you for all this information which helped me to remember. I learned some new information as well."..." more Rated this article:
Acinom Deerfas
May 11, 2020
"I knew that borax would kill ants. My mother used it but I never asked for the recipe/method. This article was exactly what I needed. I ordered a large amount of borax, and have shared with all my neighbors. We are all grateful. Thank you!"..." more
Suby P.
Jun 6, 2017
"I used both methods last evening. Loads of ants immediately swarmed the cotton pads. Yuck! Since there were so many, I also sprinkled some powder in the area and sprayed the perimeter with vinegar. All but a few were gone by this morning."..." more
John Wenitong
Nov 29, 2021
"I have tiny black ants living in the walls of my ground-level house. They use the inside of walls/floor as their rubbish tip. Nothing has worked and I didn't know how to use borax, but I do now!"..." more Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories
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Download Article Learn to make a safe, low-cost, and effective ant killer at home Co-authored by Kevin Carrillo and Bailey Cho 
WikiLorisWatcher950 I’m going nuts here. Every morning I wake up and find dozens of ants wandering around in my kitchen and living room. It doesn’t seem to matter how many traps I set out or how deep I clean my home to get rid of food scraps or whatever the ants seem to be after. Does sugar water get rid of ants? I feel like I heard something like that somewhere but I have no clue if any of that stuff actually works. What will actually solve this problem? I don’t even hate ants like that, but leave my living space alone, ya know? Read More 
Chris Parker Founder, Parker Eco Pest Control Ants follow waterlines very consistently. So, we'll often see ants in kitchens and bathrooms and they’re not always coming in through the windows—if there’s a water line running through a crawl space they can come in that way, too. We also see ants on the weather wall of the house, which is typically the southern wall. Physically excluding ants is nearly impossible. They’re just so small that caulking your windows or blocking your crawlspace just isn’t going to work most of the time. I’d recommend traditional bait traps. You just have to be really persistent. Good luck! Read More 
Elmer Bensinger Pest Control Specialist Sugar water won’t do anything to ants (besides make them happy). It’s the same with all of those “hacks.” Cinnamon is another popular one that I hear from time to time—that won’t do anything, either. With ants, there are sort of four levels of control, and if one level doesn’t work you escalate to the next level. Level one is exclusion—seal up any cracks or openings in your home. Level two is sanitation efforts; get rid of any food or water that the ants would be looking for. Just continue keeping your home clean. Then, level three is physical traps, glue traps, vacuuming, things like that. If that still isn’t getting the job done, level four is pesticide. That will end your ant woes if it gets that far. Read More 
$1 $3 $5 Leave a Tip Support our mission to help everyone in the world learn how to do anything. 
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Co-authored by: Kevin Carrillo Pest Control Specialist, MMPC This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo and by wikiHow staff writer, Bailey Cho. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. This article has been viewed 1,220,054 times. 3 votes - 100% Co-authors: 15 Updated: June 4, 2025 Views: 1,220,054 Categories: Ant and Termite Control Article SummaryX
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1 Mix sugar, borax, and warm water in a jar until thoroughly combined. Pour ½ cup (100 g) of sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons (38 g) of borax into a jar, then slowly stir in 1 ½ cups (350 mL) of warm water.[1] Mix until the sugar and borax are completely dissolved and the mixture becomes a paste-like consistency.[2] 
2 Soak cotton balls in the borax sugar water solution. Place a couple of cotton balls in the jar and wait until they’re completely saturated in solution. How many cotton balls you need depends on how bad your ant infestation is. If you have a small infestation, start off with 4 cotton balls to test where the ants are coming from. 
3 Set the soaked cotton balls where you see ants. If possible, place the cotton balls along ant trails, which are invisible pheromone trails ants create to guide other ants to food. The best way to locate these trails is to see if there’s a trail of ants anywhere. Check the cotton balls after a few hours to see if the ants begin swarming and taking the bait back to the colony. You can then determine exactly where they’re coming from! 
4 Change the bait every 2-3 days and seal entryways into your home. Use silicone caulk to seal any cracks and crevices in your home, and replace your old bait with fresh bait to eliminate the entire ant colony. If you notice the ants are entering through the gaps around your doors, put weather stripping up.[4] Advertisement 
Generally, it takes 24-48 hours for borax to kill an individual ant. Borax doesn’t kill ants immediately, and it usually takes 3-4 days to eliminate a smaller ant colony. It can take up 4 weeks to eradicate a larger colony, depending on your bait placement.[5] 
Borax disrupts an ant’s digestive system and damages their exoskeleton. Borax contains boric acid, which is highly poisonous to ants. It inhibits enzyme activity in their digestive system and absorbs the waxy layer on the ant’s exoskeleton, leading to dehydration and death. Since it acts slowly, it allows the worker ants to consume and carry it back to the colony, which can help kill the queen and rest of the colony.[6] 
Borax kills many types of ants, including sugar, fire, and carpenter ants. It can also be effective in getting rid of common household ants like Argentine ants, pavement ants, odorous house ants, and Pharaoh ants. With that being said, some ant species have different feeding preferences, and they may not be attracted to borax baits.[8] 
1 Eliminate any food and standing water sources. According to Carrillo, “reducing all food sources…and removing all moisture sources will help reduce the ant population.”[10] Clean your home and make sure you haven’t spilled any sugary liquids, like honey, syrup, or soda. Lift the range on your stove, check the trap on your toaster, and keep everything as dry as possible.[11] 
2 Spray a mixture of 1 part water and 1 part vinegar around your home. Vinegar is a natural ant repellent, and it destroys the pheromone trails that ants leave behind. Mix equal parts of water and vinegar together, then spray an even layer over ant trails or anywhere you’ve seen ants.[13] 
3 Sprinkle diatomaceous earth near your doorways and windows. This is a non-poisonous insecticide that cuts the exoskeletons of ants that try to enter your home. The ants don’t die instantly, but you can see results in as little as 1 to 2 days. Just apply a thin layer to ant trails, ant mounds, or any place you’ve seen ants before.[15] 
4 Spray insecticide around the perimeter of your home to keep ants out. Ant sprays are specifically designed to kill ants upon contact, making them a great choice if you have a visible infestation. Apply insecticide around potential entryways in your home, paying close attention to window and door frames. You want to spray enough to wet the surface, but not soak it, so keep about 4 inches (10 cm) between your spray and the surface you’re spraying.[16] 
Kevin Carrillo Pest Control Specialist, MMPC Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. 
Advertisement If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy.