# recommend me a non-traditional ant killer (read for details... HELP!)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [May 21, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274 "2004-05-21T01:25:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/1 "2004-05-21T01:25:34Z")
I need to kill these damn ants and i don’t plan on going to the store til tomorrow. is there something i can find around the house to kill ants with besides an ant killer? Windex seems to do the trick… are there others that are better?
---
### Author:  [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/2 "2004-05-21T01:37:56Z")
I’m in the same situation-- I myself have been scraping along with orange Fantastik. I think anything with an inoffensive smell should work-- it seems that it’s the force of the spray that really nabs them, not any particular chemical.
Thanks. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/3 "2004-05-21T02:05:51Z")
Find their hill and pour boiling water on it. Or, put a line of flour in their path - I don’t know if this works, but it was recommended to me.
---
### Author:  [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/4 "2004-05-21T02:55:10Z")
“Roach-Proof” or boric acid powder.
---
### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/5 "2004-05-21T03:50:34Z")
Sweet talk them in front of an insanely jealous ncle?
---
### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/6 "2004-05-21T04:18:57Z")
These remedies are pet-and-baby-friendly-
They will not cross a line of cinnamon, it burns them.
They will not cross catnip or spearmint, you can plant it where they are coming in.
A nasty but killer spray is made with water, vinegar and dish soap, but it smells really bad.
---
### Author:  [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/7 "2004-05-21T04:30:24Z")
Would cinnamon incense work to any degree?
\
---
### Author:  [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/8 "2004-05-21T04:37:43Z")
I had a similar problem a few months ago. Formula 409 seems to kill them pretty much instantly.
---
### Author:  [@Mr.Roboto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Roboto)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/9 "2004-05-21T04:46:10Z")
2 recommendations: (The Funnest) The Flame-Thrower
```
Grab a can of your wife's Aqua-Net Hair Spray......
(you might want to do this outside)
Light a Match and hold it about 1/2 inch below the spray line.
Apply Aqua-net Spray. It has become a Flame-Thrower.
Ants are burn't to Smithereens.
While camping,we always circle our tent and Table
with Comet Cleanser.The ants never cross-over the Comet!
```
---
### Author:  [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/10 "2004-05-21T10:43:01Z")
I’ll second the cinnamon, sans sugar. It won’t kill them, but if they’re outside they won’t come in across the cinnamon.
If they’re already inside, and the flame throwers or 409 don’t work, then all I can suggest is shoes.
Probably not so much help, huh?
~S
---
### Author:  [@Drizzt\_Do\_Urden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drizzt_Do_Urden)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/11 "2004-05-21T11:39:37Z")
The flame-thrower idea is a bit dangerous; I’ve been known to pour gasoline into the anthill, make a trail of gas to a safe location and light the sucker. Just watch out for flying ants. 😉
---
### Author:  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/12 "2004-05-21T22:29:07Z")
I’ve used cayanne pepper instead of cinnamon. Don’t know which is cheaper. Where I used to live, the downstairs would get huge numbers of ants in less than five hours if you left food out. We often ate down there, and otherwise entertained, so normal cleanliness wouldn’t really help. Instead I lined the carpet around the walls with cayanne pepper a few times throughout the time when ants were active, and after any vacuuming. Never really had a problem.
Do you have to kill them for some reason, or just keep them out?
---
### Author:  [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/13 "2004-05-24T15:16:11Z")
Author Bailey White said her aunt hired an organic pest control firm. She had to fire them after three days. All the stomping was setting her nerves on edge. 😃
---
### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/14 "2004-05-24T17:18:00Z")
Just wanted to mention that the Aqua Net flamethrower could be a REALLY bad idea.
The flame can crawl back up into the can and cause it to explode in your hand, showering you with flaming hairspray.
Which could be bad.
---
### Author:  [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/15 "2004-05-24T17:42:42Z")
> [@Johnnyt27](#):
>
> I need to kill these damn ants and i don’t plan on going to the store til tomorrow. is there something i can find around the house to kill ants with besides an ant killer? Windex seems to do the trick… are there others that are better?
Probably late now, but for longer term you could look at [Diatomaceous Earth](http://www.hydromall.com/happy_grower16.html). Treating the area around the house like other posters have suggested to do with cinnamon or cayenne works well.
> [@](#):
>
> It is a non-toxic, safe substance made up from crushed fossils of freshwater organisms and marine life. Crushed to a fine powder and observed through a microscope, the particles resemble bits of broken glass. Deadly to any insect and completely harmless to animals, fish, fowl or food. Most insects have a waxy outer shell covering their bodies, INSECT STOP[Brand name of the product the site sells] scratches through this shell causing the insect to dehydrate leading to eventual death.
> …
> Diatomaceous Earth mode of action for insect and parasite control is strictly mechanical. The microscopically sharp edges contact the insect or parasite, and pierce their protective coating, so they soon dehydrate and die. The larvae is affected in the same way. This makes Diatomaceous Earth an excellent and totally natural control, with no indicating of mechanical or chemical damage to the animal tissue. It can be used as a dust for fleas, lice and other external pests by rubbing into the coat of the animal.
I’ve got a bucket in the shed that was purchased at the local tree nursery. It isn’t that hard to find and it is reasonably inexpensive for a completely organic pest control solution.
Enjoy,
Steven
---
### Author:  [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/16 "2004-05-24T18:14:10Z")
> [@Mtgman](#):
>
> I’ve got a bucket in the shed that was purchased at the local tree nursery. It isn’t that hard to find and it is reasonably inexpensive for a completely organic pest control solution.
>
> Enjoy,
> Steven
This is the same stuff used in pool filters. You can find it at Pool Supply stores.
---
### Author:  [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-non-traditional-ant-killer-read-for-details-help/246274/17 "2004-05-24T18:39:13Z")
Try a very large firecracker, if you have one. Like an M80. The concussion should kill the queen if you plant it into the mound. Run for cover.