Easy DIY method for getting rid of a carpenter ant infection inside the home without the use of chemicals or other toxic substances.
We’ve had two major infestations of carpenter ants to deal with during the 25+ years of living in our home.
The first occurred shortly after we moved in. Our house was built in 1951 and sits in a semi-rural neighborhood with lots of trees, vegetation, and moisture due to a backyard lake. Needless to say, it is the perfect environment for critters of all kinds including carpenter ants.
The first infestation had me calling the pest control company in a hurry!
Calling Pest Control for Carpenter Ants?
Carpenter ants are huge and very scary looking as you can see from the picture above. While they do sometimes bite, there isn’t any poison, so if you are careful, you can pick them up with your fingers and throw them in the toilet or flush down the drain with no problem.
At the time, though, I didn’t know any of this, so seeing dozens of large ants running around my then retro style 1970’s orange and yellow kitchen was not a pretty sight.
I picked up the phone and called pest control and after a couple of toxic sprayings around our house, yard, and then in our attic over the course of a week or two, the carpenter ants were gone.
The Natural Approach is Very Effective
Our second infestation of carpenter ants happened just a few weeks ago, and this time, I handled it very differently.
Having the knowledge and wisdom of 20 years of green living behind me, I was determined and very confident I could resolve this infestation with zero pesticides and no call to pest control.
My youngest was especially freaked out by the enormous size of the carpenter ants even after I explained that they don’t have a sting like other types of ants and picked up one in my fingers to show her. Unfortunately, my little pep talk and demonstration didn’t do much to alleviate her fears of these intimidating, wriggling creatures.
The carpenter ants were swarming in our kitchen and bathrooms and after starting with just one or two here and there, over the course of a week, they came in by the dozens overnight while we slept making for a very scary turning on of the lights in the morning if you know what I mean. We spent the first 15 minutes of the morning vacuuming them up before we could even get started with breakfast!
Find Where The Ants are Trailing
After watching and observing their patterns over the course of a day or two, I determined that their primary mode of entrance into our home appeared to be the drain of the dishwasher.
Knowing where the carpenter ants are getting into the house is a helpful piece of information, but not entirely necessary if you wish to eradicate them yourself via nontoxic measures.
In our case, the dishwasher drain seemed a likely ground zero, so I mixed up my carpenter ant killer ambrosia and set the bait.
How to Mix Nontoxic Bait
My one cup of ant bait consisted of the following all of which cost less than $1. Believe it or not, this is all that was needed to get rid of ants quickly and easily.
- 1/3 cup of powdered white sugar
- 2/3 cup boric acid (where to find)
That’s it!
Note: you may use borax powder for a less strong mixture.
When I took our container of boric acid out of the garage utility cabinet, it consisted of a bunch of hardened chunks that needed to be pounded out as I hadn’t used it in a long time.  So, I took out my mortar and pestle and pounded out a few big chunks to re-powderize and then measured it into a small ziplock bag that contained the appropriate amount of powdered sugar.
Boric acid is a colorless white powder that is a mild antiseptic, but certainly not a problem to the health of your family even if you touch it with ungloved hands. It is found in nature in some volcanic environments near Tuscany and Nevada.  Boric acid and its salts are found in seawater and plants including almost all fruits.
Keep Away from Pets and Children
Of course, you need to keep it away from small children and pets. It is poisonous if ingested or inhaled in large quantities.
However, it is probably the least toxic form of insect bait you can use around your home. The one exception is diatomaceous earth, which unfortunately doesn’t work as well or as quickly for large ants where I live.
Where to Place the Bait
I placed a couple of tablespoons of the carpenter ant bait in the lid of an empty jar I was going to recycle and placed inside the dishwasher on the bottom near the drain just before going to bed.  Before I did this, however, I was careful to run a load of dishes and empty everything out so the dishwasher was completely void of any plates, glasses, or utensils.
A Happy Ending to our Carpenter Ant Infestation
The next morning we were delighted to see that there were no carpenter ants running around the kitchen! Â When I opened the dishwasher to have a peek, they were swarming around the bait but were totally confined to that area.
I gently closed the door of the dishwasher and left the ants there, happily eating away at the bait they would take back to their nest to kill the whole colony.
It took a few days, but gradually, the carpenter ants swarming inside the dishwasher completely disappeared with nary a stray one left!
When I needed to run the dishwasher in the interim, I simply removed the container of bait, ran a load, emptied the clean dishes, and then replaced the bait near the dishwasher drain.
Simple, effective, non-toxic, and best of all, cheap with no call to pest control to come and spray who-knows-what hormone-disrupting, carcinogenic chemicals around your home for your family to breath and absorb!
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I only see the occasional ant or two. Not nearly enough to find a nest. I am sure some people will cringe when I say this but I would love a larger infestation just to find the nest. At this point, they have been around for at least 6 months. No major jump in the number I have seen. But I will try this bait as a way to lure some out.
They bite, they bite hard, they leave a mark. I have to make this every year. It works but it takes a while
Thank you for the suggestions. I am trying for some time now to get rid of this nasty pest’s but without luck. But I think that my luck is about too change
Instead of using sugar mix the Boric Acid with some Jelly and put it in a small egg carton and this way the ants will walk on it and carry it back tp the nest.
Thank you for the suggestion Trish! I will try this. Hopefully it’ll work this time.
Does this powder mixture have to be mixed with water? From what I’ve read about ants, they don’t like powders so they stay away from it. I made this mixture and left it in powder form and no ants are attracted to it. Am I doing something wrong??
This mixture is *only* for carpenter ants, and no, it does not get mixed with any water. Not all types of ants would be attracted to it, that is true. It worked perfectly for my carpenter ant infestation.
I too am trying to get rid of carpenter ants. Could it be that the only boric acid I could find says it’s “99% boric acid and 1% other ingredients” why these carpenter ants are not interested in the bait?
No idea … the carpenter ants went crazy for the bait recipe I posted in this article.
Hope this works!
Can I also say, they DO BITE! I have over 25 bites on my arms and face from these crazy bugs. We’ve done research on the bites and the bugs. It’s not unheard of. I’m about to go crazy with having them in my house!
Hi Luke, Ants really do work so hard! The ants haven’t been around the past few days so I think a combination of these natural tricks are working. Hopefully they’ll stay outside for the rest of the warm months here in Massachusetts. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you so so much! Worked overnight to bring me from a panic over “my house is going to fall down around me” to peace. I’d tried something similar before, but it used Borax, and didn’t work. This worked wonders! They were everywhere. The day after I put out one little dish under my sink, I saw one. Haven’t seen any more since. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Sarah,
Carpenter ants need moisture to survive, so they seek moist wood.
It’s unlikely that they are making there way all the way from your septic tank, where (even there) it would be difficult for them to gain access.
Please consider having your drain lines checked, to make sure your dishwasher isn’t draining (or leaking badly) under your house.
Yes, I had it checked. Thanks for the tip 🙂
ToddO, I couldn’t agree with your comments more. My prior home (a tri-level) had carpenter ants. What wasn’t apparent and what didn’t become apparent is that we had a major water damage issue which resulted in mold, creating dramatic health effects. In my current home, we discovered carpenter ants swarming in our garage. A little bit of investigation discovered that, once again, we had water intrusion and mold damage in our attached garage. I would concur with ToddO. Carpenter ants indoors are ALWAYS an indication of water damage. I know you said that you had it checked, but I would strongly consider removing your dishwasher to carefully examine it for leaks/water intrusion and/or have a mold inspector come out and use a moisture meter is necessary. Where there is smoke, there is usually fire.
Well, we didn’t have any water damage and I had everything checked out 🙂 What apparently can happen is that the nest gets flooded by a really bad rainstorm and they swarm inside looking for somewhere to not drown.
How can I get rid of carpenter BEES? Thanks.
Hazel-Im certain this is Wayyy too late a response about the bees…but maybe someone else will read this. I had carpenter bees in a used jungle gym we’d bought, and we sprayed WD-40 in the holes they were coming and going from; they will plop out one by one! When they stop plopping out, you’re supposed to plug up the hole with some steel wool. I have no idea how “green” this is or how toxic (?) But I had the WD-40 and the steel wool already so it was certainly cheap! Just passing it along 🙂