Kill Ants With Soap and Water
Could an effective and chemical-free ant killer be as simple and inexpensive as a little soap and water? Yep, you betcha! Though insecticide companies would have us believe that only toxic chemicals can kill nasty critters both indoors and out, just the opposite can also be true.
I’ve been reading Bernice Lifton’s Bug Busters. It’s a fabulous book on poison-free pest controls for home and garden. There’s some great stuff in there, but I’m especially interested in the ants section. We’re currently sharing our sidewalks with scores of tiny red ants and while my first instinct would be to let them live, I’m also not willing to let hoardes of them devour my feet while sitting outside. So, it was with great interest and a lot of hope that I read Lifton’s advice for mixing a few tablespoons of dishwashing soap in a spray bottle with water and perhaps giving my exposed summer feet a break from the biting.
I mixed a couple squirts of Dr. Wood’s Tea Tree Soap in a small spray bottle of water and started spraying ants that dared made their way towards my feet. Within a matter of seconds, the soapy spray killed them on contact. Hurray!!!
Not all pests need to be controlled in the backyard, but there is a fine line between being eco-friendly and then being able to enjoy the great outdoors that you’re striving to protect. Thankfully, a little soap and water can go a long way…..
Why It’s Better For Your Health: Insecticides are full of toxic poisons that are definitely not designed for human consumption. Yet, aerosol sprays will be inhaled as you are using them and liquid or granule products can be tracked indoors where they’ll become a part of your indoor air and still be inhaled. Reduce your exposure to these products that are designed to kill by choosing natural remedies, instead.
Why It’s Better For the Earth: Insecticides applied to lawns run off into waterways, contaminating clean water with a slew of toxic chemicals that can then effect the development of marine life.
Pests become immune to insecticides, too. With overuse of insecticides, pests just adapt and become immune to the chemicals that are in use, so even stronger chemicals need to be developed, processed and used.
