Monday, September 6, 2010

Molasses for Ant Control?

Well if this isn't a perennial problem in everyone's garden I don't know what is. Earlier an entire ornamental grass was picked up* and was in the process of being hauled away by ants when I put it out of it's misery by digging up and disposing of it myself.

I have tried cornmeal and borax and other "solutions" and my husband was threatening the big guns - aka pesticides - so I had to try something. That's when Joanna offered up her simple solution. She mixes molasses with water and pours that right on the ants. If this works it will be a miracle. Today is Sept. 6th and I have just poured two Gallons of water/molasses mix on the word's biggest ant hill inside my light standard at the front of my house.

Check back later to see what is happening. The theory is that the sugar in the molasses will be attractive to the ants - after they eat it they will literally die of a sugar overdose because sugar turns to alcohol and they can't tolerate alcohol. This is because insects don't have any way to break down alcohol.

*** Well the plant was not being taken away per se but the ants were slowly burying it as they were busy constructing their new nest inside it.

1 comment:

Kim said...

Did the molasses work?