I have just spent the last half hour or so reading anti ant posts and having a laugh about marvellous concoctions for doing away with the annoying little blighter’s. (some good, some not). Ants are either sweet eaters (carbs) eg. flower nectar, aphid milk, scale insect milk, jam on kitchen benches etc. or meat eaters (protein) eg. insects dead or alive, dried up snails, pet food, etc. Queen ants need a bit of both. The active ingredient I use to lace their last supper is borax powder, mixed with blood and bone garden fertiliser, for the meat eaters, at a rate of 20:1 blood& bone — borax power. Mix in well with a stirrer and add a little cooking oil to help with the adhesion of the powder to the b&bone. Place the bait where the ants are preferably in a container with access for the critters and out of the way of your pets. For the sweet eaters mix 20:1 maple syrup — borax powder. Mix well with 1-tsp icing sugar add a little water to make a runny consistency and place in a flat container eg. jar lid, where the ants are, being vigilant to keep away from your pets. Now for bull ants. I live in Tasmania with nasty bull ants called “jack jumpers” that can kill men with just one sting and have done so in the past. The only effective way deal with these marauding soldiers is to locate their nest mounds, which may take a bit of time. This can be done by following a fully laden individual with food in its jaws as they usually make a B line strait to their nest. Once the nest is located be careful not to aggravate them and return to the site at dusk when the troops are back home. Pour petrol down the entrance to the nest. No ignition is necessary as the volatile vapours do the job. This kills them outright, queen and all. This seems a bit over the top but it works. By the way don’t smoke when you carry out this last exercise. Good luck
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