I wouldn't write the ratios down in plain sight as the ants would see them.

I personally feel this is exactly how I want my information. People need proof and facts. This was a textbook perfect format for me. Overall great video. I will do exactly this . Thanks so much

Great experiment. As a retired science teacher I couldn't be more pleased seeing you involve your daughter in this project.

I wanted to take the time to thank you for this video. The testing is what caught my attention as well as seeing the results in your video. This video is the epitome of what SHOULD be on KZfaq when it comes to DIY. Absolutely incredible! As an accountant, the math was my favorite part, especially weighing the water to make it that oil consistency. I used your 5:1 method in my house and it removed our problem within 12 hours. We had an ant problem for over 2 years! I cannot thank you enough.

For those with short memories (like me) 5:1 -> 5 parts sugar to 1 part borax + water to syrupy [vegetable oil] consistency. Great video!

It is also important to set out bait to be fed to the Queen or else she will sense the stress of the colony and lay an egg that will produce another Queen. In essence, the ant population will increase over time rather than decrease. Try creating a bait station by cutting entrance holes part way up in an old yogurt container with a sealing lid. Then soak a slice of bread or a waffle in the borax/sugar solution and set it in the bottom of the yogurt container. Add some solution in the bottom of the container as well. The ants will drink the solution and that will kill them. They will also chew off small pieces of the break to carry back to the colony. The Queen will be fed the tainted bread and will in turn die. This method eliminates the entire colony and does so without the Queen being able to produce a replacement Queen.

What I like is that you are teaching your daughter a scientific method. Good parenting.

Dude, your deadpan humor is HILARIOUS!!! "The dining table we are setting . . . "They've drank all the kool-aid" "12 hours since the party started" "no ants left except that guy Rambo" I'm laughing so hard I forgot that the reason I came here was to find a way to kill my ant invasion! 😂😂

This is one of the best experiments I've seen.Very informative.

As a former high school chemistry teacher, I love the way you used the scientific method in this process. And your young assistant did an incredible job. Bravo! I've been reading so many different ant bait recipes and everyone has a different take on it. I didn't want to waste time and ingredients, so your video was exactly what I needed. And now I'm off to make my own 5:1 mixture. Thanks!!

You should receive an award for this video. It is simply perfect!!! Just like someone commented below, your video should be used as a standard. No BS, just facts and proof, and concisely presented. Thank you! 👍

This is the best video on KZfaq for how to kill ants properly

Great way to explain to kids how to run a simple experiment and to allow the results for speak for themselves.

This has got to be the best and most informative video in this educational category I have ever seen, so thank you for that. About to go try it 👍🏻

Really well done! Thanks for your (and daughters) time and effort. Can't wait to try it out!

I think you did a fantastic job with this video. Thank you for all your effort and kindness.

thanks for covering all scenarios in one shot

Excellent experiment. You covered many variables of ratios, time and brands. I will try with my grandson this weekend. Thank you!

AWESOME video! I knew about the borax sugar mixture, but I didn't have time to experiment with the proper ratio(s) to make it at home. Thanks for sharing this with us!

This WORKS. Thank you so much! I no longer have an ant problem!

Awesome! Very informative! Thanks for taking the time to do the analysis!

Water at half the weight of the sugar and borax is probably the most important measurement Its because of vids like this that people then do their own experimenting. Thanks!

My friend, My wife and I want to thank you, and say that your video was the best video available on this subject. I was laughing between taking notes. Just wanted to say you got a new sub, and that we appreciate the testing you did here.

What a great DIY video! I am so glad I came across this one since I've spent a LOT of money on those Terro ant bait products--and even though they work, it appears that I can now make my own, more effective ant bait traps. Excellent job providing the measurements and comparisons. Your explanation narrative is very clear, to the point, and no fluff. And your results speak for themselves. Overall, a really useful and beneficial DIY video; I'll be telling all my friends about this one!

My father used to put a teaspoon of borax into a can of coke and leave it on a high shelf on our back porch to kill wasps. I've read that borax in any concentration is deadly to most insects to include ants, wasps, hornets, etc. When Dad used to do the borax and coke mix, honeybees would leave it alone. I seems that even though they like sweet things, they aren't very fond of coke but hornets and wasps are. It usually took about a week before all the wasps or hornets would quit coming around. If the can was emptied, a new can would be put out to ensure any other wasps or hornets could get a drink too.

Absolutely i like the 5 to 1 and here in Yuma Arizona we definately will use this method, thank you

Thanks for the in-depth examination. I've had hit or miss results with borax traps so this is a help.

May I just tell you something? I get carpenter ants every couple of years. Those black ones. One day, I found a parade of ants had come down and were waiting in line, one behind the other, for something in my closed cabinet. I open the door to see what's going on, and found a new bag (sealed) of light brown sugar had been pecked open (NOT the white sugar), and judging by the parade of ants, the lucky devil went back and brought down a whole army of ants to carry this food back to the nest. By letting them continue to take their treat home with them, I was able to watch this ongoing parade and see that they were coming down from and going back to my attic. I watched the scout go back and bring back his army of ants, one behind the other. I was mesmerized. I eventually removed the source (the brown sugar) that they regarded as gold. I then put more brown sugar in a little cup in the attic and periodically went up there to check out ant activity. Sure enough. More comings and goings to a certain floor board. We pryed up the slightly loose floor board to find and entire community of ants. There were also zillions of ants not yet born, encased in some white thick filmy, gooey looking stuff. The little black ants could be seen. We sprayed them to death with insecticide immediately (about 20 of the adults scattered and got away. Not good. I'll be faster next time) and then we picked up this large thick gooey mass of ants with a large spatula and put them in a plastic bag and secured tightly and threw them in the trash outside. Bottom line: Carpenter ants go for the brown sugar (big time) and they'll be so much activity that you can follow them back to their nest. Ahaaaaa. Black carpenter ants love brown sugar. It's valued highly and more nutritious, as far as big black ants are concerned and they were bringing it to the caregivers of their unborn who were encased in this womb-like; jelly-like white substance. So, what you use, depends on what kind of ants you have. Carpenter ants don't seem to go for white sugar. Perhaps you can also make the above concoction with brown sugar and borax, if you have carpenter ants. I haven't tried the liquid method yet. This year, I have tiny little brown ants, so I will now try the borax method and white sugar on them. Thank you, redneck oriental. Thumbs up.

Loved your video. Your daughter is a wonderful lab assist! And Rambo was hilarious. But we woke up to ants on the kitchen counter today. Haven’t seen them in the house in many years but then again, it hasn’t been this warm this early in Wisconsin…ever. I’m trying your method with Borax and disposable containers with lids. Another video had holes pounded into canning jar lids but we need every one of those lids we can find😱 Thanks for your time with this experiment

Yes this is the best video I've seen and I've watched a lot. Thank you for sharing your experiment. It will save us a lot of time. Sharing to family and friends

A five minute video that answered all my questions? Good Job.

Wow another amazing super great video info and analysis from absolutely the best channel on KZfaq. Fantastic stuff .

One of the best videos I have seen and quite informative, in fact I'm going to make a 3-1 mix for my ant infestation tomorrow! Thanks!

Great job, excellent demonstration of the empirical method applied to everyday living.

Excellent! No hand waving, pointing, showing me you can speak. Just show and demonstration. I understood without the sound on.

You have no idea how much you've helped millions of people around the world. Thanks!

Thank you a thousand times for this wonderful video, I have had an ant problem for over a month; the traps I bought were absolutely useless and a waste of money, one application of your borax/sugar/water recipe and they all disappeared overnight..even li'l Rambo!

Love the Rambo ant....lol.....great experiment and video.

This was very informative. I watched 4 or five videos prior to this one and this is by far the best,,,,thank you for this information

Thanks so much for taking a scientific approach here! This would actually be a great school science project for a kid!

This works incredibly well. Thank you SO much sir! Had no idea where the colony was in our home, Made one of these traps...insanely easy....they are all gone. Just had to be a little patient and avoid stepping on any while they formed a solid line between the bait and their nest...still don't know where they were, but it really doesn't matter now that they are gone. Again, thank you for your generous sharing of information sir!

Rambo made me laugh so hard!

Very good information, I really like how you did your diligence in your experiment which seems to debunk a lot of other mixing ratios. 😀 Thanks again, great approach and follow up to a serious ant problem. 🐜

Excellent experimental study and strategy which no other video on this subject has ever offered...congrats

Great info, I’m having an ant problem in my kitchen, and weirdly enough, after a deep clean, they seem to be worse than before spring cleaning. I’m going to get borax today and will make these traps and I have faith after seeing your video, that the plan will work. They love my counter so I didn’t want to spray anything toxic on them and this is absolutely perfect! Thank you so much.

Thanks for doing this great video. It answers the exact questions I was having about all the different formulas for ant killing with borax on KZfaq. also it's so cute having your daughter be the scientist! As an aside, one thing I've noticed using Tetro, is sometimes some ants start to ignore it. I wonder if it's because all the ants that like that formula of Tetro have died and so the only ants left are the ones that don't like it and they make a new colony. But since now I can make my own bait I can change up the formula to get them to eat too. Thanks again for a super and scientific analysis.

Excellent work! Thank you! I was wondering what ratio was best also. I will try this in my garden!

Well done. Not a lot of unnecessary information. All of it was relevant and I love the comparison.

I just watched a video where a guy had a great idea to keep the mix from drying out and getting so hard that the ants just give up on it. He blended water into the borax first to dissolve it. Then addend 6 to 1 sugars but not all of the sugar at once. By the time he was done adding the sugar he had like small crumbs in his bait station. I have always just made a syrup and wet it regular. I've been using 1to 1 for a while. I started out with 2 to 1 years ago though and just sort of quit measuring it out. It always works but 5 to 1 will make my borax go a lot farther. I've found that if I go by my ( I use Grizzly Windergreen cans with 4 holes drilled on the side beneath the lid at 12, 3, 6 and 9 ) bait stations every so often and add water it keeps them soft and works for months. I also leave open cans in the garage where those pesky Palmetto bugs can get in easy. Some folks call them big roaches or flying roaches. They love to sample the mix now and then and I see them all the time on their backs for no apparent reason but then I realize they must have found my bait station. I'm seeing very few of those now days. Between palmetto bugs and ants its been a constant battle around here and I hate to spray toxic poisons especially in the kitchen. I always say if you can smell ant spray its getting into your lungs. I will try 5 to 1 now that'll make my borax go farther for sure. Thanks for sharing.

Best video on the subject!

Awesome video. Super informative. Love the demonstration 👍🏾

Thank you! This is what I was looking for. You saved me from having to do these kinds of tests myself. Thumbs-Up!!

thanks for the info, ants are crazy this year

Q: Why don’t ants ever get sick? A: Cuz they have little anty bodies.

Great job, this is the best ant/borax video I’ve seen. Your helper did an awesome job too.

A lot of folks don’t show results from making the bait. Nice job showing that your mixture actually worked and how long it took from start to finish.

Smooth details .thanks for sharing ! Much needed info.wonderful explanations and edits. Subscribed to your voice ...calm and 😎

Best video on this topic that I've found! Thanks for sharing a informative video based on critical thinking and evidence! You're right to use a lower concentration, since killing the ants too quickly keeps them from bringing the bait back to the colony and killing the queen. I love that you did truly independent experimentation. Pretty rare.

I love your scientific approach and the fact you are including your children in the study.

Excellent video. Concise and to the point. Thanks for this. 👍👍

Hi :) very nice experiment. Well presented. Alot of ant removal videos say that a dry formula should be used also as babies only eat solid food. So it would be nice if you could please do a follow up in a week to see if ants come back. I would like to know if dry formula is needed. I used commercial stuff last season on a deck and exposed ant nest and 1 colony. Killed satellite queen for sure. But not sure if main one just moved or died. So now, going to try your 5 to 1 suggestion both liquid and dry. Ty for video. I loved the science team! :)

Very specific and professional. Gave it a like.

Wow fantastic analysis and very informative ...thank you for doing and posting this video.

Thanks for the info. It's great that your teaching your daughter important information.

Great and efficient experiment. I loved your detailed explanations too. Lovely helper. I’m off to do the work and I hope it also works on red ants too. Thank you sooo much for taking the time.

Brilliant research design and explanation. Thank you. Recap; 5 sugar to 1 borax is what you found to be ideal. Hydration ratio of water to powder helpful too. This is what a great YT posting looks like. It wasn't click bait - it was ant bait.

I watched a few videos with different ideas. Thank you for the experiment, it is very educational.

Great experiment. Thank you for sharing. It's good to know I can mix it stronger than I have been.

I've been using Terro for many years. For some reason it just wasn't working this year. Saw in another video the idea to use a small piece of frozen waffle so the young ants can eat, and also to take to the queen. Made a mixture of borax and sugar, 3 parts sugar, 1 part borax and poured on a small chunk of waffle. They were gone the next day and haven't been back (6 weeks later now)

Very informative and clear, no time waste. Pls keep it up 🙏🙏

Well done. Your assistant seemed to enjoy the experiment.

WAY KUUL PSA BRO! THANX FOR SHARING YOUR WISDOM!

This is awesome! Can you please do one for grease ants, with peanut butter and borax?

Good study. I also wondered about how much to use. I also heard that ants also like protein and that is what they take back home for the youngsters. I mix some up in eggs and tofu and ketchup for them with a side dish of grapes and mashed up apple. Works great.

LOVED this video! Loved “RAMBO” Thanks for the comparisons of concentrations of borax to sugar! I found the packaged bait on clearance a few years ago, read ingredients. Just now running out of that, so need to make more. Ants are bad this year.

Great video! Very smart and informative. Thanks for sharing.

Great experiment, and great for involving your kid. Learning and testing is fun for both adults and children. And now I know that 5:1 is a great ratio! Thanks boss!

Excellent video. I've been using this formula for years, and it is remarkable how effective this simple solution is. By the way, it is as safe for pets and humans a concoction as you can make.

Great video and terrific narration!

Great video! Controlled experimentation is definitely the way to go to maximize results, as environments and ant types vary widely.

Great video. Just remember to put the bait inside a taped container, i.e.: cream cheese or butter tub with small holes drilled for access, to prevent poisoning house pets or wildlife (except ants, of course).

thank you for sharing the info...however i found that the sugar borax works for some type of ants...but not other...i use the fat of cooked steak with borax and it works...but as i said depends of the kind of ant...

Such a wonderful approach, DIY, simple arithmatics & convincing !!!!

Exactly what I was looking for. I just bought my first borax and am ready to go now following your excellent experiment and video....with a nice dose of humour. Exemplary example of how to inform with minimal waste of time.

Nice video showing different ratios and results. Do these ants know they "volunteered"?

Thanks for this video! 5:1 worked great! At 8pm on Wednesday, I Placed the mixture on 4" x 6" "mats" of masking tape on the floor in a couple of key spots and within 24 hours the number of ants had dropped significantly and the ones that remained were lethargic. 24 hours after that there was only 1 or two ants at each mat and by Saturday morning - No more ants. They've banned Borax based consumer grade insecticides where I live (Canada), so the stuff we can buy in the store takes weeks of constant application to work. This concoction has been a Game changer!

Thank you so much for doing this experiment...........I appreciate the time you put into it........

Excellent video and the best ones out there! I watched several videos with people going from very little to very high proportions of Borax without any clarity on what is the ideal proportion. Very well presented. I just made a 5:1 solution and left it out. Looking forward to the positive results. Once again thank you for this very informative video.

Scientific!!! I love it.Thanks for taking the time to do this so I don't have to. And your helper is a sweetie.

Great video. I like experiments because they help you steer clear of mindless woo-woo. Thanks for doing the experiment for us. You gave me an idea: using foil for the baits. Brilliant in its simplicity, allowing me to set many more traps. That said, I've been going 4 to 1 (which I now know is a good ratio thanks t your experiment) in small plastic yogurt containers. I also add a quarter of a cookie or small section of bread crust, soaking it in the solution. Workers will take parts of the contaminated food back to the nest and feed it to the queen, her young, and any ants that stay in the colony. They'll all die.

Great video I also use Tero ant bait. Going to try this bait in the next few days.

Great video! I like this one the best out of all the other ain’t bait videos! Thanks!

Just to clarify, you're suggesting 5 sugar to 1 borax? 5 Tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon of borax? Thank you for this! I've been trying different ratios at home and not had much success.

Thank you so much. Saved me a lot of time instead of doing the experiement.

Great video, thank you. I wasn't looking for this video, but it came to me at the perfect time!

THNAK YOU SOOOO MUCH for taking the time to find what is optimal

Great video. Did you use 20 Mule branded Borax for this experiment, and would Boric acid work as a substitute for the Borax? If so, any word on the acid to sugar ratio to use?

Not all ants are sweet eaters. Boric acid is what I use mixed with grease, peanut butter or sweet stuff. The ants that were in pupa stage will come out over the next week or so, keeping the bait around for a while will get them also.

This is the BEST video I've seen on this topic.

That was a perfect way to exhibit exactly how each component affects the ants...well done