The change of seasons brought ants and lots of them to our humble home. The worst issue we had was keeping ants out of our pet’s food bowls. They would crawl all over the food, rendering it inedible for our cat and dog. Before we used our one ingredient ant cure (and while it was taking effect) here’s what we did to keep the ants out of pet food. It worked. However, the reason our one ingredient cure worked surprised us and left us with a dilemma.
It was simple, but effective.
We placed each food bowl in a larger bowl filled with water. So, the pets could eat their food, but the ants couldn’t get to it.
Surprise!
It worked. That’s not the surprise. It seems ants are smarter than we thought. When we got the idea, we thought we would be disposing of drowning ants daily. That turned out not to be the case. The ants didn’t want to drown, so they didn’t even try to get to the pet food. Easy fix! Of course, we still had ants in our house, just not in the pet food.
What’s our one ingredient cure for ants in the house?
Corn meal! We sprinkle it anyplace we see ants, inside or out. I’m told they carry it back to their nests, eat it and die. Each time we’ve used cornmeal on a pile of ants outside, they were “gone” within just a few minutes.
Why does it work?
Well, that’s a good question. I heard that when ants eat cornmeal, their stomachs expand and explode. Not very humane sounding is it? But is that what’s really happening?
What’s GMO got to do with it?
Most cornmeal made in the US is made from genetically modified corn. Could it be that the insect repellant bred into the corn is actually what’s killing the ants?
Guess what?
I now buy GMO free corn meal. However, up in the cupboard, I had some of a popular brand left over from before I did. (I originally kept it for the corn bread recipe on the box.) That’s what I used on the ants. I didn’t want to give GMO corn meal to my family. I originally had no problem giving it to the ants, though.
An experiment:
I tried the GMO free kind on a big pile of ants outdoors. Guess what? They didn’t die. Not even a little bit. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying it.
FYI peeps, if it kills ants, it will likely kill you too.
That brings me to a dilemma.
Do I continue to use the GMO corn meal ant killer, or should I stop using it so as not to spread that pesticide around or promote the use of GMO’s through buying power? I’m an organic gardener. Will that stuff get into my garden? We also have some bees in our backyard that I’d just as soon not be responsible for killing off.
What do you think?
Please leave a comment.
More from Jaipi:
Why is Using Organic Pest Control so Important?
Drought Makes Plants Less Resistant to Disease, Pests
How to Use Bugs as Natural Methods for Colorado Garden Pest Control