How To Get Rid Of Ants With A Clever DIY Using Small Bottle Caps

Ants aren't welcome in the home. In fact, they're considered No.1 when it comes to nuisance pests, according to the National Pest Management Association. Fortunately, there are easy DIYs to get rid of them, including an idea that's just one of the amazing ways to reuse bottle caps around the house: Turn the bottle cap into an ant bait station.

Basically, the bottle cap becomes a tiny apparatus that holds a mixture of a slow-acting insecticide, plus a food item that's attractive to ants, like sugar. This DIY ant bait station allows ants to get in, eat the laced food and then leave, taking with them some of the poisoned bait to spread to their colony.

For safety purposes, one ant-bait warning you shouldn't ignore is never to place the ant trap where children or pets are likely to reach it, or where it can contaminate food stuff or drinking water, like on a countertop. The same applies if you keep the DIY ant bait station outside; instead, position it next to an ant trail or as close as possible to a known ant nest.

To turn a bottle cap into an ant bait station, you only need two items: any type of bottle cap, plus ant bait. Simply, put a little ant bait in the cap. You may already have leftover store-bought ant bait, or you go for one of the natural ways to get rid of ants by making the bait yourself, using either a mix of 1 part powdered sugar and 1 part baking soda for a powdery bait, or combine 1 part borax with 2-3 parts sugar and about 1 part hot water for a gel-like bait.

To modify this DIY ant bait station, you could give it a cover so the bait doesn't stay exposed, like this DIY from Instructables that uses medicine bottle caps — the ones with little notches on the edges – instead. Use two caps of different size, with the larger of the two inverted and placed on top as a cover. To keep the two caps together, pass a nail or screw through the center of each, and use the end of the nail to anchor the bait station in place outside.

For faster results, consider having several bait stations placed at different areas with ant activity. Finally, keep the baiting area clean and clear of other food scraps to avoid distracting the ants. Once your traps are set, wait patiently, keep refilling with bait when necessary, and let the DIY ant bait station do its work (give it a few days or weeks, at least).