Effects of neem oil on house ants

by Wendy
(Phoenix, AZ)

Is there any recipe for using neem oil to stop house ants? I read about using neem as a spray on plants, but what about mixing it with sugar or protein so ants take the neem oil back to the colony?

Been googling, but haven't found anything like that yet. May have to just experiment and see if anything works. Just didn't want to have to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, if there was something that works out there already. Any additional information will be appreciated.
Wendy

Comments for Effects of neem oil on house ants

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Mixed results for neem oil on ants
by: Birgit

Hi Wendy,
Pure neem oil is supposed to work against ants but I never saw detailed reports about the traditional use of neem oil against ants.

Many reports float around online from people who use neem oil to deter ants in the garden and house. The results are mixed. Some swear by it, some saw no effect.

I'd say that it depends on each situation and species, but also on the neem product used.

People seem fond of buying pre-mixed anything. For them, any bottle that mentions neem on the label will do.

Often those bottles contain clarified neem oil extracts, not pure neem oil. Neem extracts only contain a fraction of the ingredients of raw, cold pressed neem oil.

Especially when dealing with insects, pure neem oil is the best product to buy. You then mix your own neem spray, freshly every time.

Back to your problem: you will indeed have to do your own experimenting and testing here. When people use neem against ants they use it as a deterrent. Make neem spray, spray it around the kitchen or whatever area they have invaded and see what happens.

This worked great for some people. I have to say that I have NOT seen much effect from this myself. My ants did not care.

Also, while this may keep them away for a while, neem oil is not stable and does not last for long. You may need regular applications.

To wipe out the whole ant colony with neem oil you indeed have to mix your own bait. This shouldn't be too hard to do. Find something the ants like (some are more attracted by sugary things, others prefer oils and grease) and mix it with the oil. Let us know how you go!

If you want to avoid reinventing the wheel and are also considering other solutions than neem oil, here are some other natural alternatives.

The best natural ant deterrent I know of:

I swear by tea tree oil. I have tested this again and again, under very challenging circumstances, and ants HATE, HATE, HATE it.

Just smear some tea tree oil across one of their trails and watch what happens.

I use undiluted tea tree oil near their entry points. I just wipe it everywhere with a cotton ball. To deal with a big infestations I also add some oil to water and wipe everything down with it. You could instead add a few drops to a spray bottle of water and spray it around.

It takes a couple of days as the ants make detours and try to get around it, but eventually they give up. And in my experience they don't come back for months. If you see any scouts, spray again.

Eucalyptus oil and peppermint oil are reported to work just as well but in my experience are not as effective. You need more of it and do it more often.

A non-toxic ant bait:

Boric acid (a white powder) is not toxic in the environment, only if ingested by insects. (Obviously you shouldn't eat it either.) You can buy ant bait with boric acid or you can make your own. As long as the ants take it, it works without fail in eliminating the colony.
Great Results From Neem
by: Jerry Newton

I live in the Bahamas and have a friend who owns an organic Neem farm. I have been buying the neem cake from him for the last two years and have started a pesticide buisness. THANKS TO ABACO NEEM AND YOUR WEBSITES THE RESULTS ARE INCREDIBLE!

The yards and gardens i have been spraying are showing great improvements, from detering the pest and insects to the rich intense colors of the flowers and deep green glossy sheene on the orchids. MAN-O-WAR CAY has had some problems with white flies and aphid and scale not to mention the sooty molds (black death) that have invaded the citrus trees here and thru-out the other islands these problems have almost totally reversed from the steady scheduled sprayed .. im very pleased with this product..
Neem soap reduce mosquito bites and swelling
by: Anonymous

What I recently discovered, and which I found quite remarkable is that the neem soap works against mosquito bites. It reduces the swelling and itchiness within a few minutes after just rubbing the wet soap on to area. My family and friend didn't believe me at first, until I bought them each a bar and of course discovering this site just confirms my experience.

Thank you to Neem I'm mosquito free. You have to try it yourself to believe it.
Neem oil
by: Steve a

I bought a premix and regret it. I've run out and would have done better buying 100% neem oil. Now I am buying it online because it's not locally available. How are neem cake used? Where can I purchase?

Sunchaser2@clear.net
Mixture for ants
by: Anonymous

Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 1 tablespoon of borax (20 mule team) and put in a jar lid and set in their path. They eat it and take it back to the colony to eventually kill all of them. Also, mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of borax (20 mule team) with 1 cup of water to make a spray and spray on their trail where they enter the house and in 3 days they will be gone. I spay around the windows and doors to keep them out. When the spray dries they eat the crystals and take them back to the nest and POOF they are gone.

This is what I do and it really works.
Fire Ants
by: Anonymous

Would the above mixture of honey or sugar and borax work on fire ants as well?

I have to dogs and I use dish-washing liquid on the mounds. It kills the mound, but the remaining ants move and start a new colony.
Squirrel
by: Anonymous

Can neem oil deter squirrels from raiding fruit trees?
I am Angry
by: Phil Meyers

I just bought one whole gallon of 100% cold pressed Neem oil from Dr. Adorable Inc. It arrived in good time but there were no (mixing instructions), NO paper work at all, not even a receipt! You would think that a big company could afford to include a brochure or a little instruction book? Anyone who knows exactly how to mix and use this stuff on a fruit tree, berry plant or vegetables please email me at( Philmeyers377@yahoo.com ) Thank you
Neem solution
by: Anonymous

Standard dilution is one ounce pure neem oil per gallon. Can be mixed with Azimax botannical for certain insects. Neem spray is good for black mold on gardenias and citrus.
Neem oil vs Psocids
by: Dhaneesh

Hi;
I am Dhaeesh. We have an issue regarding psocids infestation on our stored product spices. Neem oil is capable to control psocids infestation? How does it work? Please advise.
companion plants
by: vic

Is there any companion plants in veg garden to keep ants and other pests away? I want to grow veg like hot chili and potato in Philippines.
Ant killer
by: Anonymous

If anyone has pets and is worried about using poison to kill ants, we use diatamaceous earth (food grade ONLY). We even have linoleum so we just put a line of it along the wall where the ants go. Last time we tried it, the ants were gone within 24 hours. We just clean it up after several days of no ants and use again if needed later. Be careful not to inhale it, though, as you put it down and clean it up.
Need and ants
by: Anonymous

Normally neem is only an additive that saps their nutrients and provides "residual effect". For ants the #1 best thing is vinegar. Expect it to take almost 2 weeks in total if using it by itself. I suggest you make sure your vinegar is good, you know the active ingredient is how morphine becomes heroin, so it is more rare and expensive than you think. Also, vinegar causes rage in humans after a day or three when it comes up out of the intestinal tract. Don't during old wine or ESPECIALLY
Old beer, it's murder.
Neem vinegar and feral ants
by: David

Noticed an invasion of the tiny "feral ants" (not Pharaoh) and called a friend who is an exterminator. He gasped when I told him about the ants and indicated that they are very hard to get rid of and could hold up a home sale closing. So in desperation I remembered I had some Neem for the garden. I experimented by adding 2 parts vinegar to 1 part Neem in a spray bottle. Bingo - Lethal weapon!

Not sure it's going to work long term but I can tell you spraying the mixture directly on the little demons stopped and dropped them right in their tracks. Yea! Hoping for long term results that run them out of the property. We'll see.

P.S. Back up plan is to add boric acid to the cocktail for them to take back to the colony (wherever that is).
Molasses
by: Tim S

I am the vineyard manager at a large vineyard. We had a serious ant problem in a vineyard that I took over. I made a mixture of 1 gallon of molasses per 100 gallons of water. We went through the vineyard and poured the mixture on the ant mounds. No more ant mounds within a week or two. Six months later and still very few ants. The sugar in molasses destroys the exoskeleton of the ants and they die.
Pure neem oil and ants
by: Jessie

This year I have started using 100% neem oil to fight off japanese beetles on plants. I had been in the process of using it, had some on my counter. I saw one scout ant which may have taken some back to the colony. At any rate, I have not seen any other ants on my counter since then. That's been at least 2 months ago. To have 100% neem oil it has to say it has the ingredient Azadirachta on the container. Most neem you find in stores don't have this. I cannot guarantee this is the reason, but it is my experience.

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