Title: Bayleaf Tea for Ants
Categories: Info
Yield: 1 Info

My Mom knew better. She introduced me to Bayleaf Tea. Yep, the same Bayleaf you use in cooking! Bayleaf is a natural insecticide, we had used it for years to keep out the little creatures that show up in staple foodstuffs (flour, rice, cereal, dogfood, etc.). We boiled up a couple gallons of the stuff and went to work. We figured that the main ant colony was in a dead tree stump in the yard so we took the boiling hot tea (it was right around freezing outside at the time) and generously coated the stump, then we poured "a line" of the tea around the entire house. I did it once more about a month later. No more ants..... When I noticed a lot of the little red ants out in the flower beds last summer I decided to zap them too. Two treatments about a week apart, the first one had them packing up their eggs and running the second one I did just to make sure. The whole colony took off running, and on a sunny day with no place to take the eggs for shelter none of them got very far. I'd decided to give the Strawberry bed and the vegetable plot a shot, too. No ants, not even with fruit on the berry plants! Of, course, when treating near plants don't use boiling water, but do leave it relatively hot and try to hit the entrances to the nest.....

Take a large stock pot (maybe around 10 or 12 quarts) add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of salt and as many bayleaves as you can grab in your hand (buy them at a local food coop, much cheaper and you can get the amount you need). Bring to a rolling boil and then let simmer for several hours. The longer it simmers the more potent the tea, I usually go for around 6 hours. The vapor and steam will take care of any creatures that may be in your house. It even took care of some silverfish that I'd spotted in my bathroom! It's a very strong smell but really not that bad when you consider that it's only effecting the insects, never has bothered my, my cats, fish, birds, or house plants.

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