There are many DIY methods for dealing with pests, such as ants, but they aren’t always effective. Because ants are such a nuisance, it’s best to deal with them quickly and effectively.
if you take this path, you’ll find many offerings, yet these can be harmful to humans and also the family pet.
This leads to searching for a pet-safe ant killer you can use around the home, without the worry your pet will come to harm.
Here, we have some of the best pet-safe ant killers that enable you to get rid of ants without harming your pets.
With pet-safe ant spray, ant baits, and pet-safe ant traps, there is a lot to choose from to kill an entire colony. By the end, you can see you don’t need to leave sticky peanut butter around your home, and you can use an effective ant killer that doesn’t leave harmful fumes as you try to repel ants and other pesky insects from your home. (Read Is Scotts Fertilizer Safe For Dogs)
Why You Need a Good Pet-Friendly Ant Killer
There are a few reasons you need a pet-safe killers to deal with ant problems. Here are some of the more common reasons you need to use ant traps safe for pets or sprays to deal with hidden bugs and keeping ants away from your home.
1. 100% safe
To deal with household bugs you need ant-killing products that are safe and effective? All the options here are non-toxic remedies that are effective against outdoor ants that venture indoors, and won’t harm your family or pets.
2. Pet-friendly
If you want to stop your ant problem, you need a pet friendly option. A pet-safe ant killer means you are not constantly on the watch to see if your pets are eating harmful compounds.
3. Environmentally Friendly
While a pet safe ant killer can kill an entire colony, they are safe for the environment as well as pets. You can find many suitable eco-friendly ant killers that kill outdoor plants and won’t harm your garden.
100% natural remedies, organic materials, and non-toxic chemicals are used in pet safe ant control products.
The best pet safe ant killer will be effective against more than mere ants. You can find pet-safe ant killers that can be used as pest control over household pests such as cockroaches, spiders, mosquitoes, and flying insects.
While they may not kill household insects direct, you can find they get rid of ants and other insects over a short period. (Find the Best Pet Friendly Weed And Feed)
Top Pet-Friendly Ant Killers Reviews
1. TERRO T300B Liquid Ant Killer, 12 Bait Stations
When you want to kill domestic ants without harming your pets or making a mess, Terro Liquid Ant Baits are a perfect option. This ant killer comes in pre-filled bait stations that can be placed in ant trails or other ant-infested places.
Terro ant killer’s active ingredient is borax, which isn’t the safest but isn’t the most hazardous substance on the planet. In small doses, this boric acid can cause some side effects in pets, yet won’t be lethal.
Borax is the active element in these pre-filled ant bait stations, which kills a whole ant colony of carpenter ants, fire ants, sugar ants, and other ants.
A no-scissors tab on the end of each clear plastic liquid ant bait ant trap can be twisted to open rather than needing scissors.
The attractant on the boric acid bait attracts worker ants, who mistake it for a food source. Meanwhile, the active ingredient, Borax, is progressively interfering with the ant’s digestive system, eventually dying it but giving the ant enough time to return to the colony and share the dose.
This gradual kill is required so that foraging ants can visit the bait multiple times. An ant colony’s shared character permits the bait to be distributed to hundreds, if not thousands, of individual ants.
Place the liquid bait stations on ant routes where you’ve seen household ants come and go, then wait. Even though your pets won’t be able to access the boric acid chemicals inside, it’s important to keep them out of reach so they won’t be chewed.
Pros
- Easy to use
- No spraying needed
- The liquid ant bait can kill an entire ant colony
- Patented designs stops the ant bait drying
Cons
- It can take a few days to kill ants
- Can be played with if not hidden
With a guide price of less than $10, you get 12 effective bait stations with the Terro ant killer that can be used all at once or over a couple of occasions to deal with household ants.
The pre-filled Terro ant bait is the among best pet-safe ant baits to act as effective pest control for ants. The great thing is, your home won’t be full of dead ants as the carpenter ants take the boric acid back to the colony where it continues to work over a few days.
2. HARRIS Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade, 5lb with Powder Duster Included in The Bag
Diatomaceous Earth is a soft rock that is naturally crumbled into a thin powder. Many natural ant killer treatments contain diatomaceous earth, which is commonly used as a type of natural pest control.
DE acts as an abrasive, thus ants aren’t required to consume it. When ants walk across diatomaceous earth, the oils on their exoskeleton are stripped away. Diatomaceous earth is a desiccant, which means it absorbs moisture from insects and dehydrates them.
Although the FDA considers diatomaceous earth to be safe, make sure you select food grade such as the Harris DE offers.
The only disadvantage to this pet safe ant killer is that it is effective at killing ants that walk through the ant trail as ants access your home. Yet, the ants won’t carry it back to their colony for it to kill the others. Besides this, it isn’t something you can use around the home compared to other pet-safe ant killers. (Learn How To Get Rid Of Ants In Garden Without Killing Plants)
Pros
- 100% safe for pets
- Contains no harmful chemicals
- Odor-free
- Very effective to kill outdoor ants
Cons
- Can irritate lungs if breathed in
- Won’t kill ants in a colony
If you need to deter ants, then the Harris DE guide price of just under $19 gives you a great option. There is no expiration date, and you get a powder duster for easy application. It is among the best solutions to deal with an ant hill, yet you will need repeat application should it rain or you have strong winds.
3. Syngenta – TRTD11568 – Optigard Ant Bait Gel Box – 4 Tubes w/ Plunger – 30g each tube
The Syngenta Optigard is a professional gel to kill many ant species around the home and in the colony. The active ingredient is Thiamethoxam, .010%, and in the pack, you have four, 30-gram tubes that contain a needle-like tip for application.
To apply to crevices, you push the plunger to deliver a tiny dot of bait about the size of a pea. Place these around 24-36 inches apart on ant trails inside your home, or in cracks or crevices ants use to access your house.
Ants that eat the gel will return to their nest and pass the bait on to the queen and her offspring, killing the queen, the offspring, and the colony as a whole.
The transparent gel formulation of Optigard ant gel bait attracts ants and makes it easy for them to ingest. A wide range of ants has found it to be acceptable and tasty. Thiamethoxam, the active component, suppresses workers, brood, and queens to ensure colony eradication.
The ant gels are suitable for structure-invading ants such as argentine ants, carpenter ants, ghost ants, and other tiny ants either indoors or outdoors. However, it isn’t effective against ant species such as fire ants, harvester ants, or pharaoh ants.
Pros
- Simple to use
- Effective pest control kills the entire colony
- Pet safe ant killers can be used inside or outside
- Pets have no interest in the ant killer
Cons
- It can take time to apply
- Won’t work on all ant species
With a guide price of just over $25, it can appear to be a more expensive form of pest control as it doesn’t deal with your entire ant problem if you have ants that are not treatable.
However, if you have regular ants and need the best pet-safe killers around your home, you’ll find it effective and your family and pets will be safe.
4. Eco Defense USDA Biobased Pest Control Spray – Ant, Roach, Spider, Bug Killer and Repellent – Natural Indoor & Outdoor Bug Spray
Eco Defense is a natural pest control spray for the home. It’s made to kill and repel pests that invade your home, such as ants, stink bugs, roaches, and other household pests. You can even use the safe ant spray to get rid of bed bugs without harming your bed or your health.
It’s a non-toxic alternative to traditional chemical-based pesticides, with active components including peppermint oil, geranium oil, and sodium lauryl sulfate.
Insecticides are effective in most pest control situations, yet many can include chemicals that irritate skin and harm children and pets.
Eco Defense pest spray, is USDA certified biobased and made from plant-based ingredients that are safe for humans and animals. The spray is easy to use and can keep your house clean and fresh smelling using the easy-to-operate spray bottle.
Pros
- USDA certified biobased ant sprays
- Environmentally friendly
- Pet and child safe spray
- Home friendly and can deal with bed bugs
Cons
- Needs a lot to be fully effective
- Spray bottle can be hard to re-fill
With a guide price of just under $20, you have an effective way of keeping pests under control in the house or outdoors. The product has a money-back guarantee and you can save by purchasing more bottles.
The biggest drawback being you need to apply a lot compared to other pet-safe killers, yet not many other ant spray solutions can be used to repel stinging insects from the family and pets.
5. EcoRaider Ant Killer & Crawling Insect Killer (Citrus Scent) 16 OZ, Natural & Non-Toxic
EcoRaider’s natural ant killer is a plant-based neuron blocker that kills insects without harming humans, animals, birds, or fish.
The EPA does not designate EcoRaider as a hazardous pesticide because the active ingredients include lemongrass and other natural oils. As a result, the best pet-safe ant killer is suitable for use around children and pets.
EcoRaider is designed to kill ants and other insects while also disrupting their scent trails. Ant colonies are unable to reorganize and reenter homes and businesses as a result of this. This effect can continue for up to four weeks without emitting any unpleasant scents. Among other things, the spray can be used on fire ants, mites, and lice.
EcoRaider’s natural ant killer is a plant-based neuron blocker that kills insects without harming humans, animals, birds, or fish.
Pros
- Kills ants and other insect pests on contact
- All-natural ingredients
- Safe around pets, children, and the environment
- Long-lasting effects up to 4 weeks
Cons
- A strong citrus scent could be too strong in the home
- The ant spray doesn’t deal with the ant colony
With a guide price of just under $13, you get a great way to deal with worker ants that can venture into your home. While it can repel ants and kill stubborn insects in less than a minute to around six minutes for larger insects, it won’t kill the colony but does disrupt the ants enough to keep them away.
Best Pet-Friendly Ant Killers Buying guide
“Pet safe” is an ambiguous term that can refer to a variety of things depending on the situation. Many pesticides that are listed as pet safe are still toxic or harmful if consumed in an undiluted or raw form.
Ingredients will take precedence in any shopping guidance. Here you may discover more about what you should know about the ant killer you’re using for your pet.
Some of the most common active compounds to repel ants and are regarded safe are listed here.
- Diatomaceous earth: The fossilized shells of the small sea or freshwater animals known as diatoms make up diatomaceous Earth. Food-grade diatomaceous earth is frequently consumed to aid digestion. Only if the dust is breathed is it dangerous.
- Essential Oils: Essential Oils are a type of natural extract that comes from a particular plant. Thyme, clove, peppermint, geranium, and wintergreen are among the examples. The concentrated form can hurt the skin and irritate the eyes.
- D-Limonene: You’ll find the orange peel extract works as an insect nerve poison. Because it’s a concentration, ingesting it can be dangerous.
2-phenethyl propionate: Apple brandy, apple cider, beer, guava, peanuts, and rum all contain 2-phenethyl propionate. - Cedarwood Oil: You’ll find this a generic name for essential oils derived from a variety of Juniper tree species.
- Sodium Borate Salts: Also known as borax or boric acid, are natural minerals that are commonly employed as insecticides. In low dosages, it is typically regarded as non-toxic to fish, birds, and mammals.
What Makes Ant Killers Pet Friendly?
It’s pet-friendly if you don’t have to take any particular steps to protect your pets before, during, or after application. It’s not pet-friendly if you have to be cautious at any point during the application process.
No matter how gentle or harmless an ant killer is to pets if it doesn’t dependably kill ants, it’s not an ant killer. An ant killer that is pet-friendly must kill ants without requiring any particular measures during application.
Final Verdict
Out of all the above, it was clear the TERRO T300B Liquid Ant Killer, 12 Bait Stations would rise to be the top of pet safe ant killers for many reasons.
While all are effective, in use they begin to show their downsides or shortfalls compared to the Terro.
The sprays can only be used on hard surfaces or on ants directly, while diatomaceous earth can only be effectively used outdoors because of possible dust issues. The ant bait in gel form also fails in sunlight or periods of rain, which the Terro ant killer bait stations don’t suffer from.
While the active ingredient in these is borax, the amount is deadly to ants and their colonies, yet for pets, even if they chew the bait traps, the amounts are negligible.
The TERRO T300B Liquid Ant Killer is easily the best ant killer for the money and has to be one of the easiest to use with the twist-off top is the only thing you need to do.
