Food grade diatomaceous earth from Faithful-to-Nature
Get rid of Ants / Cockroaches
Ants and termites are the scourge of most gardens. We use diatomaceous earth in our yards. 1) If you put it in your soil when you plant seedlings and plants out, they will absorb calcium from the diatomaceous earth. If your plants are rich in calcium, that means you benefit when you eat them. 2) Diatomaceous earth is safe for humans, animals, and birds.
Simply spread the powdered earth across floors and surfaces where the ants are, and they will be gone from your indoors in hours. (Cleaning up is a bit tedious - but worth it!)
When using outside, we recommend you only apply diatomaceous earth in the evening (after bee activity). Water it in well (ant holes etc) so that it bonds to the soil and grass rather than remaining a powder. The reason for this is diatomaceous earth works by destroying the exoskeleton of pests, but its harmful to bees and beneficial insects too! We need our beneficial insects! So only use diatomaceous earth with caution outdoors, in the evenings, and ALWAYS water it in.
You can find diatomaceous earth online, in pet stores (to add to kitty litter to stop parasites - and for a powder to use on dogs in tick and flea season), and at some garden centers (Heather got hers from The Green Shop at Lifestyle Garden Center - a 25kg bag at a very affordable price).
** Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, mild abrasive in products including metal polishes and toothpaste, mechanical insecticide, absorbent for liquids, matting agent for coatings, reinforcing filler in plastics and rubber, anti-block in plastic films, porous support for chemical catalysts, cat litter, activator in blood clotting studies, a stabilizing component of dynamite, and a thermal insulator.