Ant Control 3 cups water 4 teaspoons boric acid 2 cups granulated sugar Mix, then pour half a cup of the mixture into three or four empty jam jars wrapped with masking tape and loosely packed half full with absorbent cotton. Smear the bait along the outside of the jar and set along ant trail. The ants will swarm into the jar. Some will carry the mixture back to the colony, where it will kill other ants. CAUTION: If you have small children or pets, screw the lids onto the jars, poke several small holes through the lid and smear some of the bait on the inside of the jar.