Why Pet Parents Should Think Twice Before Using This TikTok Ant Removal Hack

It's frustrating to find ants in your home. They can infest a kitchen cabinet, pantry, or area of a room quickly. Even when you see just one, there are often more lurking about because its presence means the colony is nearby, possibly in ant hills in your yard. Borax is one ant killer that has been making the rounds online, yet pet parents should avoid this popular TikTok hack for pest removal.

The hack works by combining hot water, sugar, and borax in a jar. Then cotton balls are placed in the solution to soak it up. Users are instructed to place the cotton balls around the house, particularly where ants are visible. The sugar attracts the ants to cotton balls, while the borax kills them after they consume it. Borax, also called sodium tetraborate, is often used in store-bought ant baits. The ants won't die immediately, but they will bring the borax back to their nest or colony. After a few days, the ants die off.

While this method may seem innocent enough, especially if you use borax in your home for cleaning and laundering, it can harm your pets. In some cases, you may not even know you are using products with borax in them since it is often found in various household cleaners, including laundry detergent, toilet bowl cleaners, and even paint.

Borax can cause gastrointestinal disturbances in dogs and cats (via Daily Paws). This is partly because they have more sensitive systems when it comes to certain chemicals and substances. After being exposed to borax, dogs and cats can sustain vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, drooling, lethargy, and eye and skin irritation. You may also notice them becoming excessively thirsty or having respiratory issues. Though a dog or cat would have to consume a large amount for it to be fatal, pets can often get into things that owners would never expect, so it is wise to be cautious. Since this TikTok hack consists of leaving borax-soaked cotton balls in different areas of the home, it can be a recipe for disaster for your furry friends.