Borax is poisonous to ants. Mix 1/4 cup of sugar and ¼ cup of borax, and sprinkle around any hills and travel paths. The ant will think it is all sugar and take the borax back to the nest. 

Orange Oil and Molasses Make Fire Ants Move Out

Oil from the peels of oranges is completely safe for humans but deadly to fire ants because it softens and dissolves the ant’s exoskeleton! This makes them susceptible to attack by the microbes in the soil, plus the molasses feeds the microbes and smothers the ants.

Mix up your own (see recipe below), or use a commercial orange oil spray (such as Orange Guard) sold in hardware stores. After the insects are dead, everything becomes energy-rich soil conditioner and will not harm any plant it touches. It can be used on any insect including mosquitoes and their larvae. It can be used indoors and outdoors.

Orange Oil Recipe
Start pouring around the perimeter of the fire ant mound, working your way to the center. Add the following to a gallon jug and fill with water:

• 6 ounces orange oila
• 1 tablespoon black strap molasses
• a squeeze of liquid dish soap

Other ideas

There are a lot of non-toxic options to keep ants at bay. Once you discover where they are entering your home, pour cream of tartar in a line that ants will not cross. Sprinkle chile powder near their hole or pathways, or use cinnamon sticks, dried peppermint leaves, cloves, paprika, garlic cloves, or coffee grounds to encourage them to go elsewhere. Squeeze lemon juice and leave the peel. Planting mint around the home can also keep them out of your house.​

Pour boiling water on the fire ant mound, working your way from the perimeter to the center. You could try using a stick to disturb the fire ant mound a couple of times a day and maybe the ants will move but watch your hands and feet because they are fast.

Here’s important information from Doug Tallamy: 

Don’t fog, which is ineffective for grown mosquitoes. Use mosquito dunk, it’s cheap, easy, and it doesn’t kill the beneficial insects in your yard! 1) Fill a bucket with water. 2) Add straw or hay and let it ferment for a few days in a sunny spot. The resulting brew will be irresistible to female mosquitos. 3) After a few days the mosquitos have laid their eggs, drop in a mosquito dunk tablet. Mosquito dunk tablets can be purchased at most hardware stores, and contain Bacillus-thuringiensis (Bt), a natural larvicide. The eggs will hatch and the larvae will die. This way you control the mosquitos and only the mosquitos, without the use of harmful insecticides. The pyrethroid-based insecticides used by mosquito foggers indiscriminately kill all insects, not just mosquitos. Ironically, targeting adult mosquitos is the worst and by far the most expensive approach to mosquito control, because mosquitos are best controlled in the larval stage.

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From Cheryl Fallstead, Neighbors Magazine: Your best offense is a good defense: Don’t let even small amounts of water stand in your yard because that’s where mosquitos lay their eggs, and it doesn’t take much to breed a batch of mosquitos! Check anything that may hold water in your yard buckets, tires, etc. If you have a pond or stock tank, add mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) to gobble up larvae.

What can you do if you have a whining mosquito in your house or patio and want to avoid bites? Try an electric or battery-powered fan to create a wind through which they can’t fly. Plants such as lemongrass (which is the base for the citronella oil often used in mosquito-deterrent candles), marigolds, basil, ageratum, bee balm, rosemary, and catnip may help keep mosquitoes away. Mosquitos don’t like the scent of these plants, so if you include any of them in pots near your seating areas outdoors, you may have fewer mosquitos.

Before doing anything, check to see if beneficial insects are eating the aphids. If not, here are some ideas.

Hard spray of water. Spray a few days in a row. Then beneficial predators will take care of the remaining aphids and keep the beneficial insects happy.

Soapy water. 1 tablespoon liquid soap to 1 gallon of water. Spray, then check in a day or two to see if beneficial insects are doing the remainder of the job.

Garlic water. Crush 2 to 3 cloves of garlic. Let sit in a cup of water overnight. Strain and add with 2 more cups of water into a spray bottle. Spray on the aphids and under the leaves. The scent drives aphids away.

Tomato leaf spray. Soak 1 cup of tomato leaves in 2 cups of water. Let it sit overnight, then strain and add 2 more cups of water to a spray bottle, and apply to aphids, undersides of leaves and stems.

Oil water. Oil smothers the insects. Mix 1 tablespoon canola oil and a few drops of liquid soap into a quart of water. Shake well and pour into a spray bottle. Spray plant from above down, and from below up to get the underside of the leaves.

Hot pepper water. Mix 2 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper with a few drops of liquid soap into a quart of water. Let stand overnight, then stir and pour into a spray bottle and apply as above. Shake container frequently during application.

Snails, slugs: Place a shallow pan of beer in the area where snails and slugs have been seen. They will be attracted and drown when entering the pan.

Pillbugs: In a small plastic container, place 2 tablespoons of cornmeal. Cut a small hole at the base of the container, close to the bottom and large enough to allow in a pillbug, who will eat the cornmeal and die.

Grubs: The grubs are actually the larvae of Japanese beetles, when you kill the grubs you kill the beetle. There is a natural remedy called milky spore. The granules are spread on the soil and cause the grubs to contract a disease that kills them. This natural control affects only the grubs, leaving the beneficial organisms unharmed. Milky spore multiplies over time and will sit inactive, waiting for grubs to infect, and one treatment is said to last 40 years!

Fungal Diseases

Baking soda spray. Mix two tablespoons of baking soda into a quart of water. Pour into a spray container and spray affected areas. Repeat this process every few days until problem ceases.

Baking soda and soap spray. Combine one tablespoon of cooking oil, two tablespoons of baking soda and a few drops of liquid soap into a quart of water. Pour into a spray container and apply as above.

Milk spray. Mix 1 quart of milk and 1 quart of water. Spray once a week for three weeks.

Powdery mildew: Mix equal parts milk and water and spray on infected plants. Three treatments a week apart should control the disease.

Chile, onion, garlic and soap spray. Liquify two fresh habanero or other chile peppers, one small onion and six garlic cloves in the blender (actually this sounds kinda tasty). Pour into a glass jar and set outdoors out of direct sunlight, and allow to steep for 1 to 2 days. Pour the solution through a cheesecloth. Add 1 tablespoon of liquid castile soap or mild non-degreasing dish soap, and shake well to combine. Pour a gallon of hot water into a bucket. Add the jar of concentrate and stir. Pour into a spray bottle, and spray all surfaces of your garden plants thoroughly with the repellent. Pay special attention to the undersides of leaves. Treat early in the morning while dew is still present. This material is also repugnant to mammals such as dogs, cats, squirrels and deer. Apply weekly throughout the growing season.

Only use this method while the tree is dormant, however, or it can kill the tree.

Lime sulfur and dormant oil spray. Lime sulfur and dormant oil, available at nurseries and garden centers, can be sprayed on the trunk and branches of dormant fruit trees. This concoction will suffocate insect egg cases. Because the oily spray is heavy compared to the other water-based sprays, you’ll need a pump sprayer which is fairly inexpensive, or may be available to rent from some nurseries.

These sprays are repugnant to mammals such as dogs, cats, squirrels and deer. Apply weekly throughout the growing season.

Mustard, cayenne and tabasco spray. Mix 4 tsp dry mustard, 3 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce, 2 quarts warm water. Spray around the border of the garden. Reapply after rains.

Chile, onion, garlic and soap spray. Liquify two fresh habanero or other chile peppers, one small onion and six garlic cloves in the blender (actually this sounds kinda tasty). Pour into a glass jar and set outdoors out of direct sunlight, and allow to steep for 1 to 2 days. Pour the solution through a cheesecloth. Add 1 tablespoon of liquid castile soap or mild non-degreasing dish soap, and shake well to combine. Pour a gallon of hot water into a bucket. Add the jar of concentrate, pour into a spray bottle shake and spray.