12

ants!! (Read 1378 times)


"run" "2" "eat"

    anyone got a good remedy for seasonal ant invasions? small ants get in our kitchen every spring. we generally fight them with a chemical that's also dangerous to humans. we've tried the chalk line thing with little success. what else might work?

    i find the sunshine beckons me to open up the gate and dream and dream ~~robbie williams

    L Train


      Perhaps a sign.

       

       


      A Saucy Wench

        Terro ant baits. 

         

        It works better than any exterminator.  It makes the problem a bit worse for 2 days as they are ravenously going in and out trying to take the stuff back to the nest and on the 3rd day they explode.  Put them near where you see them.  If you have a lot of ants put out multiple baits.

         

        It's not even particularly harmful.  Its boric acid in some kind of ant-crack bait

        I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

         

        "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

        ymmv


          The local farm store sells an ant block product, i think from amdro. I will look later and update if the name is different. You sprinkle a band of the granules around the perimeter of your house. Supposedly, its a bait that the ants carry back to the nest to kill all of their buddies. I've used it every spring for a couple of years and have not seen an ant in the house. Before that, there was nothing I ever found to control them from inside the house. Good luck!


          Oh roo roooo!

            +1 to what Ennay said.  We have the same problem every year and that stuff takes care of it right quick!

            Wing


            Joggaholic

              I use boric acid. It comes in white powder form in a bottle. Mix it with sugary water (or whatever you ants like, ie peanut butter), put it on a wide shallow dish and leave it out along the ant trail. Do not sprinkle it around as is because you'll just get white dust everywhere. It is not toxic to human. For the first day it'll attract a massive marching column of ants (which is kind of fun to watch), and then the next day they'll all disappear. I tried various other baits from the stores but they didn't work because (as told to me by someone else) the tiny ants I had couldn't actually bite through the hard bait pellets.

               

              MTA: I think I had this. The stuff is pretty cheap. Once I even found them in the dollar store, and even a small bottle last a long time.

              xor


                Just be glad we arent talking fire ants.

                 

                zoom-zoom


                rectumdamnnearkilledem

                  I'd not mind the little brown ants as much...every Spring we get carpenter ants for a month or so.  We need to figure out how to get rid of these things before our house collapses.  Not sure if this is a job we can tackle ourselves...I'm reading conflicting advice online.

                   

                  But those Terro baits are AMAZING for the little sweet-eating ants.  They're fairly non-toxic, too, as Ennay pointed-out.  My grandma always used that stuff when it came in a bottle.  All it took was a dime-sized puddle on a piece of cardboard and the ants would be gone in about 48 hours.  They take the poison back to the nest and, voila, dead colony.

                  Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                  remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                       ~ Sarah Kay


                  #artbydmcbride

                     

                    Runners run


                    A Saucy Wench

                      I'd not mind the little brown ants as much...every Spring we get carpenter ants for a month or so.  We need to figure out how to get rid of these things before our house collapses.  Not sure if this is a job we can tackle ourselves...I'm reading conflicting advice online.

                       

                      But those Terro baits are AMAZING for the little sweet-eating ants.  They're fairly non-toxic, too, as Ennay pointed-out.  My grandma always used that stuff when it came in a bottle.  All it took was a dime-sized puddle on a piece of cardboard and the ants would be gone in about 48 hours.  They take the poison back to the nest and, voila, dead colony.

                       They are amazing for sweet OR grease ants.  That's why I like it, because our ants wont take any of the other bait.  Our ants are mostly grease ants - they LOVE tortilla chips, but only the ones accidentally dropped, never the ones near boric acid powder.  But for the most part they ignore food and just wander around the house being disgusting.  Since we had spring in February and now winter again, our normal March invasion will probably happen in April. 

                      I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

                       

                      "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


                      ultramarathon/triathlete

                        Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but there is a natural ant spray that's essentially Mint oil.  I use it yearly when the fuckers come back and try to eat my cat's food (they always manage to find it, no matter how clean the place is!).

                         

                        The mint spray is safe for pets and just smells really minty.  It kills them DEAD.  Then leaves a minty smell, which, personally, I eventually get tired of.  But, it does not smell like a chemical, and is better than ants.

                        HTFU?  Why not!

                        USATF Coach

                        Empire Tri Club Coach
                        Gatorade Endurance Team

                          Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but there is a natural ant spray that's essentially Mint oil.  I use it yearly when the fuckers come back and try to eat my cat's food (they always manage to find it, no matter how clean the place is!).

                           

                          The mint spray is safe for pets and just smells really minty.  It kills them DEAD.  Then leaves a minty smell, which, personally, I eventually get tired of.  But, it does not smell like a chemical, and is better than ants.

                           

                          Yeah, this stuff works great, although it can be hard to find. We buy it because it's pet safe.

                          TeaOlive


                          old woman w/hobby

                            Just be glad we arent talking fire ants.

                             

                             

                            Thats for sure!

                            steph  

                             

                             

                            Ojo


                              Cayenne or chili powder -- ants won't cross the line!

                              Sara

                              MM #2929

                                I'd not mind the little brown ants as much...every Spring we get carpenter ants for a month or so.  We need to figure out how to get rid of these things before our house collapses.  Not sure if this is a job we can tackle ourselves...I'm reading conflicting advice online.

                                 

                                But those Terro baits are AMAZING for the little sweet-eating ants.  They're fairly non-toxic, too, as Ennay pointed-out.  My grandma always used that stuff when it came in a bottle.  All it took was a dime-sized puddle on a piece of cardboard and the ants would be gone in about 48 hours.  They take the poison back to the nest and, voila, dead colony.

                                 

                                We have carpenter ants too. I'm waiting for our house to collapse.
                                12