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Ants!
Has anyone got any advice for how to get rid of ants?
I am in CA and have heard references being made to the "ant season", so it would seem to be an expected problem here. However, I am at a loss as to how to get rid of the damn things. I bought a 10lb bag of dog meal last week and put it on a high shelf in a kitchen cupboard. Three days later the cupboard was crawling alive with ants and the dog meal had to be thrown out - when I looked inside there were more ants than dog meal!!! I have tried ant catchers from the store, but the ants don't go anywhere near them. I have a dog and the problem is in the kitchen, so spraying ant killer everywhere is not really a solution, unless someone knows of a product that is not toxic to humans/dogs? For now the only safe place I have to keep anything edible is in the fridge, but surely that isn't the only answer? |
We use poison outside to keep them down and a spray for inside. All you need to do is find out where they are getting in and spray that area (you can usually see them leaving with your food). Spraying these entry/exit points will keep them away. Careful where you spray though (counter tops, etc.). You don't want ant killer in your food.
Not saying you don't, but try and keep all food that isn't in the fridge inside air tight containers and keep all crumbs, excess food, etc. off the work tops. These buggers can sense a grain of sugar from a mile away. |
Re: Ants!
Originally posted by 207lonsdale Has anyone got any advice for how to get rid of ants? I am in CA and have heard references being made to the "ant season", so it would seem to be an expected problem here. However, I am at a loss as to how to get rid of the damn things. I bought a 10lb bag of dog meal last week and put it on a high shelf in a kitchen cupboard. Three days later the cupboard was crawling alive with ants and the dog meal had to be thrown out - when I looked inside there were more ants than dog meal!!! I have tried ant catchers from the store, but the ants don't go anywhere near them. I have a dog and the problem is in the kitchen, so spraying ant killer everywhere is not really a solution, unless someone knows of a product that is not toxic to humans/dogs? For now the only safe place I have to keep anything edible is in the fridge, but surely that isn't the only answer? |
Originally posted by rincewind Not saying you don't, but try and keep all food that isn't in the fridge inside air tight containers and keep all crumbs, excess food, etc. off the work tops. These buggers can sense a grain of sugar from a mile away. You are right about them being able to sense a grain of sugar from a mile away! They must have some kind of system where the first ant that finds a morsel of food (or a 10lb bag of dog meal!) sends word out and within a day or two you have millions of ants in your home! Sorry, but not being used to ant infestations, I find it all totally disgusting! :( |
Re: Ants!
Originally posted by effi I am having the same problem, only mine are in the yard, millions of the little buggers, and they bite like hell. The best thing to do is to find the outside nest site. Pour a couple of gallons of boiling water and a few drops of washing up liquid into the nest. Keep doing it for a couple of days until they are gone. The natural things to try in the house that are not toxic to your dog are, white pepper, lemon juice, bay leaves or peppermints. Apparently they hate peppermints, just lay them around your cupboards. The more toxic method is borax and honey mixed in a shallow lid. You will need to keep it away from kids and dogs though. Thanks for the dog friendly tips Effi! I have been pouring boiling water on the nest sites outside, but had not tried adding washing up liquid yet. I'm hoping that my partner is wrong, but he thinks that this is pointless as they are actually coming from within the fabric of the house. Whilst I haven't witnessed it yet, he says they actually come crawling out of the power points as well! I suppose I should be thankful that we don't have to suffer cockroaches too! When does this pesky ant season come to an end? |
Re: Ants!
Originally posted by 207lonsdale Thanks for the dog friendly tips Effi! I have been pouring boiling water on the nest sites outside, but had not tried adding washing up liquid yet. I'm hoping that my partner is wrong, but he thinks that this is pointless as they are actually coming from within the fabric of the house. Whilst I haven't witnessed it yet, he says they actually come crawling out of the power points as well! I suppose I should be thankful that we don't have to suffer cockroaches too! When does this pesky ant season come to an end? I did not want to use anything toxic in my yard as I have a large family of lizards living out there and I did not want to harm them. I just wish they would eat the bloody ants!! |
With having a lot of rain last month ear wigs have been a problem for us... nothing major but :scared: when I see them crawling around the bathroom or kitchen.
Ash :) |
Re: Ants!
Try mixing about 1/8 teaspoon of powdered boric acid with 1/4 cup of jelly and place small amounts around your home, out of the reach of children and pets.
You can also sprinkle talcum powder along the ants entryways. Ants will not cross the line. Not only is talcum powder harmless to children and pets, it deodorizes your home and can be vacuumed up when you no longer need it. In hot climates use Indoor Insect Foggers in your attic regularly |
Re: Ants!
Ant season in CA? - has that got anything with me going over in few months time :)
Ant |
Re: Ants!
Bugger!!!
Had me a major ant attack over the weekend. They were in the cabinets and bedroom closet. Here is what I did to get rid of them incase someone else gets them. 1) Find out where their nest is. I walked around the house to try and see where they were coming in. I found one spot where there was a trail leading outside to a nest. Sprayed it. Hot water is only 60% effective so I'm a poison pusher I'm afraid. Sue me :cool: Couldn't find the other nests but I hit them with point 4. 2) Spring clean the spot where they are gathering in doors. They are always after something. My intruders seemed to eat through a packet of instant potatoes and Corn Starch (never knew they would do that). I vacuumed all the kitchen cabinets and closet to get rid of traces of food. 3) I read online that washing kitchen tops down with warm water and vinegar can stop them coming in. Maybe this has something to do with the odor trail they leave behind for the other ants to follow. Skeptical, but tried it anyway. Nothing can hurt at this point. 4) Ant traps. I bought a couple of packets of ant traps. Contains a substance that attracts them. They take the food to their nest and it will kill them in about three days. Man, they love this stuff. I put a trap in the spot where all the open packets were and they worked on it all day. Well, I woke up this morning to an ant free home. My house looks tidier than it ever has too :) |
Re: Ants!
Originally Posted by Polaris_x
If they're in your yard, then go to Home Depot or whereever and buy a bag of Tri-asicide (spelling?). It comes in granular form. Spread it on your lawn like you would your fertilizer. Once it's on, water the hell out of your grass. That will kill them. I had a HUGE ant infestation, and it cleared them up nicely.
If they're around the house, get a good bug killer (like Ortho's Bug-B-Gone) and spray it. They also make little traps that the ants go through and they'll carry the poison into the den. Good luck. Over the last few days the black ants in our house have suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by red ants! The lounge carpet was crawling alive with them (maybe the red ants killed the black ants?)! My partner wanted me to spray the whole house with ant killer despite the fact that the spray we had was toxic to dogs ... I refused! Anyway, I vacuumed the carpet and then crawled around trying to spot where they were coming from. I found a corner that looked like the entry point and used the spray just in that one spot; haven't seen a red ant since!! I doubt I am free of ants as I am still seeing evidence of them in the garden, but after weeks of them being everywhere in the house it is nice to be free of them if only for a day or so! |
Re: Ants!
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Re: Ants!
Cool. That will cure the problem in seconds. Mind you, I probably wouldn't have a house afterwards. |
Re: Ants!
I wouldn't risk my dog's health either. In fact, if the ant poison is outside, I'd also be worried about killing wildlife.
I used a syrupy bait that you put on pieces of card wherever the ants go (e.g., countertops), but not accessible to pets or kids. Ants take it back to the nest and over a few days it kills them. The first 24 hours though the effect is a bit disconcerting as the number of ants on the countertop increases markedly (they love the stuff!). After about 3 days, ants were still coming to the bait, but only the odd one or two. I removed the bait that day and haven't seen them since (now 3 months later). The stuff is called Terro. As for fire ants (they are the ones who bite the cr*p out of you), they take sterner measures. I've heard Amdro works for them (but it's toxic to animals I think).
Originally Posted by 207lonsdale
Thanks for the tip, though I wonder whether this treatment is safe to use when you have a dog?
Over the last few days the black ants in our house have suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by red ants! The lounge carpet was crawling alive with them (maybe the red ants killed the black ants?)! My partner wanted me to spray the whole house with ant killer despite the fact that the spray we had was toxic to dogs ... I refused! Anyway, I vacuumed the carpet and then crawled around trying to spot where they were coming from. I found a corner that looked like the entry point and used the spray just in that one spot; haven't seen a red ant since!! I doubt I am free of ants as I am still seeing evidence of them in the garden, but after weeks of them being everywhere in the house it is nice to be free of them if only for a day or so! |
Re: Ants!
Originally Posted by dunroving
I wouldn't risk my dog's health either. In fact, if the ant poison is outside, I'd also be worried about killing wildlife.
I used a syrupy bait that you put on pieces of card wherever the ants go (e.g., countertops), but not accessible to pets or kids. Ants take it back to the nest and over a few days it kills them. The first 24 hours though the effect is a bit disconcerting as the number of ants on the countertop increases markedly (they love the stuff!). After about 3 days, ants were still coming to the bait, but only the odd one or two. I removed the bait that day and haven't seen them since (now 3 months later). The stuff is called Terro. As for fire ants (they are the ones who bite the cr*p out of you), they take sterner measures. I've heard Amdro works for them (but it's toxic to animals I think). It's all very well killing the ants that I can see, but it would seem that unless I can get to the nest/s (?) the problem will remain. Think I will give Terro a try as nothing else seems to have worked and I desperately need to solve this problem before my partner sprays the whole house with something toxic! :( |
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