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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/21/2008 9:47:03 AM
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stellaluna
Posts: 3539
Joined: 4/11/2005
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Every year our kitchen gets invaded by the little black ants and while annoying, they're usually gone in a couple of weeks.
Until this year.
This year they stayed and stayed and stayed and they swarmed all over everything! (Usually they would just stay around the sink.) We bought some of those ant bait things and put them around the kitchen and they didn't seem to do a thing. Our kitchen isn't that big, so we didn't have places to put all the bait and I left some in the box under the sink. After a couple of weeks I was about to throw the last few away when I noticed on the box a suggestion to put some outside. I took the ones I had left and put them on the ground outside our kitchen window. That seemed to help. So I took all the bait out of the kitchen and put it on the ground outside and guess what? No more ants!
I can't remember the brand, but I imagine all of them are about the same and they're pretty cheap, so you might try that.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/21/2008 9:53:40 AM
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creationtalk
Posts: 605
Joined: 6/9/2005
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I have used lemon juice and black pepper in the areas where the ants travel. Also boric acid (can mix with sugar to attract them if you want). In my experience, baits generally don't work. I've had good luck with Ortho Home Defense spray--spray it on the path ways--this includes walls. If you don't want to use it inside, then take it outside and spray around the perimeter of the MH--on the walls and especially where the bottom of the house is in contact with the slab--spray the bottom of the MH if at all possible as well--everywhere there is an opening (pipes, etc) spray all the way around it. You can also get some of the "water in" outside insect killer granules and use them around the house. It's possible that the ant hill is under the slab and the ants are coming up through a crack in the slab.
I also have cats, dogs, horses, and child.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/21/2008 10:01:22 AM
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Auben
Posts: 1594
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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I've had good luck with baits but they do take a few weeks and you have to target where they are coming from and plan accordingly. Just leaving them in the cupboards doesn't seem to help.
The little ones seem harder to get rid of than the big ones. They don't like the baits and seem to come up in bathrooms/sinks.
Vinegar around the base of the house and thick over the doorways will help (they hate it) along with many other deterents (black pepper, chili pepper, etc). Remember to do around pipes and lines leading into the ground or into the yard (air conditioning, sewer, water, etc).
Circle the house carefully looking for hills. If you find any boil a kettle of water and pour it down the holes. If its a large hill you may need several kettles.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/21/2008 3:42:40 PM
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pumpkin
Posts: 1359
Joined: 4/1/2005
From: home
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when using the ant traps, it really only works well if you take note of their trail, and place the trap ON the trail, so that they will have to come across it. This works very well. Just placing a few here there and everywhere... not so effective.
I live in an apt. and I had them coming out of my outlet in the kitchen... for that I called and asked for the pest control people to come. I was not going to deal with anything in/on/around outlets!
We've not really had ant problems much inside. We do have other small critters from time to time though. I generally get out the raid, and make sure that any and all food for them is non-existant. (airtight canisters to store just about everything!... and make sure there are is no food left in/near the sink - think dirty dishes)
Thankfully we've not had too many issues with bugs lately. But I did have a weevil problem that I thought would kill me... and it was either me or them... so I understand where you are coming from on the ants.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/21/2008 5:05:36 PM
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Sophie11
Posts: 720
Joined: 1/24/2008
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I am afraid of bugs. I use the Ortho Home Defense spray and the Granules that you sprinkle around the perimeter of your home. I also use the Cutter Bug Free Backyard spray that you attach to the hose and it works wonders on gnats and spiders. The others do a great job of keeping everything out of your home. You have to reapply the granules pretty often though.
The only thing I've noticed that doesn't seem fazed by my maniacal pesticide use is earwigs. Those darn things refuse to leave my house alone. Lately they have been attacking my flower pots and a few have even made it into my house (*AAAHHHH!*).
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/22/2008 11:47:52 PM
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furrypurrykitty
Posts: 389
Joined: 4/8/2005
From: Home of the Corvette
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I've had success with spraying Raid Ant and Roach all around my back door where it fits into the frame (not very snugly), which is where ants were coming into my kitchen and having a picnic in the trash can. If I get frustrated, I spray it all inside the trash can too. I don't like to use it inside much because it stinks - but it does work.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/22/2008 11:59:14 PM
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Wonder_Woman
Posts: 95
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We used a fogger and it took care of the ant problem for a full year.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/23/2008 12:25:42 AM
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spitzu
Posts: 1062
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We've always had success with Terro ant baits. They take a little while to work, but work well.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/23/2008 2:52:47 AM
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cinderella092003
Posts: 152
Joined: 6/8/2007
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We just moved into a new house this past year, but the ants came in a couple of weeks ago. We found out the landlord didn't have a pest control plan. We put down some red pepper powder and they were gone withing 24 hours. They haven't been back either.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/23/2008 11:27:29 AM
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GrahamCracker
Posts: 2021
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Dallas, TX
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Diatomaceous earth works because we have tried it. It's nontoxic. It works until it gets wet. Last spring ants were invading the pet food dishes, so I put petroleum jelly around the sides of the food dishes so they couldn't crawl up. That only slowed them down.
After we tried the diatomaceous earth, one of the local plant suppliers recommended orange oil. I never got to try it because the ants never came back after we used the diatomaceous earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
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When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. (Heb 10:13)
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/23/2008 3:21:22 PM
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trainfan
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From: neither here nor there
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I didn't have ants in the house but on the outside of the house. I tried using Amdro, just sprinkled it around the outside of the house after doing that I have yet to see an ant again.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/24/2008 10:42:30 PM
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ladybuglvr
Posts: 54
Joined: 3/29/2008
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I know this is going to sound silly but use Listerene mouthwash ( don't know in the generic brand would work or not ) Anyway, put the listerene in a shallow dish. I used a plastic lid. the listerene attracts the ants. some drown and some walk off in a "drunk" daze. its not a cure all but it sure helped me out.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/24/2008 11:28:59 PM
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Karaboo2
Posts: 1716
Joined: 2/4/2008
From: Ontario, Canada
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Borax on the window and door ledges seems to help as well ...
Ds (age 5) has a morbid fascination with trying to make them explode ... if one is on the counter, he'll put a spoonful of baking soda on top of it, and then blast the pile with vinegar!
(I will say, the baking soda and vinegar thing was the way we got them to stop coming up our drains ... and it unclogged the pipes at the same time!)
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I thought a thought, but the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I'd thought. So then I thought when I think a think, I'll write it down in pen and ink.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/25/2008 10:21:34 AM
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Mrs.X
Posts: 2323
Joined: 7/7/2005
From: Newberg, OR
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Hi,
Im Posting Under my wifes name! she is sleeping.
Im an Exterminator!
The best thing is to Hire someone like me. I use people friendly products. If I treated your house you and your kids/pets WOULD have to leave the treated area for about an hour! Just long enough for the product to dry. I cant legally say its safe, but you would have to drink alot of what i have to hurt us (gallons). They dont sell anything really bad on the market anymore like they did 20 years ago. EPA had alot to do with that.
Our services could be expensive, but see if there is a monthly service plan. If you lived near me i could set you up on a monthly plan of $38. And no initial payment.
hope this helped !
p.s. The best thing you could buy at the store is TERRO. Im my business i call this a band-aid, because they will be back .... just not for awile.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/25/2008 1:37:51 PM
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loveleee
Posts: 69
Joined: 6/6/2008
From: Southern Gal
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We have the same issue, what we did was put our food (sugar, bread, chips, etc.) in lock n lock - or airtight containers. ( it was an investment ) and when we use a dish we wash it immediately. I haven't seen an ant in my food since. We do sometimes find a line of them to the gargage every once in a while.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/27/2008 7:37:57 PM
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mvic
Posts: 1034
Joined: 1/17/2008
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OK - plenty of suggestions so far.
How about this?
Mix some sugar with fine ground pepper. Place mixture on a flat stone. The ants will come for the sugar, breathe in the pepper, sneeze and knock themselves out on the stone!
Alternatively (here in the UK) there's a spray which if used indoors leaves an invisible trail for weeks. Any ants crossing that trail die instantly. The trade name may be different in the US - check it out on Google.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/27/2008 8:12:09 PM
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MrsTracy72
Posts: 1680
Joined: 2/28/2007
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We just moved and our entire yard is filled with ant hills. We don't have them in the house, but for the outside we did get these spikes you put in the ground. They are much like the ant houses you use inside. They take the poison back to the nest and it kills them. You might want to put some of those around your house and in the yard too. That might keep them from comming in.
Sweeping and using the vacum every day is a huge help. Also, you might have an old spill that they are picking up on. Have you cleaned your hard surfaces with bleach water? That is the easiest and cheapest way. But those spikes outside may help too. They are getting in from somewhere and you need to get the nest. I think there are 6 in a pack.
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/27/2008 8:17:22 PM
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Neeva_Candida
Posts: 119
Joined: 7/26/2008
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I prefer ant traps but they are very hard to set. You can get your fingers snapped very easily.
~Neeva
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RE: Ants are driving me crazy - 7/27/2008 11:13:02 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
Posts: 3036
Joined: 6/8/2005
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Waaalll, I think of myself as a sweet-and, sugar-and, water-ant expert. For whatever that is worth --
I agree with Creation that traps don't work.
My favorite ant-killer is Terro, a product I purchase at a common grocery/department store. I do not use their traps, because I don't care for them, but I do use their little bottles of liquid Terro and their "ant dust."
I have used the liquid form both indoors and outdoors, but not by using the little cardboard pieces they supply. I find liquid Terro to be more effective when placed right on any surface ants cross. In the house, I place it in their entrance-path. Outside, I place it on their hills. I don't have either animals or small children, so cautions are obviously necessary for them. In my opinion, the little cardboard squares they provide make the liquid Terro more noticeable to both children and animals.
The Terro ant power is not for indoor use, and it lasts much longer than the liquid. Sprinkle it around the outside of your house and wherever you see ants.
Change your poisons once in awhile. Apparently, ants can build up a resistance to continuous poison.
Ants won't coss a line of cinnamon. Creation's boric acid mixed with sugar is great, they won't cross a line of citrus, and I think there is a possibility that liquid Terro is a mixture of boric acid and white syrup.
Everyone, and I mean everyone in my neighborhood has ants in their houses except us. Why? Since getting them out of the house after a three-year fight with them when we bought it, I am religious about getting them before they come into the house. I used to do yard-ant-hunts every three days. However, since I found the Terro ant powder, I have cut that back to once a week.
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