ants...

P

Psychopomp

Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Messages
2,662
I should probably have put this in Whine & Cheese, but we'll start here first...

I have an ant problem. Not swarms, but any time I go into a room I have to kill a few. My house is clean, I don't leave old food lying around. I do however live in the middle of the forest so a few bugs are inevitable and don't really bother me, but this is getting out of hand.

I've set up a perimeter of those ant trap/bait things in every corner and on both sides of all exit doors (there are three) and on the outside of every window. Still have ants.

The first summer I lived here I had ants, and set up the same perimeter and that took care of the problem. The last two summers weren't so bad, I saw an ant maybe twice a week and didn't bother with the baits.

I'm using the same brand of bait and it doesn't seem to be doing much good. Obviously I need something stronger.

Not to sound like an environmental whacko, but are there any "green" products out there that'll do the trick? I ask since I do live in the forest, I'd prefer that nothing I don't want dead come in contact with the stuff (ie. deer, fox, rabbits, dogs), and I have a very curious cat who likes to play with and try to eat anything she's never seen before.

Curiously enough, the cat is usually pretty good at pest control, but she won't go near the ants.

Any ideas, suggestions? Should I just pack some valuables, get the cat and start a fire?

Also, is it bad that I think the ant bait smells really good?
 
I've had good luck using Taro (the product found at lowes/home depot, not the tropical aroid) but with a curious cat that might not be the best idea.

Boric acid should kill them. Just mix it with a sweet liquid and set out in a container away from the kitty. Diatomaceous earth works as well, if slowly, and is truly organic/non poisonous. Plus, its good for the garden. Less harmful than borax but you still don't want to inhale it.

You could also try this: Orange Guard
 
Sounds like you need to get rid of the ant colonies that are close to you.

I just did a google search that showed a few ways.

The hard part is finding the colonies.
 
I lived where you are (Sylva, I think I saw from your location a while back) and hordes of ants & spiders in the spring/early summer are just a fact of life. For us (we lived in Addie), they usually cleared out by mid-summer, once all the rains stopped.

Out here, we use this stuff:
http://www.saferbrand.com/advice/insect-library/crawling-insects/all-about-ants

If you can find it there, it works pretty well. I'm not for or against organic products, but we bought this because of the same concerns about local pets. Mint oil kills ants & other bugs (you just have to respray every once in a while), and pets & other critters hate it. (We had a local 'coon who stopped crossing our patio the first night I sprayed.) Spray where the ants come in, and they'll go elsewhere.

thx - cpr
 
I live out side the city here so i get piles of things like ants in the
house but they dont really cause much of a problem for me.
If you have nasty ones like the jack jumpers, bulldog, or fire ants or
something then I can see why you want rid of them but they actually
help clean the place up and keep things like roaches out the house.

You could always take the Ozzy Osbourne rout and just snort them up :D
 
orca8589 said:
I lived where you are (Sylva, I think I saw from your location a while back) and hordes of ants & spiders in the spring/early summer are just a fact of life. For us (we lived in Addie), they usually cleared out by mid-summer, once all the rains stopped.
Click to expand...

Yup. I forgot I changed my location, looks like I'm still in gaol with Zobair.

I guess I can at least be happy that there are no centipedes. When I lived in a crappy apartment in Cullowhee there were centipedes everywhere.

My house is next to a creek (as in the water is less than ten feet from my back door) and it's rained every day for the past week, so I'm guessing that's what has driven them all inside.

I'm gonna take a trip to Lowes tomorrow and see what my options are. I'm gonna try to find something safe and organic for inside and probably spray around the foundation with something nasty.

I'll keep all these suggestions in mind.

Thanks guys.
 
I use that chinese chalk, and not quite sure what the active ingredient is, but it sure works. I just trace it on the wall and loop the ant trail, they all die, and then the trail disappears. It is easy to clean up and it is really cheap. It may be just diatomaceous earth, or it could be toxic, but it works great. You use such a small direct amount, to me it more environmentally sound than liquid palmolive. However, I am not a chemical engineer, I just play one on Bladeforums..... Let me know if you want a box, I will send one to you. They cost 3 chalks for a dollar at a curio shop so worth trying. PM me with your address if you would like one. (I am assuming you are continental US?)
 
I have an ant problem. Not swarms, but any time I go into a room I have to kill a few. My house is clean, I don't leave old food lying around. I do however live in the middle of the forest so a few bugs are inevitable and don't really bother me, but this is getting out of hand.

Are the ants large, and black ?

Living in a forest, and a few ants at a time inside are the symptoms of carpenter ants, and require different tactics.

Fran
 
Sauconian said:
Living in a forest, and a few ants at a time inside are the symptoms of carpenter ants, and require different tactics.

Fran
Click to expand...

+1. Make sure they aren't carpenter ants. You should check under the house from time to time anyway you slice it.

You might consider another thing once you've figured out your immediate ant problem. No house is ever truly air-tight, and I'm not sure it'd be a good thing if they were. On the other hand, you don't want your house leaking like a rusty squeezebox. Ants can get through even very tiny cracks, but often they are a sign of a house that could use some extra insulation.

I would suggest snooping around to see if you have any cracks in your insulation, gaps between wall and floor, gaps between your door and the jam, etc. These problems are all easily solved in an afternoon unless they're truly major. All you really need is minimally expanding foam to spray in gaps and cracks, and either foam or brush sealers for door or window jams. You can also get gaskets to seal up outlets and switches that have a surprising amount of draft.

In addition to keeping out critters, it will save you a lot on energy use, and keep the temperature where you want it with less effort.
 
Psychopomp,
You’re description fits my experience to the letter. Did you get any results? If you don’t mind I’m going to piggyback on your thread….before starting my own.

I am now certain that I have had carpenter ants for the last few years and as I have learned it is their pattern to come out annually and increase in population over the course of time. I thought that I had gotten rid of the ants each year when in fact they had just gone dormant. Also, I dismissed the ants, as well, just ants and now I see that they have been busy in my basement going at the sub-floor above. They have also gotten into the perimeter of the room above on the first floor. If you look online at images of the ant damage and nests and then look around your house you may find evidence as I did.


I’m wondering at what point does one call the exterminator? I called a few companies and they do an application around the perimeter of the house.

I have two concerns:

1. general toxicity
2. I suffer with asthma to the degree that I cannot tolerate perfumes, paint, smoke, most chemical odors and am concerned about the fumes and air-borne nature of applying chemicals.

Anyone? thoughts? /experience with exterminators? I’m thinking that if the are feasting on my house despite bait traps and boric acid that perhaps it’s time to call in the big guns.
 
Start EDCing a lighter and a can of WD-40?
 
I've had good luck treating the outside with granules or spray, and then mixing boric acid with Terro and placing it in trafficked areas on the inside.
 
Amdro is quite good and relatively safe. We've used it before with good success if the ants are big enough to transport and ingest it.

Google suggests that Logic is a comparable product.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top