Ants!

[vraiblonde]

Ewww...they're all over the place! I've put out several different kinds of bait to try and kill them but they're still crawling on my counters! Anyone know how to get rid of them? Should I call the exterminator? We get them EVERY year and they drive me crazy!

 

[Snow Shovel]

Used to live in a house where I would get ants every spring when it rained. (Can't imagine how bad they would be this spring)

I'd get some pesticide from the hardware store and spray under the kitchen sink, all over the plumbing under the sink, and in whatever cabinets I found them. Then I'd go outside and spray a border all around the house, about a foot from the ground. There was also a window I suspected that they were coming in; I'd spray all around that.

After I used a can or two of spray, I wouldn't see them again until the following spring. Maybe you do need an exterminator; maybe I needed one then, but I never called one.

Good luck.

 

[RoseRed]

I feel your pain! We used to have them come in through the back door and no matter what we did, they kept returning. Finally called the exterminator out and they disappeared for a couple of years.

They came back this year, but through the window over the kitchen sink Hubby sprayed the snot out of them with some bug & ant killer and they have yet to return.

Good luck!

 

[Sharon]

How about a new pet?

 

[Dymphna]

Try Diazanon. But it's highly poisionous, don't let your pets or kids eat it.

 

[Kyle]

Originally posted by cmcdanal
Try Diazanon. But it's highly poisionous, don't let your pets or kids eat it.

I hear it goes well with Ethelyne Glycol.

 

[alex]

We had the same problem. We called an exterminator. They came and sprayed outside the house, inside the house and put out some bait traps in the bathroom and kitchen. They will come out every 4 months and spray outside the house and if they come back between sprays you can call them and they will come out at no charge. Total cost approx $400. Well worth it to me especially since the stuff they use will not harm my pets or people.

We just started to see some more and they came back as scheduled. So glad I did this. They guy said that sometimes you have find the colony and spray down there too.

 

[Ponytail]

try this first. best stuff I have found. It takes a little while, but it does work. We had ants BAD in Florida and living in an apt., we had an exterminator once a month.

This stuff was the only thing that I found that worked.

http://www.terro.com/shop.php?show_prod_detail=2

 

[Penn]

Originally posted by Kyle
I hear it goes well with Ethelyne Glycol.

Oh, that's catty! Ferally Catty! I wonder if PITA has any opinion on eliminating ants in the home?

I'd say to spray the living heck out of them with Raid Ant and Roach Killer, and then buy Orthos'
Home Defense available at hardware stores or nursuries.

Ever seen the Sci-Fi movie called "Them"?

 

[Vince]

Originally posted by cmcdanal
Try Diazanon. But it's highly poisionous, don't let your pets or kids eat it.

Malathion works too, but it's the same as Diazanon as far as poison.

 

[Makavide]

We used to have problems with ants and other bug types getting into the house while living in Maine. It was recommended we spread "comet" (the sink cleaning powder) around the outside of the house, along the wall. Putting it down every spring. We never had problems with the bugs getting into the house again. We still use this down here, and have not had a problem yet.

 

[vraiblonde]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'm getting ready to blow the house up! I can't use anything poisonous because of the cats. but I'll try everything else and, if all else fails, go with the exterminator.

 

[justhangn]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
I can't use anything poisonous because of the cats.

LOWES carries a NATURAL product that is extremely effective with ants and other pest like that.

 

[Restless Blood]

Safe ant killer

I have tried this and it works great.

Kill The Ants!
I found the best way to get rid of ants (and the cheapest) is to mix equal parts sugar and borax. I put it in little "stations" all around the yard (be sure to replace if it rains) in baby food jar lids. The ants carry the sugar back to the hill, and the borax clinging to the sugar does the rest. After about a week or two, no more ants!



http://stretcher.com/stories/00/000424t.cfm

 

[jazz lady]

Borax works great. Here's a link to some more non-toxic ways to get rid of ants.

I've used the Safer brand of insect spray with good results. The only thing I don't like is the strong licorice-like smell, but I'd rather have that than poisoned pets.

 

[Cowgirl]

Terro works great for inside the house. You can find it at your friendly Southern States stores. There's one in Charlotte Hall, Upper Marlboro, and Brandywine. It's probably worth the drive to Charlotte Hall. I work at SS (not the Charlotte Hall one), and customers come in looking specifically for Terro. They say it works wonders. Also, if you know where they're coming in the house, you can put a line of chalk (the kind you write with on chalk boards) around the door (or window or crack, etc.). The ants won't walk thru chalk because it sticks to their legs. That works pretty well too. Southern States also has bags of Diazinon for sale. It comes in a 10 lb bag which covers 5,000 sq. ft. You can put it down in a border (4ft) around the base of your house, or you can spread it around the whole yard. We did this at home because we used to have fleas....we haven't had fleas in over 6 years. It kills any insect though...so if there are bugs you want to keep, you might not want to do it. It is poisonous to animals, but water it in when you put it down and as soon as it dries it'll be safe. Good luck!

 

[OliveOyl]

Has anyone heard of Sevin?

I used it when we had an infestation of ladybugs and it worked great! Now cleaning up all of the dead ladybugs was a different story...

 

[RoseRed]

Originally posted by OliveOyl
I used it when we had an infestation of ladybugs and it worked great!

You killed ladybugs? They are good to have around to eat the other bad bugs. I get them twice a year on one side of the house for about a day and then they go. Have no idea why, but it is always in April and in October.

 

[Ponytail]

I know what she's talkin about...my grandmother gets them in her house too. They come in on her clothes, from being out in the garden and from the clothes being hung out to dry.

In the winter, they congregate in the upstares ceiling/wall corners, by the hundreds it seems. They don't hurt anything, and they go away when it warms up in the spring...most by way of teh vacuum cleaner though.

 

[Flo]

Originally posted by Cowgirl
Terro works great for inside the house. You can find it at your friendly Southern States stores. There's one in Charlotte Hall, Upper Marlboro, and Brandywine. It's probably worth the drive to Charlotte Hall. I work at SS (not the Charlotte Hall one), and customers come in looking specifically for Terro. They say it works wonders. Also, if you know where they're coming in the house, you can put a line of chalk (the kind you write with on chalk boards) around the door (or window or crack, etc.). The ants won't walk thru chalk because it sticks to their legs. That works pretty well too. Southern States also has bags of Diazinon for sale. It comes in a 10 lb bag which covers 5,000 sq. ft. You can put it down in a border (4ft) around the base of your house, or you can spread it around the whole yard. We did this at home because we used to have fleas....we haven't had fleas in over 6 years. It kills any insect though...so if there are bugs you want to keep, you might not want to do it. It is poisonous to animals, but water it in when you put it down and as soon as it dries it'll be safe. Good luck!

I heard planting "mint" was good to keep fleas away. Is this true? Don't like to use poisons in my yard, because of the cat and dogs. Have thought about planting some in the gardens around my home.