Ants - solution?!

[Chelley00]

I have borax/sugar around the outside and in some places inside our house now. I'm really hoping it works. We did paprika at one point (the ants won't cross the line), and it helped keep the ants out of the specific room, but they just moved to another room (and stained our floors orange!) Thanks for the tip!

 

[pixiewings71]

We have ants in our backyard, we'd love to do the Borax thing but we also have 2 dogs and 2 cats so that won't work...any other ideas?

 

[here757]

i can tell u cursing at them doesnt help LOL

i am about to call the man to come spray!

terro doesnt work for us.

 

[Tiger926]

Major ant problems over here too! Today, we had to throw out most of our pantry, as the tiniest little ants we've ever seen found their way into the kitchen. We sprayed vinegar, and some organic honey concoction, and not many as of tonight.

We can't use Borax either as we have small kids. I'm calling the bug man tomorrow, to see what they suggest. Perhaps spraying the perimeter of the house each spring?

We were so frustrated today, as it took hours to handle, and we had to throw out a huge amount of food. Going to purchase a bunch of Tupperware containers tomorrow to put all food in them. Went shopping today, the stores had no good quality food containers at all! Wished I lived in the states, as you guys have awesome container stores and such, and that would really help out as we have to re organize and put all new food into containers. No more bags or packages, as the ants got right in. Just went grocery shopping last night, so we were pretty peeved....

Good luck to all of those with ant problems, Tiger

 

[momof1princess]

ugh, just found a large, black ant on my kitchen counter (which is also black, speckled with white) but that was the only one i saw. i'm sure there are many more. we had them pretty bad last year, in our master bathroom-turned out, they were coming in through the vent pipe for the bathroom sink. there was a tree limb overhanging the roof, and they were using it to get to the roof, and down the vent pipe. DH went up there, cut down the limb, problem solved. kitchen is in the middle of the house, so not such an easy fix this time.

 

[MoniqueU]

I didn't spray around the house with Vinegar but what I did wipe down with it has kept it ant free.

 

[IDoDis]

We've also had a major problem with ants this summer. Usually we get one or two bad invasions that we are able to eradicate with a good ant bait. But this year, they keep coming and coming from different areas that we've never had ants in before. They come in through small tiny cracks in the grout, up through the carpet seams, from behind the dishwasher, from behind a light socket where there's a tiny tiny hole that we never calked after painting...

A friend of mine had given me a bag of huge chocolate chip cookies that her DH had made. I had them in a huge ziplock bag on the counter. We know to put everything in closed containers, but I figured the cookies would be safe in the ziplock bag and inside a plastic grocery bag over night and we had not seen any ants in days.

But in the morning, the bag was swarming with hundreds and hundreds of ants. Just picking up the bag sent ants crawling on me!!!! I've also seen them upstairs now in my bathroom vanity. I'm at my wit's end. Raid helps for a day or two but then they come back. The traps don't seem to be working anymore. We have two very nosy dogs, so we can't do the borax. I don't know what else to do and don't have the money to pay an exterminator who wants a contract.

 

[r&kmommy]

Spray full strength vinegar wherever you see them! It STINKS when you're spraying but once it dries you can't smell it.

 

[Anjelica]

These are great tips that we will have to try. It started raining heavily recently and that's usually when we notice the ants trying to come in the kitchen.

Now - does anyone have any tips on those darn silverfish - I am literally hunting those things down in the middle of the night (usually when they come out)?????

 

[tink2dw]

window cleaner with lots of Vinegar in it kills the swarming ants in cabinets, on counters, and in bathrooms and smells better!!

There is a lawn fertilizer that has Diatomaceous Earth in it that is safe for kids and pets but kills ants, and fleas. It is in a big square shaker that is turned upside down and shaken as close to your house as you get it including window wells and around the patio.

 

[r&kmommy]

window cleaner with lots of Vinegar in it kills the swarming ants in cabinets, on counters, and in bathrooms and smells better!!

There is a lawn fertilizer that has Diatomaceous Earth in it that is safe for kids and pets but kills ants, and fleas. It is in a big square shaker that is turned upside down and shaken as close to your house as you get it including window wells and around the patio.

You can also get pure D.E. at a pool store!! I will have to keep this in mind if *strike wood* I ever get an ant problem. . . I have 2 40lb bags in the shed for our pool filter

 

[tinker&belle]

We have two young children and a cat so we were looking for a non-chemical solution for ants and someone at DH's work recommended spraying watered down peppermint oil in areas prone to ants. We sprayed it one night last week and within hours they were gone and haven't returned.

 

[FLAngie]

We sprinkle corn meal onto a napkin and place it near the ants. It seems to work. The ants are gone in a day. We also put some Tero pellets around the perimeter of the house.

Do you add sugar to the corn meal? or just use it plain?

 

[LittleBoPeep]

After seeing the post that recommended grits, we took a packet of cream of wheat and put it where the ants were coming from. The next day, there were only a few ants, and the day after that, not one. That was more than two weeks ago, and we haven't seen an ant since.

 

[Chelley00]

We used the Borax/sugar mixture, and haven't had an ant in the house since. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!