Anyone having trouble with little tiny ants?

[floridafam]

We are being invaded by little tiny ants. I've never seen such tiny ones.

They are mostly in the bathroom and kitchen by water.
I also found some in DD's bedroom crawling on a sweatshirt that had food on them. They are very hard to see unless you look closely or they are on something light.

Anyone know what type of ant they are and what we can do to get rid of them??

 

[cybrkitn]

Don't know what they are called either, but I found a bunch of them (may have been babies) on the windshield of my car this morning.

I have no problem with the small ones, just the big ones with wings (ewwww, shudders). My job was infested last week with the latter. We had Terminex there twice. I haven't seen anymore this week (thankfully).

 

[eclectics]

Up North, the little tiny ones are called sugar ants. They are usually attracted to food, even little cookie crumbs or something like that spilled or left on the floor. Bad news is that they are the hardest ants to get totally rid of. You have to follow their trail, or trails and find out how they are getting in the house. Sometimes it's impossible. Good luck! They usually don't respond to the poison in ant traps.

 

[eeyoresnr]

the ones with wings were probably termites...they swarm here every year about this time. as for the little ones they call tehm sugar ants here to but I don't know why. this is the first year I've had them and they hang out by the kitchen sink, no wheres near any sugar?

 

[aynt79]

Ugh, we had those one year when we lived in S Fl. Trails of tiny tiny ants going up the walls. Then finding dozens of them in a empty soda cans or cups left out overnight. It was awful. I thought I would go insane staring at the kitchen wall or counter waiting for more to walk by so I could squish them. I have heard putting borax in the places they are coming from will get rid of them, but I was never able to find borax to try it.

I did buy some stuff at Wal-Mart (the next year after we had moved and never seen them again) that was supposed to get rid of them. I never actually got a chance to use it, so I don't know how well it works. I don't remember the name of the stuff. It came in a tube that was in a box (with a picture of an ant on it), sort of how neosporin is packaged but a little bigger. I think I got in the lawn and garden area.

 

[pittypat]

We call those sugar ants here, too. I had pretty good luck with ant traps from WalMart. You have to put out several, though.

 

[Amlee]

They are called piss ants here. I have got them for years. But this year I had all the plants and such around the house removed. That is were all the ant beds seem to be. They also seem worse if you have heavy rains. Between the lack of rain, and no flowers to make their beds. I haven't had them. *knock on wood*

Ortho bug spray has came out with a spray that you can spray inside the house now. I haven't tried it yet, but I hear it's good.

 

[eeyoresnr]

well it definately isn't from too much rain here... we are in the severe drought area...funny (my mom used to call them piss ants in Calif too)

 

[eclectics]

the ones with wings were probably termites...they swarm here every year about this time. as for the little ones they call tehm sugar ants here to but I don't know why. this is the first year I've had them and they hang out by the kitchen sink, no wheres near any sugar?

They found some somewhere, believe me! Even some crumbs in a corner of one of your cabinets. That's all it takes. You are probably just seeing a portion of them as they travel to and fro.

 

[Amlee]

Well I don't eat in my bathroom and that is where they usually are. Which is something I have never figured out.

I once asked why they were called piss ants. I got a few replies from my mother it is because the annoy the piss out of you. My dad says because they piss you off.

 

[floridafam]

The majority of them are in our bathroom, too. It's nowhere near the kitchen. Hmmm.

We also find them in the shower.

 

[MAKmom]

This is the first year I have had a problem with them. I finally broke down & sprayed the perimeter of my house by the foundation.

 

[Amlee]

The majority of them are in our bathroom, too. It's nowhere near the kitchen. Hmmm.

We also find them in the shower.

check your bath products to see if they have anything with sugar or something sweet like honey or such.

I use to use a brown sugar body scrub (would still use it if it was still made), Many times I would go in the bathroom and that little jar would be turned black from all the ants on it.


I don't have that now, so I can't explain why I still have them in the bathroom and shower area.

 

[eeyoresnr]

nope...the only place I have them is around the sink...I've checked every where else and no signs of them. I have vegetables growing in pots on my patio and this evening I saw them around the base of the chili peppers. go figure

 

[Kathring]

When we lived in NY, they were called Sugar Ants, here in Central PA, they call them piss ants. We used a product called Terro - worked great! Gotta find the nest, if possible to totally eradicate the problem.

You can search the web for more info - people say to draw a line with chalk, or cinnamon or other spices around the area. They say that the ants can't get over that type of barrier. (I will tell you that this didn't help us one bit.)

Get the Terro product & also try to find the nest. GOOD LUCK - they really are the MOST annoying things EVER!

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

YES! And we are in FL too. We call them sugar ants.

DH left a mint on the bathroom counter and BOOM, they were there. I got rid of the mint, then they were in his toothpaste, then just there to aggravate me. Sat. they appeared in the kitchen. We went to Lowe's and bought some "Grants Kills Ants" traps and within 24 hours they were GONE (knock on wood). You have to leave them alone when the traps are out and you see them. Resist the urge to squash!

Dh also sprayed around the perimeter of the house and never saw ants. They can come in from the roof though.

 

[DVCLiz]

If you crush one in your fingers, you can smell a sweet smell - that's why I've always heard them called sugar ants. They are a pain the rear...

 

[lemondog]

We call them sugar ants too. A couple of springs ago we had a TERRIBLE problem with them -- like you, they were limited to the kitchen and the bathrooms. Then one day I came home and saw a trail of ants marching all the way from the front door, through the entry hall, through the kitchen and right into the pantry. It was a perfect line of little sugar ants. Turns out DH had forgotten to put the top back on the dog food container, and the ants completely invaded! It took 2 rounds with the exterminator, but we did eventually get rid of them.

 

[eeyoresnr]

the ones we have right now are so small you wouldn't even see a trail. you almost have to have a magnifying glass to even see them

 

[SamRoc]

We are having the same exact problem right now with these little ants in NY. They are only in the bathroom and kitchen. My dh sprayed outside, but they still get in. My friend told us to sprinkle baby powder in the window sill as they won't cross that. I tried it tonight, will see if it works.