Cheap way to get rid of ants?

[tinachris]

Anyone know one...I've used the Borax/jelly mix in the past, but I can't use it this time because my dog would go around licking the jelly off. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[apnep]

Go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy the ant baits that come in clear rectangular container and look like corn syrup. It looks like this...

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-28355172338643_2096_7059761742

This stuff works every time. Unless you have fire ants or something...

Do not disturb the ants or their path. Let them eat the stuff and carry it back to the nest to infest everyone. It usually takes one-two days.

Good luck.

Angela

 

[bumbershoot]

When I was pregnant and we had a cat, we used a cinnamon powder we bought from Home Depot. We put it down around where they were entering the condo. The cat stayed away from it, and it wasn't harmful to us, but the ants brought it back to their "home" and it did something nasty to them...took about a week, but the ants finally stopped coming in.

 

[mollay]

Just seconding the ant-bait thing.
We get similar little rectangular bait devicecs and just stick them in the corners of rooms

Our cats and dog don't pay them any mind

 

[hearts8701]

Spray 3 parts dish soap and 1 part water on them and they will die instantly

 

[cglaura]

I use Ortho Home Defense, it is about $9 for the large sprayer container (maybe a gallon?). I need about 2 containers per year for my teeny 800sqft house.

Every two months I spray outside around the foundation, windows & doors and inside around baseboards, inside lower cabinets & window sills.

No ants, no spiders, no crickets.

Safe for pets after it dries, about 30 minutes.

Be careful with the baits, my dog ate one once, it was horrible. He survived, but was really sick. I thought it was safe behind the planter

 

[badblackpug]

When I was pregnant and we had a cat, we used a cinnamon powder we bought from Home Depot. We put it down around where they were entering the condo. The cat stayed away from it, and it wasn't harmful to us, but the ants brought it back to their "home" and it did something nasty to them...took about a week, but the ants finally stopped coming in.

I was going to say cinnamon, too. I'm not sure if the dogs would eat it, but it wouldn't be harmful if they did.

 

[MrsPooh]

I used to sell lawn & garden supplies which included pest control. I was able to try a variety of products and the Terro Liquid Ant Baits that the pp recommended work best by far.

I've never had a problem with my dog even being interested in them but I can't guarantee your pet would leave them alone.

It is amazing how well they work and I think we must live in the ant capital of North America!

 

[RachaelA]

We just hide the ant bait traps where our dog can't get to them, but she also doesn't have free reign of our house so we are always somewhat watching her.

The swarmed the trap on Thursday so I'm hoping they brought everything back to their nest and its starting to work...

 

[poohbear158]

Terro, Terro, Terro. Did I mention Terro? Seriously though, Terro is great and that is all I use. We get the big black carpenter ants and Terro gets rid of them every time.

I found this on the Terro website if your worried about your pets getting into it:

"The product kills ants but will not harm people or pets. If you spill some
on your skin there will be no reaction at all. Simply wash with warm water.

Pets occasionally find the Terro and eat it. Our advice when this happens
is to do nothing at all. The product is not toxic enough to cause a problem
and the pet will be just fine."

 

[msmayor]

Spray 3 parts dish soap and 1 part water on them and they will die instantly

While this provides immediate relief, it won't solve the problem of killing off the nest.

Another vote for Terro Baits. You really need to resist the urge to kill off the ants you can see. You may even see an INCREASE in numbers after the bait is set...but let them be. These ants will take the bait back to the nest and eventually kill it off.

 

[powellrj]

I was just coming to suggest Terro, but it seems people beat me to it!

 

[cheshireqt]

I use Ortho Home Defense, it is about $9 for the large sprayer container (maybe a gallon?). I need about 2 containers per year for my teeny 800sqft house.

Every two months I spray outside around the foundation, windows & doors and inside around baseboards, inside lower cabinets & window sills.

No ants, no spiders, no crickets.

Safe for pets after it dries, about 30 minutes.

Be careful with the baits, my dog ate one once, it was horrible. He survived, but was really sick. I thought it was safe behind the planter

I second this! After 4 years of paying about $475 a year for professional pest control for ants (they used everything I think there could possibly be, including spraying my front and back yard! and I had them out every 2 weeks in the summer months!) I finally went to HD and bought my spray container for $7 and also bought some caulk. I caulked where I saw the ants coming in (around baseboards) and sprayed inside and out. I have a cat and a dog and put them both up for about 2 hours just to be safe. I spray every spring and have not had another ant in my house for the last 7 years! I still remember the conversation from when I called to cancel my expensive pest control, the lady on the phone trying to keep my business told me that using the HD sprayer I was only putting down a barrier system that prevented ants from getting into my house, that I was not killing them at the source-as in their nests in my backyard. Laughingly I told her that preventing ants from getting into my house was all I ever wanted! I don't care if they want to live in my backyard and do whatever it is ants are supposed to do for the environment! She actually laughed too when she realized how that must have sounded to someone who has paid close to $2000 to fix an ant problem that only seemed to get worse each year!

 

[cheshireqt]

Oh and one more thing, when I was suffering with the ant problem a good friend advised that I should sprinkle uncooked grits around my yard. The ants would eat them and the grits would swell up in their bellys and they would die. Harsh I know but I was desperate! So I sprinkled uncooked grits around my yard on a nice warm summer day. Before the day was over it had rained and the temp had climbed to a steamy 90 degrees. I had cooked grits all over my yard and the ants were happily munching on cooked grits for the rest of the summer. I would NOT recommend any treatments involving food!

 

[ohlas]

I was going to say cinnamon, too. I'm not sure if the dogs would eat it, but it wouldn't be harmful if they did.

It would make dog throw up like crazy for a day

 

[hearts8701]

is the cinnamon just regular cinnamon

 

[4Seasons]

We use a product from Doityourselfpestcontrol.com

You can contact them by phone or email and describe your problem and they will tell you exactly what you need and how to treat. If you aren't sure what type of ant (or any other pest) you have they can also identify them for you by a picture.
These are professional grade products that work extremely well.
I've spent alot of money on products from Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. that have either not worked at all or not worked very well.
This is a very reputable company to deal with and it has saved us a ton of money and headache.

 

[StephMK]

Oh and one more thing, when I was suffering with the ant problem a good friend advised that I should sprinkle uncooked grits around my yard. The ants would eat them and the grits would swell up in their bellys and they would die. Harsh I know but I was desperate! So I sprinkled uncooked grits around my yard on a nice warm summer day. Before the day was over it had rained and the temp had climbed to a steamy 90 degrees. I had cooked grits all over my yard and the ants were happily munching on cooked grits for the rest of the summer. I would NOT recommend any treatments involving food!

This is great timing because we just found a big black ant walking across the kitchen floor tonight. Gross!! We had a few carpenter ants come in last year and it looks like they are back. Will these methods work on them or do pros need to handle them? I have fears of them tunneling through all the walls!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

We moved to a house in a rural area about a year and a half ago. We had ants at the beginning of last summer and after doing some research online I started cleaning with peppermint scented cleaner. I use Mrs. Meyers vanilla and peppermint countertop spray for most of my kitchen, but I add a couple extra drops of peppermint oil to make the scent stronger. I also add the peppermint oil to vinegar to clean my floors. I haven't had them in the house since. Planting mint around the perimeter of your house is supposed to help also. The peppermint smell interrupts their scent trail and confuses them.

It has also gotten rid of the mice we had from the tobacco field behind our house. I haven't seen evidence of one in about a year. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work on spiders.

 

[tinachris]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I bought Terro today and the ants seem to be loving it We'll see how it works.