Cheap way to get rid of ants?

[sherry7]

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 the recommendation for Ortho Home Defense. We got ants last year, and tried the traps first. The cats thought they were toys and batted them around. The only ones that stayed put were behind/under the kitchen appliances.

After a couple of weeks of battling the ants, we heard about the Ortho Home Defense. After only 1 application of it, the ants were completely gone. Just keep the animals/kids out of the area until it completely dries, which is about 30-40 minutes.

 

[ceecee]

I just found some ants too! Never had them until we moved to the country and it's so cold I was shocked to see them. I have two labs so I worry about using the Terro stuff, they will eat anything that doesn't eat them first!

 

[dyna]

Ants will not cross a chalk line I found the spot where ants was coming in used sidewalk chalk that closely matched kitchen paint an put a heavy line down....luckily it was in a corner that is unseen unless ya actually go there.

NO MORE ANTS!!!! They a seasonal thing here for the most part an when i start seein ants I go put my chalk line down an problem is solved when ant season over I wipe up chalk

 

[tlh0726]

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

I was going to suggest Terro

DH and I put out the stuff and then sit down and have our ant watching party

 

[starwood]

Well the snow is melting and the little tiny ants have made an appearance in my living room again. I guess I'll be going to home depot tomorrow.

 

[IDoDis]

Give the bait a few days to work. It's hard not to squish the ants you see, but you really need to let them be so they can take the bait back to the nest which will kill the other ants in the nest plus the queen (hopefully). Just killing the ants you see with a spray or something other than poison will only get rid of what you see temporarily, but new ants will just keep coming back.

Also, when you squish an ant it emits pheromones. A crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone that sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants. So, DON'T SQUISH THEM because that will only make more ants appear.

Let the ants be for a couple of days and slowly you will see them disappear.

 

[cglaura]

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!

Carpenter ants usually only come in to eat on deteriorating wood. I get someone in to make sure there aren't any water leaks or other damage somewhere in the walls or under the house.

It could be they are eating on wood piles or similar elsewhere, but if you had them last year and again this year, I'd definitely get it checked.

Eliminating their food source will keep them out, so you should be ok after fixing any found damage.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

I didn't read through the replies but have you tried sprinkling baby powder on the trail? That worked for us. If the trail is on the wall then I just squirted the powder on the wall.

 

[SondraC]

Terro! Nothing else worked for us, but this worked, they were gone!! I also squirted some outside where they all over my patio, and it did the trick there too!

 

[syko]

Put baby powder down, ants hate it.

 

[mlynn]

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."

This is the BEST stuff to get rid of ants!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mlynn]

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

You will see them in droves going to the bait.But then you won't see any!!!!