HELP!! ANTS? In the dead of winter?!!! ARRGH!!!

[Dodie]

Woke up this weekend and walked into the kitchen to find the counter swarming with tiny little ants.

We have lived in this house for almost 3 years and have never had ants before.
There was no food on the counter to attract them.
It is the dead of winter (i.e., -2 degrees outside).

We have dogs and a cat - so I have to be careful of what I do to get rid of them. I bought some of those RAID ant baits and set them out on the counter. Although they say they're "safe" around pets, I locked the cat up last night so she wouldn't be tempted to play with them.

This morning - even MORE ants!!!!

HELP!!! What are your suggestions?

 

[Dodie]

bump?

 

[Pin Wizard]

Maybe they're coming in because it's so cold outside. When we get lots of rain here, they tend to come in. I'm not sure what you could use safely. Since we live in bug country, I have an exterminator come in monthly. That keeps them away.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>I used to have a HUGE ant problem! Back in the 60s we used to get a sweet poison that was so strong my mom used to get the tip of a toothpick, dip it in, and put the toothpick on the ant trail. They would take it back to their nest & give to their queen and they would all die - we had to get that at our local pharmacy.

But, that doesn't help you now, does it.

Today, I caulk all the holes that they come through -- there are still little ant bodies in that caulk... uh, anyways.... you can use comet/ajax - they hate that stuff. I also put softscrub along the corners, etc., and that keeps them out....

Bounce sheets (or any dryer sheets) work well, once you've cleaned them up - lay a sheet across the areas where they come into the house - they'll go away, and it won't hurt your pets.

If you can, go outside, and see where they are entering your house - they usually live in dirt, and must be coming across somehow to get into your house. Once you find where they are coming in, you can more effectively stop them.

Good luck.

 

[bekkiz]

I posted with this same problem about 1 month ago. I too tried to simply tape over any places they were coming in, but WOW the bounce sheets worked wonders. If you have trails of ants, a sticky lint/pet hair roller works like a charm. It's also very helpful for cleaning up areas you've sprayed

 

[RNMOM]

I had a terrible time last spring and Dsis gave me some "Terro" I think that is what it is. It come in a little bottle and you just put a little on a piece of coated paper for the ants to get to.

Here is what I did to keep my cats from it. I took a margerine tub and cut slits up the side just big enough for ants to crawl into and put the Terro on a piece of cardboard with double stick tape and then duct taped it onto the margerine tub. Kind of made a little tent with the Terro inside. It worked, was moveable and tossable. The cats left it alone. Good luck. It worked very well.

Never heard of the downy sheets. Will bounce work also?