Ants! What to use?

[littlesongs]

"Odorous House Ants" may or may not be what he's dealing with; if it is, Terro will probably help.

Our house sits among the remnants of 100+ year old orchards and vineyards. Every spring we get a couple bottles of Terro, thousands march into the mud room to feed on it for a few days, and that is the end of it. I see a scout or straggler once in a while, but most of the invasion is short lived. Mando knows much more than any of us, so I will defer to his expertise. That said, I believe the female ones with wings are the most important to kill. They can start colonies in new places. We usually see them after a few solid days of hard rain and they show up after the Terro too. We try to time the Terro so that we have a day off and can swat the few that manage to fly inside. Sure, the whole process is a big pain in the keester, but we love where we live. One week of annoyance out of fifty-two is not a biggie.

Good luck!

 

[Ravon]

Have a problem with ants in the house and its getting worse. Little black ones into everything. I see them coming from outside and have sprayed the Orkin(?) Home Defense around the perimeter and underneath the crawlspace of my house.... absolutely worthless stuff. I've placed Terro and HotShot Liquid Ant Bait around and let it work for the last few weeks.... all an absolute waist of money. We keep all the food stuffs sealed but still mainly see them in the kitchen, which is where the ants concentrate. I've got an outside pregnant dog and an old cat, a 19 mo. and three yr. old in the house (and two teenage boys, but they aren't going anywhere fast it seems either :? ) . Anyone here had any luck getting rid of an ant problem in their house without having to resort to an exterminator? Thanks

I've been a pest control professional for over 33 years. It depends entirely on the EXACT species of ant, so no one can give properly effective advise without seeing the ants. ORTHO Home Defense is an excellent over the counter product for what it is, but for some types of ants, may make the problem worse. If you must try it yourself, I always advise Terro bait, unless you know for sure it's Carpenter Ants or a certain few others.
Aloha Joe, "Sugar Ants" is a "folk" name, that means only whatever the speaker wants it to mean. "Odorous House Ants" may or may not be what he's dealing with; if it is, Terro will probably help.
Boric Acid is great if you know how, & have the proper equipment, to apply it. Most people over apply it, rendering it less or non effective.
It often pays to hire someone with the knowledge, expertise, & equipment to do the job right to begin with. That's why I take my car to a mechanic & my instruments to a luthier.
Happy hunting.

Exterminator it is then. Gonna giv'em a call tomorrow. Thanks

 

[Ravon]

Good idea I live 20mins. from Bill Monroes birthplace so maybe I'll start forcing them to go to a few festivals there... that ought ta do it!

Yep, a couple of plays of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" outta do it! :lol: :wink: 8) The festival is this weekend, Ravon. http://bit.ly/jV3bn9 Wish I could be there....

Toni

Hi Toni. That festival is in Brown Co., Indiana and that one was sponsered by ol' Bill himself. From what I understand there was a spat between him and the folks from his hometown of Rosine, Ky. and he never would endorse a festival there. So the one in Rosine is just "Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Festival". Still, our town has a "Bill Monroe Blvd." and Ohio Co. dubs itself "The Birthplace of Bluegrass Music" however. The only time I ever saw Bill around here was playing in the next county over in Muhlenburg at the "Everly Bros. Reunion Concert" a few years back (which happens to be Merle Travis' hometown as well! What in the world am I doing playing jazz?!

 

[12 string]

The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind,
the ants are a-blowin' in the wind.

 

[fronobulax]

The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind,
the ants are a-blowin' in the wind.

8)

 

[kitniyatran]

The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind,
the ants are a-blowin' in the wind.

8)

Ditto :lol: :lol:

 

[6L6]

Here's all you need to know. Works like a champ!!!

http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/

6

 

[Ravon]

Here's all you need to know. Works like a champ!!!

http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/

6

Borax has been mentioned a couple times in this thread. I keep thinking about calling an exterminator but either don't remember to or too late to call. Kinda been holding off too because of my recent purchase of another X170 Manhattan (the blonde in my sig 8) ). I think I'm gonna try the borax route, just didn't know how to apply it... until you showed me this link. Thanks 6L6

 

[spiderman]

Here in eastern KS the commonest invading ant is Tapinoma sessile, "official" common name is the odorous house ant, small and dark brown. They readily form satellite colonies and disperse rapidly. Often find them in flower pots with house plants. Commercial baits work well, boric acid/borax baits work well also especially with sugar/honey as primary bait, but one must have patience. The idea is not to kill rapidly, but have the workers bring it back to the colony which slowly dies. It may take as long as a month. If using the little bottle cap size pans with, keep them filled. I have seen them empty one of those in three days.
I second the squirrel's suggestion that you determine the ants id if possible. Your local ag extension agent should be able to help.

Harmony H-173 bought in 1960 (retired), Alvarez AC60S 2008, Eastman AC320ce 2008 "Hybrid", Guild D25M 1974, Martin Grand J35E 2009, Martin D12-20 1970, Martin OM-21 2009, Martin 00-15M Custom (full gloss, wide neck) 2011, Voyage-air VAOM-06 2010
"I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me."
Richard Thompson

 

[rws11]

We had 'em in the kitchen last year. I bought baits, cant remember the brand, but they came in an orange box,six baits to a box. Placed them around the kitchen. After a couple of days no more ants. They were pretty inexpensive. Worked great, and restored the wifes sanity.....and thereby mine, if you know what I mean. Good luck.
Richard

 

[capnjuan]

In south Florida besides fire ants, we have white-footed ants. The link does a good job of talking about the ants but it doesn't have a link to http://www.MandoSquirrelKills'Em.com down at the bottom. They recommend using a pro.

Agree with West about fire ants; Amdro ... a one-and-done deal.

 

[adorshki]

Cold pressed sesame oil. Saute with minced garlic and hot peppers for 3 minutes and serve over rice stick noodles.
The eggs are also considered a delicacy in many asian countries but it takes a few thousand to make a decent omelet.

 

[capnjuan]

... The eggs are also considered a delicacy in many asian countries but it takes a few thousand to make adecent omelet.

Wasn't eating ants a form of pest control developed during the Communist's Great Leap Forward in the '50s?

It seems to me that instead of poisoning ants, eating the eggs would slow overall ant reproduction furthering social objectives; more food and fewer ants.

I wonder if the I Ching has any good recipes for ants ... :?

 

[adorshki]

... The eggs are also considered a delicacy in many asian countries but it takes a few thousand to make adecent omelet.

Wasn't eating ants a form of pest control developed during the Communist's Great Leap Forward in the '50s?
wonder if the I Ching has any good recipes for ants ... :?

Are you baiting me? :lol:
You KNOW I hate to engage in wild speculation. :?
Oh no, wait a minnit, I think that's one of our favorite moderators.
I LOVE to speculate but I'm gonna try really hard to reign myself in here. :wink:

 

[Ravon]

Here's all you need to know. Works like a champ!!!

http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/

6

Have 9 small containers out of the mixture. They're swarming them now.... waiting game now :evil:

 

[poser]

Cold pressed sesame oil. Saute with minced garlic and hot peppers for 3 minutes and serve over rice stick noodles.
The eggs are also considered a delicacy in many asian countries but it takes a few thousand to make a decent omelet.

At least the recipe doesn't call for you to separate the yolks. :lol:





Ravon,

Those borax bait traps sound intriguing. Hope they work.

 

[DKB]

Have you tried boric acid? It's toxic to ants (not as much to kids and pets) but it works slowly and you have to let them take it back to their nest, hopefully killing the queen. You can do a google search on "using boric acid to kill ants" or just follow this link for ONE option: http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/04-27/ant-control-ant-killer-article.htm

Good luck!! Tom in Vegas

Years ago I saved a stray dying cat and he thanked me by infesting my whole place with fleas. :lol:

I tried spraying insecticides and also tried whole house "foggers" but the fleas were still there. I then went and got a big box of 20 Mule Team Borax (Boric Acid compound) and spread it evenly on all the carpet. A day later, they were all gone, never to return. I vacuumed the place thoroughly and lived happily ever after. My understanding is that it also works on ants too.

 

[Ravon]

I can report that the borax/sugar mixture is working . The ant swarms are over and now only an individual here and there. Gonna just keep the containers out for the rest of the year. Now I've just discovered my A/C drain line has been leaking for a while and have some standing water underneath my house and inside a closet. Guys coming out today to fix it so hopefully the ant problem will be solved completely. Thanks all.

 

[kitniyatran]

I can report that the borax/sugar mixture is working . The ant swarms are over and now only an individual here and there. Gonna just keep the containers out for the rest of the year. Now I've just discovered my A/C drain line has been leaking for a while and have some standing water underneath my house and inside a closet. Guys coming out today to fix it so hopefully the ant problem will be solved completely. Thanks all.

That may do it.