Getting Rid of Ants
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Getting Rid of Ants
Warning about "Ant Chalk"
(Editor Note) Ant chalk has been recommended over the years
but it is hazardous and should not be used.
Ant chalk is illegal in the US. It contains unknown, unregulated pesticides that
have poisoned hundreds of children. The packaging
can contain extremely high levels of lead. Children may mistake the chalk for
blackboard chalk. See
California
EPA Warning about Ant Chalk and
Ant chalk could harm people more than ants
Jan 2011
We live in an 80+ year-old house in Berkeley, and we seem to
get ants coming in through the woodwork when the weather is
right (too dry in the summer, or too wet in the winter).
I didn't really mind them very much, but my wife goes
absolutely nuts she sees them in the house. We have an
infant now, and recently she noticed them around the
changing table, crib, etc. and it took all of me to stop her
from doing something radical.
As a true Berkeley resident over the years I read a lot
about what brings them indoors, the Stanford research, the
whole Argentinian ant gang war going on around the world,
etc.
We have never gotten them in the kitchen, just bedrooms,
livingrooms, the bathroom, around plants, and recently our
baby's room. We've tried cinnamon powder, we've sprayed the
outside of the foundation with an ant pesticide, but never
considered anything else. I don't like pesticides,
especially given that we have a baby. Cinnamon powder seems
to have worked, but it is very impractical to sneak it into
every crevice and crack on floors and windows not to mention
the stains it leaves on wood trim. Vinegar just smells awful
given the many areas we'd need to apply it to.
Has anyone tried anything that worked, and didn't involve
chemicals? Olivier
Hello,
We too have had ants and hate pesticides. I buy clove oil
at whole foods, usually about $8.50 each. Right near where
you'll find the oil, you'll see a little blue spray bottle-
I buy one of those, fill it with about 3 bottles of
undiluted clove oil, and then I spray away. The ants hate
it and usually do not come back. It's natural, but be
careful- it will strip the poly off your hardwood flooring
and who knows what else. Do not wash off for the first day
or so, and then repeat. When applied liberally, the ants
tend to go away until the next year/rainy season. Hope that
helps. anon
The archived advice probably has this in there somewhere. I
think the main thing to know is no matter what you use, you
will at some point have to do it again, because the ants
aren't going to be eradicated from CA. But I am in the same
boat, have a low tolerance for ants in the house but don't
want to use pesticide spray, so i mix boric acid (ala
recommendation of Richard Macfarland, the 'Bug Man') with
something they like to eat (leftover meat of anykind or cat
food) and put it out on cardboard pieces for them to find
(usually just plop it down in the middle of one of their
trails). Boric acid comes in big yellow container from
hardware store. It is NOT good if you have pets or crawling
babies who could accidentally eat it. But if you can manage
around that, the ants will find it, bring it back to their
nest and within a week you will notice the ant stream is
thinning and within 2 weeks they will be gone. Gone for a
year that is-- then they will try and come back (the nest
rebounds)and you'll have to do it all over again. Good luck
in the same boat
We get ants in our house when it rains, and I find the
easiest non-toxic way of getting rid of them is to be
diligent at killing all the ants you see right away. Then
take some detergent and clean the area where you found them.
Ants leave scent tracks for other ants to follow, so you
have to clean off the scent tracks so new ants don't follow
the track the first ant left. I then use orange oil (you can
buy these at the hardware store) and spray it around the
baseboards, etc. The orange oil smells bad to ants and
deters them from crossing the oil. If you can find out where
the ants are coming in, it also helps to fill in the hole
with caulk or glue. If you want to get rid of the ants from
the outside, you can buy ant traps that have poison in them.
Since it's outside, your baby is less likely to play with
them. The ants are our house are impervious to ant traps, so
the quick clean up and orange oil works pretty well. --Got
rid of my ants (for now!)
Hands down, diatamaceous earth ( a natural sedimentary rock)
works!!! You can buy it online or many hardware stores.
It's in a powder form in a cannister and non- toxic. The
ants disperse when they try to cross through it.
First off, I share your pain! I am certain we live on an
ant hill and have had our share of ant infestations like I
have never seen. I too go crazy like your wife, so can
relate....they will drive you mad! We have a now 4 y.o and
what has seemed to work - at least for us is to use Grants
Ant stakes outside and some inside - especially behind
appliances and places on the counters where they are
somewhat hidden and behind furniture where kids can't get
to. We line up the Grant's on the outside of the house
where our kitchen is (for us that's Ground Zero) and replace
them every few months after the stuff inside is gone. We
space them maybe 2 ft apart and with this many it has seemed
to work. Inside, we also use Orange Guard which is
non-toxic (active ingred is orange peel extract) and spray
that right on the ants when we see a bunch of them. We
leave it on there for a little while and then clean it up
and try to make sure the area is clear of food particles.
It is kind of oily, so can be a bit messy, but apparently
the orange essence helps keeps them away. It isn't cheap -
$8 a bottle and we get it at the Ecology Center. All in
all, this combo has worked for us, but isn't immediate.
Rather it takes a few days to see them mostly disappear. We
have gotten used to living with the stragglers and to accept
that it is a battle we just won't win. Good Luck......
anon
I swear by Terro for ant control. Safe for kids and pets.
Call the 800 # on their website if you have questions. It's
inexpensive and easy to find at most drugstores and hardware
stores.
Ant-break survivor
Google Berkeley Ecology Center and they have a section on
what to do w/ ants.
At my old place, I had a huge gaping hole in the bedroom
closet where the ants would come in from underneath the
house.
What we did was:
1. vacuum up any we see instead of killing them as they
leave a scent when they're killed.
2. spray Orange guard over any trails. leave it there for
a bit before we wipe up.
3. dump baby powder or corn starch over that gaping hole so
they can't come in. If it's not a hole, I usually just
spray where they're coming into the house w/ orange guard
4. find out where they are coming in on the outside and put
those boric acid ant bait stations outside the house. You
can get those at Ecology Center or even Ace I think.
anon
April 2009
Ants have become a serious problem for us over the past 3 years.
We have weekly ant invasions and I am ready to put an end to it.
We have tried just about every tip & trick in the book. I am
considering calling an exterminator but I am scared because I
have two young children and a pet. A friend who is a biologist
with pets used a local exterminator service that sprays orange
oil. They were very happy with the results. Still calling an
exterminator freaks me out but so do the ants. Any advice would
be appreciated.
Had it with ants
We have ant problems too. They never go away forever, but do
subside. This is what we do. Address the problem as soon as
confronted with it. Eliminate what is attracting them. Wipe
away the ants with a soapy sponge, or use Simple Green instead
of the soap. Keep at them: as soon as you see them, wipe
away. The theory is that if you kill the leader ants, they
don't have time to go back and tell the rest of the the
tribe ''found a target!''. Then, install the Grants Kills Ants
spikes, (buy at Longs, Ace Hardware, Home Depot), at the spot
where you believe the ants are intruding into the house. Also,
if you happen to have bushes or trees abutting the house that
attract aphids, consider hosing away the aphids. I understand
that they attract ants.
ant brigade
Orange oil does not work long term. Neither does mint oil or anything else. These
things work short term as they disrupt the scent pattern of the ant. But after a
while, new ants come and they are back to their old tricks. I was so obsessed with
ants for a while I even had them identified. You most likely have Argentine ants and
they have no real enemies here.
What has worked best for me is TERRO ant baits. I think this is the best thing that I
have used in 10 years of fighting ants. They are relatively non-toxic. See their
website terro.com for further info. It is basically Borax dissolved in simple syrup.
You don't want your kids or pets eating it, but on the toxicity scale, it is on the low
end. Now there are three separate kinds. There are the liquid ant baits, the drops
that you put on the cardboard paper, and the OUTSIDE ones. I recommend with
reservation the liquid ant baits. While very effective, these are a mess. They spill
really easily and they ruined parts of my floor with their stickiness until I figured
out
exactly how to use them. If you do use the liquid ant baits, put down a layer of
aluminum foil under the trap. I recommend the drops that you put on the
cardboard paper because you can control how much bait you put on the cardboard
and avoid the stuff dripping everywhere. You can also tape them down. But, put
them down on foil. I also adore the outside baits, which I have all around my
property. I even have them in my laundry room and in certain out of the way places
inside my house. Once again, put them down on foil.
It is pretty disgusting how they work. The ants find the bait and them MILLIONS
come and feed. In about 3 days they are all gone for a good 3-4 months. Amazing.
While the liquid ant baits are available everywhere, the drops and the outside traps
are not. I get mine at OSH.
They need to be replaced about every 3 months.
Good Luck
I sympathize with your ant situation. I am ant free since I
followed the bug man's advice. askthebugman.com His name is
Richard Fagerlund. You can't go wrong with him.
Maia
Without fail, diotomaceuous earth is the best natural product
out there to disperse ants. It's a white powdery substance
that ants hate. You can buy the powder form in a cannister
from a garden or hardware store (call OSH, Home Depot, etc.)
Chinese grocery stores also care them in a chalk form. Ask for
the white chalk that ants don't like. It's easier to apply
than the powder form since you just draw a line with the chalk
and the ants will not cross it. I think it's non-toxic too but
you can do your own research on the internet. Good luck!
slushy
Editor note: "Ant chalk" is NOT the same thing as diotomaceuous earth.
It is instead composed of unknown, unregulated pesticides. Do not
use it!
Dec 2008
We have a 8.5 month old and also a house FULL of ants. I am
not exaggerating when I say there are hundreds in all rooms.
I am now finding them crawling on myself, in my bed and on
my son. I have tried all the non-chemical tricks, but think
we need to call in the exterminator. Any non-toxic ideas or
experiences? We are located in the Temescal neighborhood.
Before you call the exterminator, have you tried first cleaning
your kitchen thoroughly? Then squash one single ant in the line of
ants. Leave the squashed ant in the ant line. The other ants sense
its demise and go crazy and make a complete turnaround. It
actually works, I have tried it. Now that is chemical free!
Good luck
Oh, I so hear your pain! We had a horrific ant infestation when my
daughter was 2.5 mo. old and the combo for us that worked and
continues to work the best is: Orange Guard and Grants Ant stakes.
I have bought the ant stakes at Target, but other big box stores
may carry them and the Orange Guard at either the Ecology Store (on
San Pablo near Dwight) or Andronico's. The Orange Guard has orange
oils and citrus essence, so it is a bit oily/greasy, but seems to
help do the trick. I spray it directly on the trail and then leave
it there for say an hour or two or more, then clean it up. With
the ant stakes, I would buy many boxes, then put them around your
house outside (especially the side of the house where the most ants
are and the garbage/recycling) and then around the countertops in
your kitchen and in cupboards. The ants will initially collect
around the stakes, but they take the mixture back to the
''mothership'' and it keeps them at bay for a while. I don't know
if
your child is crawling, but now is the time to get baby gates and
locks on the cupboards/drawers. This combo is not an immediate
solution such as Raid, but rather it takes a few days to see any
results. Good luck an hope you find your solution quickly......
anon
Try Terro products such as this one:
http://www.terro.com/products.php?product=liquid_ant_bait
They are not baby safe in the sense that a baby can eat them, but
you can place them where the baby can't reach them and the ants (if
they are sweet-eating ants) will flock to them, carrying the
sweet/borax mixture back to their nests where it kills the colony.
They are very effective and do not require spraying or exposing
your baby to any chemicals so long as you keep the devices
themselves out of reach (very important).
You also have to be patient with this system: it takes 5-10 days
for them to be really effective. But the wait is worth it because
you kill the whole colony. You can find this product at most
hardware stores, and I've seen it at Home Depot in Emeryville (if
you must).
Judiah
We have used a spray made of mint oil. It immediately kills ants.
The only store I've been able to find it at is Rainbow Grocery, in
SF. However, after battling ants for a year, and becoming sick at
the smell of mint, we ended up hiring an exterminator.
-anon
I use ant chalk. You can get it at Happy Grocery on Solano.
Supposedly it is toxic, even though the paper inside (mostly in
Chinese) says non toxic. The thing about any chalk is you only need
a small amount where the ants are coming in.
It's tempting to use it everywhere, but REALLY you only need to do
it where they are coming in. I figure that with this small amount
I can prevent babies/pets from getting into it.
In a few hours there will be a lot of dead ants but no live ones,
or very few. Ant chalk costs about 80cents per stick and lasts a
long time.
Last year we had a HUGE infestation and the chalk wasn't enough. I
bought these covered cups of ant poison at Longs Drugs in EC Plaza.
The ants could crawl in (it looked like syrupy stuff inside) and
they'd take the poison back to the nest.
I put a cup in their path in a few places including where they were
coming in. It took a few days but the ants were all gone. I dont'
remember the name...they looked like clear plastic tablespoon size
cups of syrupy looking stuff. Good luck. I'd be going crazy.
ants are my nemesis!
I wanted to respond to the person who suggested ant chalk as a
baby safe way to kill ants -- ant chalk (which is illegal in
California) contains dangerous and often unspecified chemicals.
Please see this warning from a previous BPN posting:
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/health/ants.html#chalk and
this response from Richard ''Ask the Bugman'' Fagerlund in his
column:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/04/HOG4O8HUFK1.DTL
Fagerland recommends using boric acid or diatomaceous earth to
control ant -- although both these items should be kept out of
reach of children as well, they're less toxic than chalk, Raid,
etc.
I think the only truly baby safe ant control method is wiping up
the ants as they come in. When this isn't practical, we
sometimes put a small amount of the poison of our choice right
at the entry point, and that's usually enough. Sometimes takes a
day or two of vigilance.
Careful
This is in response to the previous recommendation of Chinese
ant chalk as a baby-safe way to kill ants. This product has come
up on BPN before, but readers new to the list might not know
that ant chalk IS extremely toxic. Although it can still be
found in some stores, it is illegal in the U.S. - because it has
caused hundreds of child poisonings! Definitely not baby safe.
Please, the only way to keep dangerous and deceptively labeled
products like these out of our homes is for all of us to stop
buying them.
Concerned
Word of caution: I'm pretty sure that ant chalk has lead in it.
I wouldn't use it around kids. You can use regular sidewalk
chalk. It isn't as quick but it does work.
anon
Please do not use the chalk from China for ants, ESP. if you
have a baby in your home. That stuff is highly toxic, completely
unregulated, and chalk gets everywhere so you can't really
contain it. I use Orange Guard spray, I get it at OSH. It's
mostly concentrated orange peel, non-toxic, smells nice! and not
only kills ants (and other pesky critters) but also repels them
with repeated use.
--ant-free
I have developed a sure fire way to deal with ants in an off-
label manner that provides immense satisfaction and no mess! I
buy the Gant's Ant stakes and take them apart with a screwdriver
or knife. Inside is a block of a honey colored waxy goop.
Carefully removed a small corner of the goop (a matchhead)with a
toothpick and place it on a 5''x5'' piece of wax paper. Sprinkle
the glob with a few drops of water and a small puddle will form.
Place this along the ant trail and sit back and enjoy the show!
Within an hour the ants will completely engulf the puddle
sometimes in groups stacked 2-3 levels high on each others backs
to load up on the poison (arsenic) and carry it back to the
nest. By morning they are all gone! You have to be careful
children don't eat the bait of course. The stakes don't really
work very well unless you keep them wet all the time. They are
O.K. for outside around the foundation if the rain or sprinklers
keep them moist. For indoors I prefer the above m!
ethod which works for all but grease eating ants. One box of
stakes used this way lasts a lifetime! Don't tell Gant's!
Ant Killer with a smile
March 2008
We live on a house w/slab foundation (no crawlspace underneath).
We must live over ant Manhattan b/c they are coming in
everywhere in our house and I can't find a source!
We'll have scout ants scattered throughout the house, I'll find
trails everywhere and no food sources. For example, this morning
I found a trail from the back of our toilet to the back of the
wall behind the toilet -- I swear I clean behind there weekly! --
plus scouts in the adjacent master bedroom, across the house in
the dining room, etc.
How do I get rid of them naturally? I don't want to spray toxic
stuff inside the house, esp. when I find scout ants on my kitchen
countertops (countertops that have been cleaned the night
before!). The ant bait gel doesn't seem to work. The orange
natural repellent isn't working. Even my vinegar-based household
cleaner doesn't seem to repel them.
Any suggestions you have would be great!
Try to figure out where they are coming in an seal the holes. This
will help (a little)
Make some baits. I drill holes in the bottom of pill bottlers or film
cans (if you use
an analog camera). Put the baits next to where they are coming in.
Bait Mix:
Dissolve 1 Teaspoon boric acid and 6 tablespoons of sugar in 2 cups of
room temp
water. Be sure to completely dissolve acid and sugar.
Soak cotton balls in solution. Place one ball in each container.
Refresh every 3-4
days.
You no doubt have Argentine Ants (the little ones). They are
IMPOSSIBLE to
completely exterminate. And if you could, they'd just move in from
next door. All
you can do is manage them. The containers are to keep pets away from
the bait. It's
not super toxic. It will take a few days to take effect, but it does a
good job at really
beating down the population until a new queen starts pumping out
replacements.
You'll first notice that the ants become fewer and disoriented...like
they are drunk.
Then they vanish for a while.
ray F
Jan 2008
Does anyone have any ideas for controlling ants without using
insecticides? We have chronic ant problems. We've tried boric
acid, nontoxic sprays, etc., etc. This year we gave up the fight
and have diligently used grants ant stakes, then hired Western
Exterminators who've done repeated treatments inside and out with
their Eco products. Our home reeks of clove, and we still have
daily surprises-- ants in the cereal, ants in the coffee maker,
ants in the tub... We are convinced the ants love our radiant
heat cement slab. We're desperate, but we do not want to use
harsh insecticides in our home. Thank you for any ideas you may
have.
Disgusted and desperate
Cinnamon is a great natural deterrent to fighting ant invasions.
Sprinkle a line of cinnamon wherever you see ants trying to
enter your home. They'll turn on their heals and retreat. It
won't kill the colony, but it will keep them at bay without
affecting your family's health.
Ant-free the spicy way
We joke all the time that our house must be built on a giant ant
hill but you wont be able to get rid of the ants -- apparently
we're living on top of a *supercolony*, a huge biomass of
Argentine ants that stretches from Ukiah down to Baja, Mexico!
(You can read more here, just scroll down till you see
''California Supercolony of Argentine Ants'':
http://calag.ucop.edu/0201JF/briefs.html) The original ants came
over on coffee ships during the 1890s and are so genetically
similar now that they can swap workers and even queens! (An ant
from San Diego dropped into a colony in Oakland will just start
to work and will be recognized as a family member, not an enemy).
The best you can do is make your house less interesting than
your neighbor's. Our best tactics so far -- kill any scout
before they can report on all your goodies, wipe the trails out
with vinegar or Citrasolve, patiently watch where they're coming
in and caulk it up. Poisons are futile -- any ants you kill will
quickly be replaced. I've read that Grants baits aren't much good
against these ants, but they do recommend ''sweets syrup + borax''
type baits like Terro. Other than that, there's really not much
you can do. (Even the native ant's predator, the coastal horned
lizard, wont touch Argentine ants and as a result is now in sharp
decline because the Argentine ants are wiping out all the native
ant species!) Talc and cinnamon work well as a deterrent.
Decidedly Anti Argentine Ant
Feb 2007
Based on BPN recommendations, we hired Employ exterminators to
treat our two story for ants. Andre has come out 3x over two
months. He used Phantom and it helped a bit but we still have
ants roaming around. Has anyone else had this experience?
Should we try another company or another product? We tried to
use Grant Ant Stakes, dicotomus earth(sp?), Chinese chalk,
cinnamon, baby powder, and ant pellets but all with limited,
temporary success. Has anyone had success with getting rid of
the ants or should we just consider the ants as permanent
houseguests?
Anonymous
I understand that Chinese Chalk for ants contains lead and would,
therefore, be much more unhealthy than ants. Check it out before
you use it.
concerned
For some reason Borax worked for us after absolutely everything
failed. It is definitely worth a shot! It is really inexpensive
(found with cleaning supplies, I got ours at Wal-mart.) I just
dumped some around where the ants were and at the windows and
places they were coming in at. They were gone within a day!
About a year later they came back (probably the weather) and I
did the same thing. Once again, gone before the next day. It
really is something amazing!
kerby
We have used boric acid (buy it at pharmacies) mixed with some
jam. The ants eat it and take it back to the queen and the
whole group will die. Before we finished our basement we would
leave the boric acid mixture down there. This winter we had an
attack in our bathroom and kitchen. It is unnerving watching
them swarm onto the plate of jam, but within days the whole
event was over. I have also used that spray that has orange in
it(orangeguard) that is safe around dogs, but not with as much
success as boric acid. Here is one web site...but just search
on ants and boric acid and you'll have lots of recipes.
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/04-27/ant-control-ant-killer-
article.htm
Good Luck
After living in different parts of the state and the Bay Area,
and dealt with ants invading the house, I have been able to get
their activity down to a minimum. It takes time. I have never
used a service, but currently use ''Terro brand, Ant Killer,
Liquid Ant Baits''. http://www.terro.com/faq-ants.php. This
link tells a lot about the product including that they are not
toxic. And I'm conscious about toxic products, especially in
the kitchen. I place the baits at entry points outside the
house, often as close as 3-4 feet apart. Sometimes I have
placed a broken terra cotta pot over it so it is more esthetic
and animals wonC-t mess with it. I have noticed consistently
that after a year in a new house with ants, that I will only
see them a couple days before it rains, or when it gets very
hot. That is the time to renew that baits. I put them out twice
a year. This sounds like a hassle, but it's inexpensive and I
rarely have ants in the house. My boyfriend thinks I'm obsessed
with ants but was surprised that I could predict rain by
noticing their activity increase. Oh, if the ants don't seem to
want to go in the bait, I spill a tiny bit into their path and
they just jump on it. Best of luck.
--Dealt with ants.
Based on the recommendation of a friend who had personal
experience with them, and based on a recommendation on BPN, I
used AANTEX. I was very happy with them. Not only did they do
the job and do it right, but they took the time to explain in
detail how everything worked and why certain things work and
certain things don't. The ladies who work in the office are
also very helpful and not a hard sell. I called to ask about
another pest and they didn't try to sell me on having someone
come out--instead they gave me honest suggestions of what to
try on my own. They got rid of our ants and we are VERY happy.
Happy and Ant-free
The ants got so bad in our building we decided to move, but
because of the housing shortage, we haven't been able to find
another place to live. In the meantime, this is how we keep the
ants out. When there is an invasion, we vacuum them up with a
battery charged vacuum. We put a little baking soda inside the
vacuum so that the ants suffocate. When we can't vacuum, we use
Victor's Poison-Free Ant and Roach Killer which we get at the
hardware store. We only use soft cedar scent and avoid the mint
scent variety since it smells awful and the odor lingers for
days. It contains sodium lauryl sulfate which is an irritant.
This kills the ants. It has no effect on their nest so eventually
they come back. Finally, we use duct tape to cover holes and
cracks where the ants come in. It's unsightly but temporarily
effective until the ants find another way in.
Feel Your Frustration
We've slowly gotten rid of most of our ant issues by me tediously
vacuuming up the ants & tracking where they come into the house
and then I seal the cracks with clear/white caulk (depending on
where the crack is & what's around it). Cornstarch also works
really well as a temporary measure or to keep them off kitchen
counters (it's too slippery for them to walk or something?) but
they don't go away for good unless you seal the cracks.
mad caulker
I have had success (though not COMPLETE elimination of ALL ants)
using a combination of meticulously caulking up every hole in the
house where they come through, and this formula I found on the
internet using boric acid, which you can find at a drug or
hardware store. It is not toxic to humans in these small amounts
(though I am careful and treat it as toxic). I pour this liquid
onto a paper towel in a container, and put it right in the stream
of ants. If they don't find it, I ''help'' some ants find it and
they'll tell the others. Here's the formula:
1 Tablespoon of Boric Acid, 1 tsp of Sugar, 4 oz water
Whatever you do, DON'T use the Chinese chalk -- it is so toxic it
is illegal in the US!
I have read that the Bay Area has a huge swarm of these tiny ants
throughout and no matter how many times you exterminate, there
will always be more, so not to bother with exterminators. I think
that physically sealing your house might be more the answer than
poisoning the ants that are in such mass numbers outside.
Good luck.
The Bug Man has a column in the SF Chronicle on Saturdays. He may be a
good
resource for you. This is a quote from his recent column: ''Pesticides
aren't
necessary and will probably do more harm than good to the environment.
Most
pesticides are far more dangerous than any of the pests they are designed
to
control.'' Richard Fagerlund is a board-certified entomologist at the
University of
New Mexico. For more information or to contact him, see
www.askthebugman.com
jen
March 2004
We are having quite an ant problem. I think it has gone
beyond the ''the ants are coming inside to get out of the
rain'' to ''the ants live in the walls and sometimes come out
for a snack''. I spray Orange Guard; they go away for a day
and then find a new route in. I thought it was the rainy
season but now I'm convinced it's a large-scale
infestation. I've seen the many recommendations posted on
the Web site (baby powder has not worked for me,
incidentally) and have not yet investigated ant stakes but
will give that a try. I'd just like to know what I'm
dealing with first, so I thought an exterminator might at
least be able to tell me. My questions are: (1) does
anyone have a recommendation of a good exterminator who
will understand my perhaps conflicting wants to poison the
ants but not my child, cat or the groundwater, and who
might honestly give me an assessment of the extent of the
problem and (2) has anyone had a major ants-in-the-woodwork
problem such as this and fixed it via ant stakes or some
other home remedy (besides baby powder)?
Thanks!
Jennifer
during the rainy season 2 years ago, i had an ant
infestation in which the ants just kept coming and coming
and coming. i tried various solutions, but found the most
useful was to put multiple (5 or 6) grant ant stakes out near the spot of ingress (if I could find it, or the place
I saw the ants on their endless march. so, for example, in
the kitchen, i put four each on the window sill, by the
faucets, one my dish shelf and on the counter adjacent to
the sink. In my bedroom, where i could not see where the
ants came from, I put 4 each near the wall bordering the
garden, in my closet and under my bed where I had seen
them, and where the stakes were not visible or easily
accessible to little ones. (i was going to put them outside
each wall, but could not because of the architecture. It
took a few days to discourage the colony, but i've not seen
them since.
Nselk
re the ant invasion, I went and got books in the library
about this and found out that sprinkling BoricAcid powder
in the pathways where they come in works great,; it's a
stomach irritant if eaen by humans. It really works so
much better less smelly and toxic, and it works, rather
then the sprays, traps, etc.
Leia
I found Employ Exterminators very easy to work with.
We had a huge ant infestation under the house and
they had to come back for 3 visits within 2 months(all
covered under the one-time fee of $120). Richard knows
about the habits of ants and is considerate about the
hazards of spraying where there are small children. He will
be able to answer all your questions.
I might be able to control the ant situation with home
remedies now, but I'm relieved to have had professional
help first. Each nest has many thousands of ants, as you
know if they are invading your home!
Suzanne
Sept 2003
We would like to get an advice on how to get rid of ants. We are keeping our house as clean as it can be
possible with a small child, but
ants are everywhere. As soon as we think we sealed the holes, they appear from different end of the
house, with no evident source of food.
I am a little bit concerned about ant killing products because of their toxicity. In fact, I do not know how
safe, or unsafe they are. At this
point, we will take any piece of advice.
Thanks
The ants are crawling in your garden by the millions. These
are the Argentenian kind that have been invading our
environment along the coast. There's only one thing you can
do: do not take them inside your home. Especially this time
of the year, they go crazy with the heat and it takes
literally seconds for them to crawl up you shoes and legs.
What you need to do is make sure you and kid(s) are totally
free of ants before they go into the house. This is an
extra task but worth it. We keep our house clean and have
no problems unless one brings an ant in from the outside.
Also, don't put items down in the yard and bring them in
the house without checking it out thoroughly. They will
make sure to bring the rest of their tribe once they get
inside your house. This method works for us, we hardly ever
have a problem, with the exception of very wet or cold
weather conditions. These ants are serious, they can make
your life miserable by invading plants and terrariums
inside. Stakes, poison outside does not help because there
are so many (take a shovel and dig around in your yard,
they're everywhere). Hope this helps.
Been there..
Check out this website for ant control:
http://www.thebestcontrol.com/bugstop/control_ant.htm
momofjesse
I've had good results (not astonishing) with puffs of baby
powder on the holes where the ants come in. Sometimes it
takes more than one puff (on the new hole) but it's a nice,
nontoxic (if messy) way to stop them from coming in.
Jennie
I've had the greatest luck with keeping ants out with a
product that's so safe for babies its made for them! Find
where the ants are coming in and sprinkle a tiny line of
baby powder across the entrance. The baby powder clogs the
ants pores, through which they breathe, and thus they don't
cross the line. I think it also interferes with their
directional ''trails'' but not being an ant expert can't say
for sure WHY it works, I just know that when we get ants I
baby powder their entrances and Voila, no ants.
Karin
My advice is to give them all names and accept that the
ants will be a part of your family for awhile! I'm
kidding, of course, but these Bay Area ants are a pain! I
read an article a few years ago that explained that the
ants are nearly impossible to get rid of, and that their
instrusion has nothing to do with the cleanliness of your
house, but the weather. That said, I've had luck with two
products: No Poison spray and Grant's ant traps. The
spray comes in either peppermint oil or orange oil. It
kills the ants on contact and they hate the smell. Your
house will be left with a strong mint or orange smell, but
it's liveable. I put the Grants around the outside of my
house as well as 'safe' places around the house (Under the
sink, top cabinets) where the kids can't reach them. This
combo seems to have my recent invasion under control.
ant-free
I have used Grant's ant stakes and only have to leave one
around the ants for about a day if they are inside, a
little more if they are outside, but then I don't see them
again til the next season. You don't have to add water to
the stakes or anything and they aren't really stakes
anymore. You can just lay them on your counter overnight
or when you go out then the kids won't try to bother them.
Bye the time you get up or get back the ants should be
gone. The ants take some of the bait back to the ant home
and then supposedly poisons them all.
Michelle
Hi-- we are constantly protecting our ''front line'' against
the ants ourselves, and have developed several strategies.
First, as recommended by ''The Bug Man'' in the Chronicle, if
you can afford having some time go by, put out bait laced
with the poison ''boric acid''. It is a powder and ants
especially love it when mixed with a can of dog/cat food.
Leave it out where the ants will find it and for the next
week there will a parade of ants collecting the poison
taking it back to their nests and then killing the entire
colony slowly where they live. However, given the size of
ant colonies we're dealing with, this can take a couple of
weeks to be completely effective--you have to kill several
generations. So secondly, if you can't stand the ant
incursions into the house and are past being patient, as we
found ourselves, buy ''Bugs-R-Done''. The pesticide is
limonene, and according to their label and some research I
did on the EPA website for registered pesticides, it can
safely be used inside the house and even around food (this
became paramount for us as our ants invaded our freezer).
So for the instant kill we sprayed this pesticide, though
to be as cautious as possible we did it after our kids went
to bed and closed off the room from our dog as well until
the smell went away (smells citrus-y). You can buy
BugsRDone at either Berkeley or El Cerrito Natural
Grocery. Good luck, and believe me, I know how frustrating
it can be!
Luisa
I would like to share info about a wonderful product I use
to prevent ant invasions . It's called Orange Guard. I first
found it at the Ecology Center on San Pablo Ave in Berkeley.
I went there because I wanted to find a non-toxic product to
get rid of ants in my apartment. This product fits the bill
perfectly. It's non-toxic and safe to use around food, pets,
and humans, as the active ingredient is an extract of orange
peel, which apparently is very toxic to ants. It's a spray, and has
a pleasant orange smell. I have used
this product successfully many times. I just spray on the
ants, their trails, and the place or places where they enter
the house. Sometimes I have to do this several times,
waiting awhile to see if the ants reappear, and carefully
tracing their trails back to the entry point. But it always
works. I have recommended this product to many friends, who
have used it successfully. Only one family said it didn't
work for them; maybe they have different type of ants? It
can be purchased at the Ecology Center on San Pablo in
Berkeley and also at Ace Hardware (Grand Ave, Oakland) and
also Who
Lea
I recommend looking up Dr. Richard Fagerlund at
askthebugman.com. The Chronicle runs his column, and the web
site is full of useful information. We used his trick of
baiting the ants with a concoction of PB&J and boric acid in
a straw (PLEASE see his web site for details!), and after the
initial disconcerting flurry of activity from the ants, they
did eventually die down. Dr. Fagerlund says that baiting is
the only effective way to goV.
Jenny
May 2003
We have an ant problem. I know there is a large nest in the
back yard under some concrete, but the ants are also
constantly in my daughter's room, which is in the front of
the house on the second floor, and have come out of heating
ducts in other rooms, so I fear that there are nests in the
walls. I've used baby powder, cayenne, etc. and caulked
cracks, and this dissuades them temporarily but it's an old
house and there are a lot of cracks and a lot of ants. I
think I need some kind of systemic solution, but I don't
really want to spread toxins around my house. Does anyone
have experience with non-toxic exterminators for ants? Have
they been effective? Who would you recommend? I'm in San
Francisco. Thanks.
It is impossible to get rid of ants outside your home, and
undesirable b/c they play important roles in recycling
dead matter. Most integrated pest management experts
recommend using diatomaceous earth for eliminating ant and
other insect problems inside the home. Because this
material is like ground up glass (a physical hazard if
breathed in), it should be used in inaccessible areas.
It's very inexpensive, and will work as long as the
foundation remains dry. It's the same material that
the ''flea busters'' use on carpets, I believe. I wouldn't
use it inside the house except on edges and in very small
amounts for ''emergencies'' such as animal mites that are
biting the heck out of a person. It works immediately!
Remember not to leave ant traps with chemicals outside;
besides rain and sprinklers leaching out toxins into the
soil and ultimately into the groundwater, it also can
attract ants to your house! I find Grant Ant stakes to
work very well (it contains arsenic) so be very careful.
Some like Combat ant killer, but my ants don't seem to
like them. Boric acid is sworn by some to solve the
problem, and it's less toxic. Remember to remove the bait
after the ants disappear. I put mine in a clear plastic
bag until the next battle... also important safety measure
around kids. Arsenic is a carcinogen.
Another preventative step is to kill the scouts as soon as
you see them, and then wipe up with soapy water.
If you're interested in decreasing toxic chemicals in the
environment to protect kids, please see: www.pfse.net.
We're gathering names to talk with Cities, schools, and
Park & Rec to replace toxic pesticides (including RoundUp)
with safer alternatives.
Susan
Here is what I did with my Ant friends after asking a few
friends about what to do...
I sprinkled Bay Leaf, Cinnamon and Cayeen pepper
around the points of entrance and within a week (or
less) the ants moved out by them selves.
For some reason ants really dont like these spices.
goodluck
Hana
If you try let me know if it worked for you problem.
For fact sheets on less toxic methods for pest control, go
to this URL and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MSC_ID/13/MTO_ID/85/MC_ID/4/C_ID/1402/highlightKeyword/less-toxic
Bait traps work well for getting rid of ants because they
carry the poison back to the nest to kill the queen and
others. The poison does not get broadcast around your
house. good luck!
Susan
Dec 2002
Does anyone have any recommendations for getting rid of
ants in the crawl space underneath the house? I've read the
tips on the parents.berkeley.edu website and have tried a
number of things but with only limited and temporary
success. Once they are in the crawl space, they continue
to come out here and there thru-out various rooms of the
house and it's really hard keeping them out for good. I've
been trying to get rid of this problem for several weeks
now and would appreciate any help and advice (including
possible reco's for companies that use environmentally safe
pest control). Thank you!
Grace
The reason cinnamon, baby powder, diatomaceous earth, and
turmeric all work is because they aren't so much a
repellent, as the powder is so fine and dusty that it
affects their breathing, and ability to plunder through.
You have to keep reapplying, but it definitely detracts
them. We keep it around our door cracks and window sills
that aren't well sealed. I heard a story about ant life a
while ago on NPR and the expert talked about what happens
when you kill them, and they emit the scent of death, so
that their hive mates, can easily retrieve the carcass, and
will do so until they are successful. The scent is so
strong and pervasive, that he was unable to wash it off
after repeated attempts, so we have refrained from killing
them, and have just been escorting them back outside. It
seems to work. They also send out scouters before the rest
of the ''gatherers'' so if you find a couple of strays, send
them back outside and that can also mess up their mission.
Linee
Try Grants ant stakes - they are the best of that type of
product. Just let the ants swarm it overnight and they
will be almost gone by morning and really gone within a
couple of days.
Julie
I have had success using baby powder. We get ants each
year and I sprinkle the area/block the area where they
come in. The ants can't walk through the powder and it is
non-toxic. Good luck.
Rochelle
You can get toxic and poison free spray made by VictorPest
at ACE Pastime Hardware in El Cerrito/Albany (border), or
call around to local hw stores. It works and has a nice
minty smell (mint being the active ingredient).
VictorPest has a website - check them out
(www.victorpest.com?).
Kathy
Dec 2002
We have had ants in out kitchen for 2 weeks now and just
when they seem to be going away, they come back with a
vengeance. Does anyone have any suggestions that they know
will work? We have two little babes who could get into
anything toxic.
My past experience is that ants will come inside when the
soil gets wet outside but they seem to disappear in a few
days.
Maybe they just like my cooking?? Nooo.
Any help is welcome!
Elizabeth
Does anyone have any recommendations for getting rid of
ants in the crawl space underneath the house? I've read the
tips on the parents.berkeley.edu website and have tried a
number of things but with only limited and temporary
success. Once they are in the crawl space, they continue
to come out here and there thru-out various rooms of the
house and it's really hard keeping them out for good. I've
been trying to get rid of this problem for several weeks
now and would appreciate any help and advice (including
possible reco's for companies that use environmentally safe
pest control). Thank you!
Grace
The reason cinnamon, baby powder, diatomaceous earth, and
turmeric all work is because they aren't so much a
repellent, as the powder is so fine and dusty that it
affects their breathing, and ability to plunder through.
You have to keep reapplying, but it definitely detracts
them. We keep it around our door cracks and window sills
that aren't well sealed. I heard a story about ant life a
while ago on NPR and the expert talked about what happens
when you kill them, and they emit the scent of death, so
that their hive mates, can easily retrieve the carcass, and
will do so until they are successful. The scent is so
strong and pervasive, that he was unable to wash it off
after repeated attempts, so we have refrained from killing
them, and have just been escorting them back outside. It
seems to work. They also send out scouters before the rest
of the ''gatherers'' so if you find a couple of strays, send
them back outside and that can also mess up their mission.
Linee
Try Grants ant stakes - they are the best of that type of
product. Just let the ants swarm it overnight and they
will be almost gone by morning and really gone within a
couple of days.
Julie
I have had success using baby powder. We get ants each
year and I sprinkle the area/block the area where they
come in. The ants can't walk through the powder and it is
non-toxic. Good luck.
Rochelle
You can get toxic and poison free spray made by VictorPest
at ACE Pastime Hardware in El Cerrito/Albany (border), or
call around to local hw stores. It works and has a nice
minty smell (mint being the active ingredient).
VictorPest has a website - check them out
(www.victorpest.com?).
Kathy
Go to:
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/
I ordered ant baits from this company, and I find that it
seems to work better than most other products. Also,
there is much info on their site, and they are helpful on
the phone also.
ernie
For very persistent ant problems, like ant nests in
household walls, the only GUARANTEED solution is Grants Ant
Stakes WITH ARSENIC. Grants also makes stakes with Borax,
but it takes so long to poison the ants that they
repopulate before the colony is killed. This tip from a PhD
Entomologist who knows.
Linda
Warning about Ant Chalk
From: Steve (Mar 99)
A recent discussion on UCB Parents recommended the use of "ant chalk" as
a tip for controlling ants in the home. Please let your members knows
that ant chalk often contains insecticides; that's why it works so well.
It can be extremely hazardous to children, especially if ingested. The
packaging may also include high levels of lead. Ant chalk is illegal in
California and should not be used under any circumstances, especially in a
home with small children.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued a press
release on ant chalk in November (see
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/archives/pressrls/1998/chalk.htm). Ant chalk
has made several California children very sick. If you have ant chalk in
your home it should be disposed of as household hazardous waste. If you
know stores where ant chalk is still sold, you should call DPR's
Enforcement Branch, at (916) 445-3920, or the local county agricultural
commissioner.
Please don't let kids get near this product.
Jan 2000
With all the rain, we're in need of an exterminator. We have a persistent
ant problem. Old-fashioned tricks don't work -- they are literally piling
out of cracks in the walls and along baseboards, forming inch-thick
marching lanes to and from things like the cat's dish and stray crumbs.
Can anyone recommend a good service? (We live in Berkeley.) Can anyone
speak to the dangers involved, in terms of chemicals used, the ways in
which the chemicals are used, and children in the house? Thanks!
Annie
Before calling an exterminator, try using the outdoor ant stakes indoors.
We put one under the sink
where it was out of reach and it seems to have worked pretty well. The ants
take the poison (arsenic)
back to the nest and after a week or so it kills off the nest. Also, we put
our cat's food bowl in a
larger flat pan of water to keep the ants away, should they ever
re-discover it (and it seems to have
kept them away).
I think the problem with the exterminators is that they spray poison all
around the perimeter of your
house, inside and out, and that poison then stays there for future
generations! My use of the little
arsenic stakes might be just as bad----are there any environmental/chemical
experts out there that can
place the different options---from chili powder, windex, boric acid, ant
stakes, on up--on a scale of
earth friendliness?
Sally
(From David Kibbey): 5 oz water, 4cc (or 4ml) Dr. Bonner's peppermint
soap, 5cc tobasco sauce. Mix & spray well. Use a child's medicine spoon
to measure the cc's. Works well.
Merry
I wanted to pass on a recommendation for what we consider a miracle
solution for our ant problems. We've had periodic invasions for years and
tried spraying, ant traps and stakes, cinnamon, etc. Then we discovered
dried pyracantha berries and it's worked like a charm. I'm not sure of the
brand name but it comes in powdered form and can be found in natural food
stores. (We got ours at Berkeley Natural Grocery.) At the first sign of
an ant invasion we sprinkle some in their path and at the source (when we
can find it) and that is usually the end of it. It's supposed to be pretty
environmentally friendly, but not entirely non-toxic, so we try to keep it
away from food and kids. But we have used it on our kitchen counters in
out of the way places.
Laura
I was using the supposedly non-toxic chinese chalk until reading about it on
the Digest. Then a friend recommended using baby powder. Just squirt it on
the offending areas i.e.wherever they seem to be coming out of the wall. It
worked immediately just like the chinese chalk. One added benefit though is
that you don't find all the little carcasses around like you do with the
chalk. Those really bothered my little girl who was way into ants and all
insects. Good luck.
S.
Dec 1998
We have ants all over our place now. I think it is because of the rain
that they rush inside. I used cinnamon for a while to block their paths
and holes since I wanted to avoid using any kind of poison at home and it
worked very well, but only for a few months. Now
the problem is bad and we have ants every where even in the 2nd floor
bathrooms.
I am thinking about getting the house sprayed. Has anybody
done it? What are the risks involved for children considering that my
children are allergic to many different things? Should I wash all the
dishes afterwards? Should we only have the premeter of the house
sprayed? Other cautions to take? Any alternative solutions?
Soheila
I refuse to use poison within the house, but have found it effective to use
Safer's household pest spray in the basement, and outside at the foundation
and on the trails on the house itself. Reapplication is necessary almost
weekly, though. Safer's spray is hard to find. I've found it at Berkeley
Ace on University and the large hardware chain on Ashby below San Pablo.
Hate to say it, but we still get ants trying to get in. I'm busy caulking
holes along floors etc. Remember their nests outside are flooded, and
they're going to keep looking, so you must be vigilant.
Chris
I've recently discovered by pure accident that Lysol Kitchen Antibacterial
Spray kills ants on contact. No pesticides and a nice smell - it's a handy
alternative for ants in the kitchen.
Regan
I don't like to spray for ants inside my house either. What works for me
is to scatter dried chili pepper flakes in their path (not powder or whole
ones). I clean up the ants first with Windex or some other cleaner and
then sprinkle the flakes in the corners of the cupboard and other out-of
the-way places. I put the flakes where no one will touch them
inadvertantly. I recently had an ant attack after two years of peace, so I
think the chili flakes lose their potency after a while.
Lynn
Before you spray, I highly recommend trying another inexpensive and
alledgely non-toxic solution. It's called miraculous insecticide chalk. I
think it's just boric acid in a chalk form. You draw lines across the ants
paths or around place you don't want them to go. It's very effective, and
it can even be fun and artistic. I totally swear by it.
It's imported from China, hence the excellent name. You can buy it from
most grocery stores in Chinatown (Oakland or SF). You can also buy it at
the Ashby Flea Market from the stall that sells all kinds of household
cleaning supplies in the Northwest corner of the market.
Peter
[Editor note: don't use this - see Warning about Ant Chalk]
When we bought our house it came with some kind of 1 yr. warrantee against
blah blah blah, incl. pests. So when our ant/spider (I'm paranoid of
spiders, ants are simply annoying and taste bad) we called the warranty
place and they sent Western Exterminator Co. The man used a water-based
spray around all the baseboards and up the joints of walls in the house and
garage, then he fogged the inside of the house and garage. Finally he
fired up the engine on the truck and used a high-pressure water-based spray
all around the outside of the house, perimeter of the property, all around
the yards, etc. It took him no more than 1/2 hr. Our prep. consisted of
moving furniture away from walls, covering/putting away dishes and other
things that come into intimate contact with your body (toothbrushes, etc.)
We had to stay out of the house for 2-3 hours to let the fog do its works
which was no prob. since it was during the work week anyway. Nice thing
about this method is nothing was extremely dangerous to humans. The water
portion of the spray procedure was used simply as a carrier to lay down a
surface of powder that 1) serves as a mild irritant to a small pest, 2)
dries out the body of pests that get it on them (he described it as how
babies get powder in the diaper to guard against moisture) so they die, 3)
they carry it back "home" to kill further pests. Initially it worked great
with NO pests. 2 mos. later we saw an ant here and there, same with
spiders, but nothing the problem like it was before.
Jonathan
Grants Ant Stakes, placed where ants can get them and kids can't, have been
very effective for me. Follow the directions, it takes a few days but
generally then the ants are gone. They do not put fumes in the air.
Lynn
We got a professional exterminator, and they placed a powder
into the walls and beneath the floor to kill the nest --
very large, very determined nest. This is our first year in
the house. We didn't even have to leave the house for the
wall injection, although we did, and aired the house out
afterwards, for the initial spraying (diazinon, at least
outside). He didn't spray in the kitchen, since we were not
(!) having a problem there. They have broken out three
times in different places in the house -- inside of a few
hours, thousands of them can set up a trail to whatever it
is that seems to draw their interest.
The exterminator specializes in Montclair, if anyone wants
his company's name. Small, local firm, 20 years in the
area.
Heather
regarding ant invasions: I've found that a bleach/water solution
sprayed on the ants usually does the trick. Less noxious than
pesticides, and gets your counters mighty clean.
andrea
I know this sounds crazy, but lemon scented Sunlight dishwashing liquid
works wonders on ants. I don't know if it is the soap or the lemon or both
but they will not cross a path of the stuff. Whenever we start to get ants
I spread it around the area where they are coming in or all along the path
they are taking. It is a little messy but at least I know it isn't toxic!
Kim
Before using insecticides, try spraying vinegar on the areas where
the ants are coming out of the walls, etc. I've heard that works well,
although I've never tried it. Also, there are diatomaceous earth-based
products available that, I believe, are non-toxic. These are mainly for
indoor use, as they will wash away.
I've sprayed insecticides and have confined this treatment, as much
as possible, to the outside areas. This has helped control the problem.
If you do have to use insecticides indoors, try to avoid an overall
application, especially in the kitchen area. Unfortunately, you'll
probably have to wash counters, dishes, etc. Spraying inside the house,
you should plan to vacate for a couple of hours to let the odor disperse.
I keep saying my house was built on the largest ant hill in the world!
I don't know if we'll ever be rid of them, so we have to deal with them
the best way possible.
Hope this helps.
Robert
ok, i admit i never tried this but many of people
have told me this works:
ants will never cross a chalkline. draw a chalk
line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march.
Carrie
I've also found Grant's ant stakes to be very effective. They're small and
contain the killer goop, whatever it is, in a small compartment with a
hole. To keep kids from getting into the stake, I find a spot in the ants'
trail that is above kids' reach. Ants are drawn to the goop and take it
home to the colony to do its work there. The directions may not mention
this, but the goop activates better if you stir it up with a nail after you
add the boiling water.
Linda
I too have found Boric powder useful for ant-reduction but the Consumer
Product Safety Commission is cracking down on the chalk for mof it because
it is illegal and extremely dangerous--ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS--There have been
cases of kids eating it and becoming very sick or even dying because they
thought it was regular chalk to play with. Boric acid is very toxic (you
can buy boric acid in powder form at Longs)--read the label--you have to
wear gloves, avoid eye contact, etc.
Laura Beth
Hello,
I am very thankful for your messages. I find them all very useful in
approaching my ants problem. I have decided not to spray my house, but use
a couple of alternatives that have been suggested.
I am sharing the responses I received because I am sure others can
benefit from your advice.
Soheila
My mother's house has been infested with ants as long as I can remember,
back to when I was a small child (and I'm now 40). Nothing has worked.
Recently, her housekeeper suggested sprinkling Johnson's baby powder where
they congregate (which is everywhere, so this isn't a totally practical
solution) but sure enough, when I sprinkled all around the kitchen sink,
they disappeared!
I've heard that those ant stakes with arsenic work like a charm if you put
a perimeter of them around the house, but I haven't tried it and that
option does involve poison.
We have had problems with ants in the past, and used simple ant bait
houses that you can buy that are quite safe to use (safer than spraying, I
think). The trick is to put out a lot of them (we had 6 in our kitchen)
and leave them there for several days. The ants take the bait back to
their hive and they all end up dying back there (not in your house).
There are several brands, and you should be able to get them at places
like RiteAid or OSH.
Have you tried boric acid (its a powder) on the ants? It's supposed to be
quite effective, and relatively non-toxic (i.e. safe to use around the kids).
Boric acid is a white powder. You can find it in almost
any hardware store, in the gardening section.
Hi Shiela, I understand your problem. I have my home exterminated
twice a year. After El Nino, the back wall of my house was completely
covered with ants and they were coming out of the cracks of the ground
plus they were everywhere in my home. But exterminating is a great
idea. We have a house full of asthma patients so I was very hesitant
to spray any chemicals in the house. But they come and spray the
perimeters and it is wonderful.
Another solution is going to the hardware store and purchasing liquid
silicone (sp?) and put it any cracks of the house. The insect chalk
works well also but my problem needs more than chalk. I have also
used Amonia diluted in water. That is a temporary solution and is not
as harsh as raid.
I hope you find a quick solution. Keep in mind that after the rainy
season is over you will see more ants.
I have occassional ant dramas, and I deal with it by being extremely
vigilant (everything gets put on hold while I fight the ants!), and
with "ant chalk" that get at the Ashby flea market. (it's Chinese
made) I've had some concerns about toxicity, but recently read that
it's harmless. I mostly try to keep my son away from wherever I've
applied it. It works EXTREMELY well. However, with a full on
infestation like you're describing, it could be too messy. Perhaps
once you've got the problem under control you could use it as I do. I
can't stress enough however the vigilance aspect - if you say, I'll
deal with it in the morning, you'll never win the war!
[Editor: don't use this. See Warning about Ant Chalk above
From: a mom
In reference to the insecticide chalk...It is highly effective as well
as highly toxic, even though it says on the box that it is perfectly
safe for children and pets. Remember it is made in China, where
regulations may not be what they are here. There was a notice in the
newspaper last year about it. The danger I think is that it looks
exactly like a piece of chalk and would be easy for a child to mistake
it for one. It works in less than an hour and the effects last for
months. Even though we have a 4 year old, I use it and a day or two
later clean where I had applied it. It's the best thing I've found for
ants.
From: Cathy
I know you already got both of these recommendations, but I thought you
might want to hear how they worked for me. We had a terrible ant
infestation in our home right after we moved in last January. Luckily,
they weren't in the kitchen, but they were everywhere else. I have a
preschooler and was also reluctant to spray. A friend who has pets told
be about daetenaceous (sp) earth. I found it at ACE hardware and, while
there, was advised to try the powder boric acid. I purchased both.
After I got home and read the boric acid label, I wasn't comfortable
using it in living areas. So I used it under the house in a narrow
crawl space, where I found the ants coming in. When I shone the
flashlight on the dirt in the crawl space, it looked like the ground was
moving , there were so many ants! I liberally sprinkled the stuff all
over the ground (wearing gloves, glasses and a painter's mask as
recommended on the label). Inside the house, I used the daetenaceuos
earth along all walls in each room that had ants. I just made a thin
line with it along the walls. (I poured it right on top of ants that
were there.) Any ants that were not on the perimeter, I just picked up
by hand with a washcloth. It ended up killing the ants within the day.
A couple of days later I just vacuumed it up. The remarkable thing is,
we have had no ant problem since and this was almost a year ago!
From: Christina
I too have had great success with Johnson's baby powder, although you end
up with little piles of powder and ant corpses spread around, and you may
have to keep applying it as they try different cracks.
Interestingly, Safeway brand baby powder does not work at all.
I think it dessicates them, probably like the diatomacious stuff.
From: Donna
Ground nutmeg makes a great, non-toxic ant repellent. They hate it and
scamper away immediately and you can safely leave it on counter tops and in
cabinents (a bit messy at times).
From: Lisa
Did anyone mention cinnamon as an ant repellent? It smells nice, and it
works! We've sprinkled it along the edges of windowsills and doorways,
leaving it there for a few days or so. We found out about this through a
gradeschool science fair. One of the students set up a project with several
circles of possible repellents (cinnamon, garlic, and I don't remember the
rest) and put some ants in the middle of each one. Ants escaped from all
but the cinnamon circle. So, if you just want them to go away, you might
try it.
From: Glenn
One more quick one on ants: I have been led to believe that ants follow
each other by scent. After getting rid of the ants via your favorite
method, wipe out their trail by spraying a solution of water containing 2%
bleach. This way, if they do come back they have to begin all over again
finding the way to your goodies. Doing that, plus caulking, works quite well.
From: Dawn
Regarding the ant discussion:
The correct spelling is diatomaceous earth. It's made up of dried, powered
diatoms, the tiny creatures that whales eat. They are mostly silica, and
the dust clogs the breathing mechanisms of ants and fleas (and presumably
other small insects). The downside is that the broken exoskeletons are
very sharp, although they are so small that human beings won't notice it.
The problem is that it can, over time, wear your carpets out. However,
that's with continued use over a long period, and I know people who have
sworn by the stuff for years with no obvious problems.
July 1999
Two off-beat things that we discovered (by accident) will deter ants:
1) WD-40 will suffocate them if you spray it on them, and will
interfere
with their trails otherwise
2) anti-fungal foot powder or spray will also interfere with their
trails.
Good luck!
Dawn
You might check the trees and shrubs for scale - ants live off of
the black
sooty stuff left behind by scale on leaves. Spraying the leaves
with oil
(from a garden shop) will get rid of it and indirectly control the
ants.
It works the other way 'round, too: putting Tanglefoot (an incredibly
sticky
preparation) on the trunks of trees and bushes will keep ants off,
and with
them scale and aphids. The good thing about Tanglefoot is that it's
non-toxic
and it stays where you put it, unlike sprays.
John
If you cover the holes or cracks they are coming in with Johnson's
baby
powder, it will kill the ones coming in, and discourage them. They
will
sometimes find another crack nearby, but if you keep squirting them,
they
will go away. Safeway baby powder doesn't work -- we've had luck with
Johnsons. (I think it dessicates them.)
Christina
I meant to write this one a long time ago, regarding the ant
questions.
I've recently started using "Simple Green," completely by chance,
and discovered it works GREAT to deter ants. I spray directly on
them, which kills them on contact (so much for being non-toxic!),
then spray the area they were coming through. I usually have to
repeat this twice, but that's all.
I've also found spreading ground cloves around the entry point
deters them. It certainly smells nicer than anything else.
Katherine
We use a spray bottle filled with water and dishsoap, and it kills
the ants after about
5 seconds. It's non-toxic and good for cleaning surfaces. It works
well on long
lines, too, although you still have to block their way or find their
nest.
My husband was watering the plants yesterday and found an ant's nest
IN the pot of one
of our plants--so check your plants out too--they may be harboring
secret nests. You
can check by watering them and seeing if ants come running out of the
dish. You
probably have to re-pot the plant (wash off its roots first) if there
is a nest!
I don't know how to get rid of ants permanently but last winter I was
killing ants right and left with a spray bottle with a mixture of
Planet
dish soap and water. In general, dish soap is supposed to be more
effective at killing ants than those nasty sprays if you use the
right kind.
I just had an ant invasion and I used vinegar and citrus solvent. I
clean
with that and I just grabbed the bottle and started spraying. The
ants
disappeared and I haven't seen one yet and its rained several more
times
after that one spraying. Its non-toxic and very inexpensive. That
combo
does a great job in the cleaning department as well.
Donna
My daughter made a pot-pourri ball: an orange with cloves
decoratively
placed around it. She was at her aftercare program and a few of us
adults
began talking about the rain and ants, who seem to be a couple these
days.
One woman said that cloves are known to be a deterrent to ants. I
arrived
home and placed the clove-speared orange on our kitchen counter right
where
the little critters trend to begin their trek....it's been five days
and
still no ants. There's my little solution; I hope it works for you
too!
Suzanne
Hello, just responding back to you regarding your ant
problem! My family and I went through the same problem about a year ago.
Whenever it got too hot or too cold theants would start coming in.
The bathroom and kitchen! We could not leave anything out! I finally
decided to concur this once and for all! I went to Home Depot and
explained my problem and asked them for the stronger thing that had for
ant invasion. They told me about ant steaks. They are silver
and they have a little poison in the middle of it. The ants eats it
and take it back to the trail and they all eat the poison and and are
destroyed for good! I have not seen any ants since, and it's been over a
year! I also sprinkled ant poison powder around the windows. It
takes about 2-3 days for them to die. The first day is the worse because
you see hundreds of ants coming back to eat the poison. Try it
because it really works! Good luck. Email me back to let me know how
it works for you!
Michelle
Our University extension service here in Minnesota
recommended "Terro" which is an ant poison that destroys the nest because the
ants take it back with them. It was very effective with an ant nest built
under my doorway. Not somehting to have around kids or pets.
If you think they are getting in from greenery, suggest
trimming it rather than destroying the nest. Also, you might want to find
out
if these are carpenter ants (if they have those out there) which might
indicate you have wood rotting in your walls (or wherever they are nesting)
that needs to be addressed. (The ants are a symptom rather than a cause.)
Mary Ann
I've found that getting all the fallen leaves up off the
ground helps in controlling ants. The leaves create safe havens for them.
The one year I hired someone to do a *really* good job of raking up all the
leaves off my hill behind my house, I never had any ants!!
Good luck!
Linnea
You might check the trees and shrubs for scale - ants live off of the black
sooty stuff left behind by scale on leaves. Spraying the leaves with oil
(from a garden shop) will get rid of it and indirectly control the ants.
Regan
In response to the prior message,
it works the other way 'round, too: putting Tanglefoot (an incredibly sticky
preparation) on the trunks of trees and bushes will keep ants off, and with
them scale and aphids. The good thing about Tanglefoot is that it's non-toxic
and it stays where you put it, unlike sprays.
John
March 2006
If you keep the smell of peppermint where ants are coming in they will
leave. I use a condiment cup to put drops of 100 % peppermint oil in (not
the kind you can buy in the food section), then pour some hot water over it.
They will eventually leave. I have to do this usually after every winter.
When I first start seeing them I might change the cups twice a day, but once
a day may be okay. Just keep the smell of peppermint strong, and they start
searching for a new home. If the problem is near a sink you can take
advantage of dumping out the old peppermint water by turning on the hot
water first. It causes a short-lived blast of peppermint odor. Sure beats
filling rooms with bug spray smell.
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