Ants

[daveamkrayoguy]

What kind of bait works best? The tried and true Raid brand is set up again to defeat the invasion on our kitchen counter...

Though if it doesn't eliminate the colony, the better selling but also more expensive Terro is what I will have to try next...

-- Dave

 

[norgeway]

Raid baits

Never did anything here Get a liquid bait, Terro is what I used, the little devils will eat it up, in a day or two you will see less and less,,they take it back to the nest and it kills all of them.

 

[oliger]

Mix 1 part borax to 3 parts pancake syrup. Heat it up a little on the stove, and then drop a glob where they are. Let them eat up, they take it back to the colony and it will kill them. Darn near free, and you will never see them again!

 

[washerboy]

don't laugh but it works

cut a few squares of wax paper or foil maybe 3 inch x 3 inch...place 1 tablespoon of corn meal in the center. put the squares around where ever you're having a problem. The ants eat the corn meal then explode. I told the person that told me about this they were crazy. I had ants in my bathroom of all places. Had the bug man to the house twice...still had ants...did the corn meal thing..haven't had an ant in over 2 years now.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I mix white vinegar and water half and half. Wipe down the counter and the lingering smell is supposed to keep them away. I think the cornmeal thing would be fun if I could watch them explode. How many times have you seen an ant explode? If I put out some water for them, do you think they would drink themselves into oblivion right where I could see them? These are teeny, tiny ants. I am not sure that they can eat cornmeal.

 

I also read that they do not like cinnamon. I was wondering if I mixed some cinnamon with alcohol to sort of extract the oil and spread it around if the cinnamon oil would linger and keep them away.

 

Thank you all so much for sharing. I think the rain drove them inside.

 

[norgeway]

They dont like

Peppermint oil either.I finally got rid of the little s%^&* when I sat in the kitchen and watched where they were coming in, I found the crack under the window and caulked it shut,,,No more ants

 

[iheartmaytag]

I've had great luck with

Ortho Home Defense.

 

[oliger]

Cinnamon

I tried the cinnamon before borax. I sprinkled it in the carpet near ants, then I ended up doing the entire house because I loved the smell. Still had ants though, it didn't do much.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you for the Cinnamon Report.

 

Just to make sure; you used borax not boric acid?

 

[oliger]

Yes, 20 mule team Borax. I already had some around when I was invaded. This was for the common little bitty black ants.

 

[cuffs054]

Norgeway speaks the truth. Terro works great.

 

[mattl]

Terro.  Cheap, Effective.

 

[iowabear]

Another vote for Terro.  In my 17 years here I've had ant problems twice (the tiny brown ones.)  Who knows what caused it...weather conditions, maybe random ant mound next to the house?

 

Anyway, Terro worked both times although it's alarming to see so many more coming to get it and it's really hard to resist smashing them.

 

It's expensive for borax sugar water but the little containers are convenient.

 

[eronie]

Yes Terro works the best. Don't be alarmed when you see more comming to get some they tell their friends then their GONE.

 

[gusherb]

I had ants take over my shower (first time I had ants in there) and more kept coming, so I put out a Terro liquid ant bait (which drew yet even more) and now I'm down to only seeing the occasional ant in there. Hopefully they're all dead, but they have a sneaky way of coming back with a vengeance around here. 

 

[kb0nes]

The only Ant bait I ever had work as advertised was the Raid Double Control product. These come in a green box and the baits themselves are black with a translucent top. I recall having one of them that the ants really took to and I watched as they cleaned our the bait over the course of a day. Two days later I never saw another ant...

Different ants are likely attracted to different baits. I never had good luck with Terro

 

[twintubdexter]

At least ants are easy to follow...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I've never really had an ant problem here in the desert. I've seen them outside but that's it. Inside I've had the occasional cricket (zillions of them outside) find their way in through the dog door. It only takes one to set up shop under the dishwasher of fridge to drive you nuts at night. There's also these extra-large roaches in the summer. Fortunately they seem to stay outside and if one sneaks indoors they die quickly. Maybe they don't like air conditioning.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">The"bugs" that thrive here, love super-hot weather and love to eat crickets are black widow spiders. I remember seeing them as a kid in San Jose but not like here. I hate them! The black widow is a smart spider. They build their webs at ground level, that's where the delicious crickets are. She's smart enough to stay out of the house since there's no gourmet fare there. I used to go out at night hunting for them armed with a can of Black Flag and a flashlight. The light seems to make them freeze so they're easy prey. During the day their webs are easy to spot. They're "helter-skelter" with no web pattern. They're stiff too like fishing line. There's always an area near the web for the spider to hide. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I took this photo a few years ago. I ordered a CD from Amazon and it got left on my porch for a short time. When I picked up the box (had open flaps on the sides) and reached in side I could feel spider web on my fingers. I looked inside and yikes! There she was, extra big and extra ugly. I did the Mexican Hat Dance on the box which finished her off but not before I snapped this photo for those friends I knew would say "have you been drinking"? Once again, I hate black widow spiders. </span>

 

[dustin92]

Terro liquid baits ONLY. The small prefilled plastic ones that you cut one end open are the only ones that have ever worked for us.. Yes a little more expensive than the other ones but far more effective. The first year we lived here, I opened a box of cereal for breakfast and literally poured out a bowl of ants- got the Terro liquid traps and there was a huge difference overnight, all ants were gone in less than a week. Last summer got a huge infestation in the basement, again broke out the Terro and vacuumed up dead ants for a week. I believe the active ingredient is borax, so not horribly toxic to kids or pets (our dogs and cats don't pay any attention to them) I'll never waste my money on those plastic or metal ant buttons with poison in them, they just don't work.

 

[qsd-dan]

Food grade diatomaceous earth.

 

[dustin92]

Terro liquid baits ONLY. The small prefilled plastic ones that you cut one end open are the only ones that have ever worked for us.. Yes a little more expensive than the other ones but far more effective. The first year we lived here, I opened a box of cereal for breakfast and literally poured out a bowl of ants- got the Terro liquid traps and there was a huge difference overnight, all ants were gone in less than a week. Last summer got a huge infestation in the basement, again broke out the Terro and vacuumed up dead ants for a week. I believe the active ingredient is borax, so not horribly toxic to kids or pets (our dogs and cats don't pay any attention to them) I'll never waste my money on those plastic or metal ant buttons with poison in them, they just don't work.

 

[askolover]

Enoz ant bate

These work better for me than Terro or any other liquid bate.  I'll cut one open, tape it down with blue masking tape to keep curious purr-balls from messing with it.  I think they can smell it because it's only seconds until one goes in to sample the buffet and then comes running out to tell his friend.  Soon it's a whole family reunion. 

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Tried the cornmeal idea, then cinnamon, of which you can see, neither worked:

-- Dave

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

OH, GOD! WE'VE GOT ANTS! WHAT DO WE DO?

Okay, a very happy ending to my problem, and No More Aints!

That is, in short, Terro to the rescue! (Although long ago, when I worked at Walmart there was a gal named Tera, that maybe when I was introduced to the product there, I only needed a picture of her to scare the ants away, but, really, she was a good lookin' gal!)...

You should also notice that this location my one,--yes, ONE--ant bait is placed is in the corner at the base of that counter, not in that hazardly close proximity to my food preparation (and due to lack of space on my counter, the eating of my food)...

So, as I have said, and y'all, as well, they are all gotten rid of!!!!

-- Dave

 

[askolover]

Don't be surprised if more show up in a couple of weeks.  Eventually they will be less and less until the whole colony is dead.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

'N MORE "Aints"...

Yes, they are not yet gone without a trace... I swept under the counter, just to find a number of 'em still alive 'n kickin'...

-- Dave

 

[tomturbomatic]

I bought some Terro.  Of course, klutz that I am, I spilled a drop of it on the counter while placing the little container. It was so funny the little black ants surrounded the little oval puddle looking like cows around a pond, heads in the puddle and bodies extending back without a gap. They drank their fill and left and after that, the number steadily diminished. I have not seen any more at the little plastic bottles that hold the liquid, but they are not around. I did go outside and spray the SLA spray with cedar oil. that probably helped, too.

 

[sudsmaster]

Ants come in from outside. The bait that has worked best for me is Combat outdoor granules. They contain Hydramethylnon. I sprinkle it around the outside of the perimeter foundation, esp near the vents. Since I started using Combat, no more ants in house.

However the Combat granules may no longer be available. This Amdro Ant Block has the same active ingredient.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/AMDRO-24-oz-Ant-Block-Home-Perimeter-Ant-Bait-100522802/100598633

https://www.homedepot.com/p/AMDRO-24-oz-Ant-Block-Home-Perimeter-Ant-Bait-100522802/100598633

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you.

When I first lived in my present house, we had a very hot, dry couple of months and those insects that look like they have pinchers on their butts were showing up inside. I got some granules made by Bayer (Still Killing Living Things) and it stopped the foolishness.  I had forgotten about the product.  Thank you.

 

[abcomatic]

Terro is what I use, no more ants.

 

[twintubdexter]

Tomturbomatic...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">You mean earwigs? They're ugly little things. They were an outside problem in the SF Bay Area but they don't live here in the desert heat. Scorpions do, but I've never seen one although a friend found one in his ironing room. It was very small, the kind of you see in California mountain areas. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Of course there are the larger variety that live deep in the desert.</span>