war on ants!

[joy]

Our house has become a home for the ants,how do you get rid of the little critters?We,ve used ant-rid around the place,but they keep on returning!Any help with this prob would be great!:jump:

[Naomi]

Ugh! I don't know, I'm guessing it's all the rain but they are everywhere. I can't even leave a bread crumb on the bench for two minutes or we're swarming with ants.

Sorry, no ideas, but I know how you feel!

[Heather]

Same here.....

[miss kiki]

what about some type of poison bug spray or something that you can just spray on top of them to kill them?! i don't know..never had that problem. thankfully!

[zen]

do you know where they are coming from? their nest? if you can locate it, pour boiling water into it...

[jens]

My sister is having the same problem and it's driving her crazy. Just when she thinks she has beaten them, they come back.

You really need to find the nest if you can.

[Patricia]

Talcum powder is a good safe treatment...

You find out where they are entering the house and sprinkle a line of talc along that surface...for some reason they will not cross through the powder.

Very safe around children and pets too :)

[babygirl]

heya i'm not sure how good these work but i found it on the net!

-What you need:

2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons of powdered borax
1 cup of boiling water

Method:

Add the above items into a saucepan.
Put it on the stove and boil for three minutes, stirring continuously.
It will finish up with a honey consistency.
Put it on the ant tracks or near their holes, and Don says in about four hours time the ants will be gone.

-spread crushed mint (especially spearmint) in the affected area to deter ants

-cucumber is another deterrent for ants so try spreading a few slices around the problem area

-sprinkle chilli powder or cayenne pepper on ant trails and in cracks near your house

-sprinkle borax on ant trails and in cracks in pavement
find the ant nest by placing sugar on the ground and following them home, then pour boiling water down the hole to kill them

-make an organic spray repellent of citrus peel and water (mix in a blender) and spray ants on the ground or in their nest

-spray ants directly with soapy water made using dishwashing detergent


at my house we just use the ant sand for outside and those ant bait traps, there is one you can leave lil droplets around andtake that back to the nest and die!

another natural way we use it squeeze lemon around the main areas they come!
or even try mixing in some lemon juice with a kitchen cloth and wipe over your benches with that, could work.

[Stormy]

We never have ant problems here and I attribute it solely to my lack of fastidious housekeeping. :P

You see my window ledges are dusty, so are the window/sliding door tracks and also the doorsteps as well. So there ya go, just don't dust those bits for a couple of years and it does the same job as talcum powder. LMAO

Not a good idea though if you're renting ;)

[Rachel]

Talcum powder is a good safe treatment...

You find out where they are entering the house and sprinkle a line of talc along that surface...for some reason they will not cross through the powder.

Very safe around children and pets too :)

I was going to recommend the same thing. I got home from a rainy weekend away and had ants on my kitchen bench and near my back sliding door. My sister told me to use talcum powder (as I have a toddler) It worked really well and I would use it again if I need to :yes:

[keastydownudner]

Oh thank goodness im not the only one plagued by these little and extremely annoys things. I also used Ant rid and it works for awhile and we dont see any but then they return in force in the same spots. Im at a loss as to where the nest is. I have heard that the ant bombs work well but i'm yet to try it.

[Kekka]

I'm sure I saw ant sand in the shops. You put it down cracks etc.

I didn't read the whole thread (lazy Kekka) and apologies if I repeat what someone else already mentioned. My "Take A Hint" book by Gloria Oxford says:


"ANTS
In the garden

An old recipe for keeping ants out of the garden is to mix 250gms salt, with half a litre of water then mix in 5 kilos of sawdust or bran and about 10 cups of molasses. It makes a very crumbly mixture to spread around plants and shrubs and is not dangerous to children and pets.


ANTS
In the house

Black pepper sprinkled under rugs and carpets deter both ants and silverfish. Another way to deter ants is to sprinkle their tracks with Powdered Borax, Alum, or Talcum powder. They hate walking over powder. Another ant deterrent is a paste with 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 tablespoons of borax. Boil for 3 minutes, put a little on tin or plastic lids and place in the path of the ants. They are attracted by the sweet sticky contents and can seldom get passed. The containers are easily disposed of when the ants have gone.

Ants around the sink will be deterred by lemon juice. Cut a lemon in half and rub it around the sink along the path of the ants...they hate it.

When all else fails, and it usually does, it is necessary to resort to spraying with a commercial insect repellent."

[shkapoo]

Nope, sorry Stormy Weather, i'm just as slack when it comes to cleaning and dusting!!, and the house is totally infested with them!! lol. Was beginning to think that was why they were so bad! we've had them like this for years, even through the drought period, so we can't use the weather as an excuse.

[Cherie]

We have had ants here at times, I use a product called "Crawly Cruncher" it seems to work well enough.:D

[sandydee]

ditto,thats what we use too:yes:

[Cherie]

Yep.. Got mum chasing her ants with it too now.:hehe:

[sandydee]

Yep.. Got mum chasing her ants with it too now.:hehe:

Mum told us about it:yes:its good stuff:yes:

[Kekka]

We have had ants here at times, I use a product called "Crawly Cruncher" it seems to work well enough.:D

Where does one purchase this good woman?

[Alexa]

Yes I too would like to know where to get some of this interesting product, wonder if it is like Ant Rid?

[Stormy]

Nope, sorry Stormy Weather, i'm just as slack when it comes to cleaning and dusting!!, and the house is totally infested with them!! lol. Was beginning to think that was why they were so bad! we've had them like this for years, even through the drought period, so we can't use the weather as an excuse.

Damn....I thought I'd just come up with the most plausible reason yet to continue being a slacker when it comes to those things. :hehe:

It's my excuse and I'm sticking by it! :P

[sandydee]

Where does one purchase this good woman?

supermarkets sell it:yes:

[La Toriana]

lol

also have you tried essential oils? lemonrass on a cloth wiped on the benches etc inside works a treat...

I have been using it for years!

elizabeth

[grammyjo]

So Joy which one did you use & did it work?

[Tamara]

I use ground cinnamon to get rid of ants. Odd perhaps but it works for us ;)