The ants go marching....
October 15th, 2009 by Wanda AdamsFor the past month, we've been battling ants. They appear each morning in martial rows in a couple of places in the house. I've tried ant traps. I've sprayed along their marching paths. I've wiped down every square inch of the kitchen so there's nothing for them to feast on. I'm losing my mind.
In a house where we have pets, and especially a very curious adolescent cat who will uncover anything, taste anything, play with anything, I don't know what to do.
I know from having covered the home section at one time that there are different types of ants. We don't have "sugar" ants. We have "fat" ants. I could leave a whole Snickers bar cut up on the counter and they'd ignore it. But the cat food, (which I think has a lot of oil in it), I have to spend 10 minutes killing ants from the cat food bowls every morning. They ignore rice in the rice pot. They don't care about fruit much. They don't go for dirty plates in the sink (okay, I admit it, sometimes hubbie doesn't do the dishes — his job if I cook, and I ALWAYS cook — and I refuse out of pique). But they swarm if there's a drop of oil on the stove or if the cats don't eat every bite of their food. They get into the trash can every night and morning, meaning we have to empty it more often than we used to, a big waste of trash bags.
As I said, it's driving me crazy (admittedly not a far drive).
Anybody got any good ideas about how to fight big, black marching ants when you have pets in the house? Basically, I want to commit mass murder on the ants and make sure my cats don't get caught in the crossfire. And I don't want to spend a mint.
HELP!
October 16th, 2009 at 1:55 am
I just moved from Fort Shafter to the mainland. I had the same problem and my mom told me to sprinkle ground cloves all over the perimeter of the house. It really worked! When I was a child we would bury a bag of sugar a good distance from the house with a straw poking up to the ground. We never had ants and the bribery issue didn't bother us because it kept them away.
October 16th, 2009 at 6:02 am
You must get rid of them from the outside of your house first.
"Amdro" or the like, spreaded around the outside of your house preimeter will rid of the queen and in a couple of days you'll see none.
Click here: Fire Ant Killer, Ant Control & Ant Bait for Killing Fire Ants by AMDRO Fire Ant Killers .
Good luck.
I live in the mainland and use it yearly.
October 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Hi Wanda
I stop by to read you post today because we're having the same problem
Was hoping you had a solution 
The only thing that seems to help us some what is something I learned from a 8th yr. old 
Mix equal parts of sugar and borax soap with a little water just to make it pasty. Just place in small dish around on the counters, plus its suppose to be nontoxic to humans and animals 
Good luck and please if you find something that works please, please post it 
btw; maybe you can add some oil to yours, but watch out for the roaches after that
Have a good weekend
October 17th, 2009 at 3:22 am
Here in the middle of the mainland, we have been battling ants: ant traps and Terro...which they eat and carry back to the nest. This product usually wipes them out; however, the invasion by the kitchen sink disappears a few weeks, then reappears, disappears and reappears.
Terro did eliminate a second invasion which started by the sunroom off the kitchen!
It was a never ending battle! And only the cooler weather has eliminated them. We had a lot of rain all summer long, and the ants were pervasive.
Good luck with your battle!
October 17th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Terro liquid ant traps worked well for me on the mainland. Cut up a paper plate and put the trap(s) near where they are coming in - in a few days they will be gone.
Another method I have used is to combine 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons boric acid (Borax -the laundry additive). Heat to disolve the sugar and Borax, cool - and dip cotton balls in the solution and put on small upside-down dishes (I use the Chinese food mustard dishes)- they will go crazy at them, but the borax will kill them and the nest.
For outside, I use Diatomaceous earth (which is a swimming pool additive) and sprinkle the perimeter of the house (and definately using a blower to blow under the house). When the ants get this on them, it kills them by removing the moisture within their bodies.
I would guess most of your folks do not have raised foundations so the DE around any openings outside and under the house are places for this product. Don't use this inside though - try plain talc - they typically will not touch the stuff - Good luck!
October 17th, 2009 at 11:15 am
We've had that problem when they come just for the catfood. We put the catfood bowls in a low dish of water so that the ants can't cross over into the food dish. I also keep a spray bottle of water with a few squeezes of liquid detergent to spray the ants. It also helps to spray the garbage with the soap spray also throughout the day. (Windex, Fantastic, etal) will work also. Get something that is animal friendly. The soap spray has worked for us. And just be deligent with cleaning food up.
Helps to find out where they are entering the indoors and seal up the area. Sometimes it's just a matter of putting tape over a crack or under the sink and sealing any open areas surrounding pipes.
Good Luck!
October 17th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
wow... I hear ya on that ant problem. We've been having problems lately with them in our kitchen, off & on, for months (despite my constant cleaning). Now they've invaded the upstairs bathroom (but the shower only... don't know why) which is right above the kitchen. Someone once told me that regular chalk (like the kind kids use to draw on the sidewalks with) keeps ants away - for some reason they won't cross a chalk line. So I tried it around my cat dishes & it worked! I also drew a line around the inside of my kitchen window-sill where they were coming in - and that worked too. Someone at church also told me she heard that ants don't like scent of cucumber peels ... weird ... but I haven't tried using those yet. (I'd think rotten peels would draw MORE ants) I wonder if my daughter's cucumber-aloe hand cream would work... hmmmmm.... Well, good luck with your ant eradication, Wanda!
October 18th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I HATE ANTS! What works for me is that special chalk- Dead Fast- that's also supposed to be okay for pets, I believe. You basically put chalk lines around all doors, frames, in cabinets. My ants disappeared in a day!
October 18th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I normally try to find the source by following the trail. It drives my family nuts when they see me staring at the walls following the ant trail. When I find it, I put boric acid where they enter and where they can potentially enter. I wipe their trail down with a warm, soapy solution. Sometimes it takes a few days for me to do this process. And if I find the nest, I try to put as much boric acid on it. I tried pouring hot water on the nest, but sometimes, the ants split and make new colonies. Oh, and I have a cat and a dog in the house. The container of boric acid is about $5, sometimes less when there's a sale.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Try this site for natural remedies to get rid of ants.
natural-http://www.natural-homeremedies.org/blog/natural-remedies-to-get-rid-of-ants/
October 20th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Ants hate cinnamon. I sprinkle it around the edge of my kitchen counters and force it into the cracks. No more ants on the counter.
When it gets old and starts losing it's spice I re-apply.
Inexpensive, non-toxic and easy.
You can buy a huge container at Costco.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
maybe you can put your cat food surrounded by a bit of water you know a bowl surrounded by water so the ants drown..or maybe the chalk will work. I really don't know.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
you need to tie your garbage bag right away then they wont be able to get in.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
just try that get the twist tie and tie it.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I hardly use oil when I cook...
October 21st, 2009 at 1:46 pm
aloha Wanda
My cat Rozzy will watch ants all day; I'm the one annoyed. Our ants conveniently enter through the front door. I put the ant strip (from Long's) outside the door where Rozzy can't reach it and the ants track the poison back to their nest.
If your ants are not so obliging and enter from multiple (or unknown) sources, and you don't want to harm your pets (of course), try boric acid or borax.
It's a white powder with toxicity to mammals thought to be similar to table salt (while toxic to ants).
To be sure, Google online to check it out.
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:43 am
Hi- I have been doing some research for 'oil' loving ants.
According to Showplace Lawns of Austin TX, a company that only deals in organic house and yard treatments the best treatment for oil-based ants is:
6 oz orange oil (d'limonene)
2 oz horticultural grade molasses
mixed into enough water to fill a 1 gallon jug.
S.L. recommends that you fill the jug about 1/4 full of water, add the orange oil, stir, then add the molasses, stir again and fill the remainder of the jug with water. Spray or paint on windows, doors and cracks.
Another method I have been using is to save lemon and orange peels in the fridge until I have about a cup. I put the peels in the blender and bend with warm water. I paint this on the windowsills and doorways. I also put the juice of several lemons in water and mop my floors with this. deters fleas and roaches as well. If you mix enough of this peeling-mix with water (about 3 gallons total) you can pour it into the ant hill and kill the entire nest.
Orange oil or citrus oil is sometimes sold as d-Limonene or d'Limonene.
Hope this works for you
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/a/howboraxworks.htm
Risks Associated with Borax
Borax is natural, but that does not mean it is automatically safer for you or for 'the environment' than man-made chemicals. Although plants need boron, too much of it will kill them, so borax can be used as an herbicide. Borax may also be used to kill roaches, ants, and fleas. In fact, it is also toxic to people. Signs of chronic toxic exposure include red and peeling skin, seizures, and kidney failure. The estimated lethal dose (ingested) for adults is 15-20 grams; less than 5 grams can kill a child or pet. For this reason, borax should not be used around food. More commonly, borax is associated with skin, eye, or respiratory irritation. It is also important to point out that exposure to borax may impair fertility or cause damage to an unborn child.
Now, none of these risks mean that you shouldn't use borax. If you do a bit of research, you will find risks associated with all cleaning products, natural or man-made. However, you do need to be aware of product risks so that you can use those products properly. Don't use borax around food, keep it out of reach of children and pets, and make sure you rinse borax out of clothes and off of surfaces before use.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I was told to use, baby powder, or talc powder, due to the fine glass (shiny things in the powder or talc), keeps the ants away. Try also using boric acid, I'm sure it works.
Aloha!
October 24th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
To keep the ants out of my catfood bowl, I put the bowl into a shallow plastic container with some water - that definitely works. When I see the ants marching along, I keep a spray bottle with some soapy water in it and I spray them to death, then wipe them away. It kills them on contact without toxinsl One time I found an ant nest in the drawer under my over where I kept pots and pans - I freaked! But was fascinated at the same time. Ants, eggs, larvae - all stages - a whole colony. Just ran hot water with soap in the sink and threw all the pots and pans and ants in. Soap and water work amazingly well.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Brings to mind an old Book:
"I can't" said the ant. by Polly Cameron.
"Thank you," said Miss Teapot,
"You've been good to me.
Polly, put the kettle on.
We'll all have tea."
the end.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle kills ants on contact. It will also drive them our of their hiding place. They made a home in the windows - metal of the jealousies among other places - once the alcohol fumes were strong they came pouring out and I just sprayed them. Fortunately, this is the first year in the past three they have not been too bad and are not making homes anywhere in our house yet. But I am never with out at least two full spray bottles of alcohol and keep a large supply in the cupboard. We tried all the poisons out there - but the alcohol worked the best on control along with Behr's ant granules spread around the yard periodically.