OT - need help, ant problem in my kitchen!

grmadeb01
on 2/15/12 11:30 pm - FL
yeppers, i agree with the Terro liquid stuff...i put it on a small paper plate and the ants just flock to it..its gross as the plate will FILL UP with the ants for a day or 2, then they go off and die, they take it back to the nest too...but you have to watch for your cats with the terro...
i was told that borox will work too...if you have some left from your laundry soap making, try and sprinkle that around the sills,i just got some borox just the other day so i am gathering the stuff for the laundry soap..i have not found the bar of soap, so i may have to use a different kind....
good luck with your ants
debby
FleurDeLis
on 2/16/12 2:00 am
Don't spray and use bait at the same time. Your bait that used to work before--usually takes a few days for it to get back to the nest--can't work if you spray them first and they don't have time to bring it to the nest.

Another vote for Terro. The key is to shut down the banquet so they go for the bait instead. Make sure you use fresh product, too, not stuff sitting on the shelves since last year.

Given all the rains we have had and the mild winter a lot of people are going to have this problem. Didn't have a hard enough frost to kill any of them off. One basemen****erproofer was interviewed for the newspaper a few weeks ago. He said even people who waterproofed their basements around here should get everything out of the basement before spring because the ground is saturated with water now even before the spring thaw and floods start.

Living on a slab in a wooded area, I sprinkle the granules each spring along the house perimeter. I do the same with tenants who have basements. This is usually all it takes. When we first moved in I had them coming in through a hole in the drywall 6 feet off the floor in my bedroom. Sealed the cracks, treated the perimeter, and left some bait on the bedroom floor just in case. Haven't seen them since.

Boiling water on sidewalks where you can see the ant hills also works. You can bring a sample of the ants to any exterminator and they will ID them for free and give you some suggestions. thre are a few species that require special treatment that they can identify best. One comes with an attachment for the spray nozzle that is a foot long for use in walls and cracks so no chemical is wasted in spraying.

Any exterminator can't treat with their strongest stuff in a house occupied by pets and children. They stuff they can sell you will still be better than most of the stuff you can get at Home Cheapo, Wally World, etc.

Keep the garbage covered, leaves (warm cover), etc. away from the house. Exterminator may also have handouts on what to do. Mine specializes in servicing landlords and a lot of them do it themselves.
kimberly S.
on 2/16/12 8:59 am - Colorado Springs, CO
 When I lived in CA I had a terrible ant infestation.  The only thing that worked (finally!) was getting bleach and finding their trail into the house.  I bleached the trail into the house, all along the outer walls and then in the house everywhere they were with bleach.  Bleach kills the scent they leave when they march into your house.  If they can't find it they get lost.  Hope this helps.  
    

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" ~ Benjamin Franklin
        
hedrider
on 2/17/12 8:14 am - Midlothian, TX
 I don't like to use poison in the kitchen.  Have you tried using cornstarch?  Sprinkle it around the kitchen where you see them more frequently.  They'll think it's a treat, take it home, share it and eat it.  It's slower than poison, but effective.  They share it with the mound, it swells in them and kills them all off.
Heather
Since 2008 my team has raised over $42,000 to fight breast cancer.

   
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