OT - too - many -ants - HELP | Arthritis Information
We're having an invasion too.
not terribly helpful article unless you have odorous ants....
Now, the little black fellows at our house are not bothering the dogs' food or water bowls.... at least they haven't..
Oddly, they have been by the front and back doors, the foyer from the front door and the powder room off the foyer.
babs102009-04-22 09:24:49Sometimes the best solution is to call for 'professional' help. While not cheap, when the cost of potions, notions, and nostrums are added up, a visit by the local
Berman the Bug Man can be a bargain.
I have read that spraying vinegar around doors and windows, along the foundation and under major appliances can reduce the number of invaders...
Snow, the best thing I have found is ant bait that is a liquid sugar and boric acid combo. There are various brands, just ask at your local hardware store.
The key is that you have to put it out on little pieces of cardboard in the path that the ants are traveling, and then just leave it. Don't kill the ants, let them eat it and carry it back to their nest. That takes some patience, and the activity of the ants increases for awhile as they are attracted to the bait (and that can be distressing to say the least). But it works! I used this method about 5 years ago, and I haven't had a single ant back in the house since then!
Of course it goes without saying that you need to make sure your bait is in a location that pets can't get to it!
Last year we got ants in our BRAND new home! I was freaking out. So we called a professional and with a few squirts of his stuff, they were gone. I think they may have come back after a while and he came back and got rid of them quickly.
We also had some a week or 2 ago and he sprayed again andthey are gone again. I knwo I hate them too. They were eating my dogs food. I moved it away from the french doors and I think that has also helped.
We also have clover mites ALL over our windows and door frames. They are gross little things that stain when you try to kill them. Bug guys says there is nothing to get rid of them!
Ive used boric acid with great success.
I'm just going to sit here and wait til SnowOwl comes up w/ the solution and save myself multiple steps...
[QUOTE=cah1418]
[QUOTE=JasmineRain]
I had a similar problem, only the food was cat kibble and the raider was my youngest son, when he was around 9 or 10 months old. [/QUOTE]
There is an anecdote to LOL for!
To this day, my youngest son is the most adventurous eater in the family. He'll try anything once - and he usually likes it!
Snow, you can buy the powered boric acid and mix with Karo syrup for sweet eaters and bacon grease for protein eaters. Then, you must sit back and sing at least 20 rounds of "The Ants go Marching"!
Completely OT, but in the spirit of telling tales of youngster. When my goddaughter was about 2 she suddenly stopped using her potty chair, her clothing was dry, her bed was dry, and she was neither restless nor feverish. However, after a couple of days her parents began to be concerned...to dock a long tail/tale, she had decided that she liked using the kitty litter box and had become very adroit and lifting off the top, squatting, taking care of business, watching the litter box mechanism comb through the clay litter, putting the top back in place, straightening her clothes and trotting off to be the inquisitive little being that most little people of that age are.
Kids... ya gotta love 'em! The most creative creatures on the planet!
My little sister loved Gainesburgers (a hamburger-shaped semi-moist dog food patty) when she was a toddler. Dad wondered where all the Gainesburgers were going - we had a miniature schnauzer who couldn't possibly go through a whole box in a week! One day I found her in the kitchen, munching on a Gainesburger like it was a big cookie. OMG I thought my mom was going to throw up when I went and told her!
Hee hee hee... granola LOL!
I just remembered another little tidbit about my dear sister - she used to eat ants.
oh I have a little tid bit to add to these festivities..
I was about 7 years old.. It was morning on a weekend and I came downstairs first before anyone else was awake... I was getting myself a bowl and the cereal when I saw some dark brown crumbs on the table (My mom was fastidious and I knew it wasn't from dinner) .. It looked like chocolate cake crumbs!!! It must be!! ... I proceeded to wet my finger and smush them down til they stuck and put the entire thing in my mouth.... wait! it tasted salty and yucky!! ick!! Ack! blech!! It was small pieces of canned dog food that had dried up on the table over night from when I had put the spoon down to feed the dog!!! .......
I have heard of boric acid use also. I think they will also not cross a line of cayenne pepper if you put it along the entrance of your door.
I usually just use those RAID traps or are they called COMBAT? They work quickly and well.
The ants I hate are what I think are called crazy ants. They are teeny tiny little things and they run around like crazy. They do like to come around the cat dish. I think my mom brought them from FL one year. I had only seen them there and now I get them from time to time.
Hi Snow Owl,
I'm embarassed to write this but I am terrified of ants. I have mymecophobia. I have been terrified since I was a kid. I just thought I'd share this story with you. I used to rock climb and I did high altitude mountaineering prior to my ra and all that. Well anyway, I was climbing in the Wind River Range in Wyoming and I was about 1500 feet off the ground (roped of course) and I had my hand resting on a ledge that I was hanging off of. Wouldn't you know a big black ant crawled onto my hand. Well I saw it and freaked and pushed myself hard off the wall. My climbing partner could not see what was happening but he knew I had fallen and he broke the fall. When all was well and I started climbing again he asked me if I had seen a snake as they often hang on the ledges. I had to tell him yes. If he had known I peeled off the rock for an ant he probably would never have climbed with me again. We climbed together for many years and he still doesn't know it was an ant that caused my fall
I was looking up how to get rid of ants, when we had the ant problem down at the trailer, and one of the things I came across was to plant spearmint or mint all around the base of your house and the ants do not like that. So... maybe you should plant some spearmint or mint around your house?
I just opened my "Critter Ridder" book. It has pages of cures for ants. I personally use one of those electronic anti bug things year around. If I do see ant hills or some trying to get into the house I do blast them with bug spray. However, here are some natural ways they recommend: Bay leaves - place in drawers. Must be fresh whole leaves. Cloves - place anywhere the problem exists. Mint Leaves - crushed mint leaves. Cinnamon - place powered cinnamon to block path to their home colony. Garlic - place a few pieces of garlic in cracks where you have the problem. They will not a line of cayenne pepper, baby powder, citrus oil soaked into a piece of string or coffee grounds. Also mentions 1 TSP. Liquid Ivory soap into 1 qt water and mix well. Place in squirt bottle and squirt the little devils. They don't like to wash and it will wash away their scent path. The book has pages and pages of cures. Good luck!
Here is an interesting fact: It takes 500,000 ants to equal 1 pound. If you weigh all the ants on earth, they will weigh more than all humans on earth! Yuck!
I just read another good one. In Germany all ants are protected from being elinimated by natural or artifical means. The government believes they play a vital role in the health of the forests. So people will use lavender blossoms near the doors and windows in German households to repel the ants. That one actually sounds like a pleasant "cure"
I remember when I was about 3... I would eat the other half of the dogs canned dog food LOL! I even offered it to one of the neighbors kids and they were grossed out by it. I remember my Uncle Pete telling me that the canned dog food was ground up horse and horse hooves
My mom follows the ants' trail to their entry hole, then stuffs into it one of those scented anti-static sheets for the clothes dryer.
And whenever we go camping, we put our dog's water in a special dog bowl that has a "moat" around it full of water. The ants never get into the actual bowl, which luckily is where our dog drinks from, not the moat of water full of drowned ants.
I particularily like Germany's idea of using lavendar.
CathyMarie
This site provides great advice and many ways to get rid of ants without using commercial preparations which tend to be toxic to people and animals.
Actually have had the opportunity to use three of them - baby powder and whole cloves in the house and coffee grounds outside. They were totally effective.
http://www.essortment.com/home/pestcontrolhow_sfdf.htm
Most (all?) baby powder these days is made with corn starch due to health concerns with talc. I would caution you to check the ingredients on baby powder before using it in this fashion - you may just be laying down an ant buffet if you put corn starch baby powder all over the place!
Jas: Good thought about the baby powder! Never thought to mention "read the label" for content. Thanks - certainly don't want to add to anyone's problem with ants.
[QUOTE=SnowOwl]You all are too good to me, bless you.
Ok, I'll update then this thread hopefully will slide off first page.
Me on the other hand, after catching up on the latest posts I picked up some talc baby powder (THANK YOU JAS for the warning about cornstarch), and I found a brand of "non-poisonous" ant spray, safe for use indoor where there are pets and well, us - Joonie it's mint-based, how about that? Watchingwolf I've bookmarked your pest control site, thank you for that. I'm afraid this is just going to be an ongoing seasonal problem, and I laughed at myself, thinking of Waddie's recommendation, humming about going to battle - armed with baby powder and mint.
So do those of us who snacked on petfood as kids have glossier pelts than those that didn't?
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what great sources of information!! I am going to assess our ant situation and act accordingly based on all this info!!
and yes.... my fur shines!!!
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