the freakin ants must be terminated!!

[DeChRi]

We have an ant issue. They are infiltrating our house and we cannot get rid of em. There are everywhere, livingroom, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, you name it. We tried a couple natural things, then we sprayed ant killer around the house, then we aprinkled a perimeter all around our house of the ant killing powder, and they are STILL coming in here.

So I don't care what it is, short of fire bombing our house, but the ants must go. ANyone have any ideas?

[1jooj]

I guess I'd call a bug guy.

I had lots of ants in my house in Morocco--but we learned to peacefully coexist, once I figured out they actually owned the place. WHen they got out of line, I sprinkled Tide and water on them. I plugged holes they made with a Tide-and-water paste. But that was a very 3rd World house, and I had different expectations.

You can ask around to see whether the bug guys have safer alternatives to super-poisonous scary bug stuff.

[Trishy]

Have you tried Terr Ant Killer? I swear by the stuff. You put a few drops on little squares of card board and it is carried back to the nest. It's made from Borax so it doesn't contain any pesticides. Terro will be carried back to the nest so it destroys the colony instead of just the ants you can see.

HTH

[DeChRi]

just saw the other thread! nevermind this one then

[DeChRi]

Here is my major question. I can control the lines of ants, and get em when I see the lines coming in. But when I dug up my flower bed at the front of the house, the entire bed, like 20 by 4 feet, was swarming under the dirt. Like I would take my spade, dig a chunl of dirt, and they would swarm up my arm. It was like the whole flower bed was swarming with the little suckers.

[lorijds]

Hey, Jojo, welcome to the east side of Larryville!

We have ants living in the walls of our house now!!! We get them in the bathroom and kitchen.

Terro ant killer is really the best way to control them, and even then it doesn't get rid of them completely, just makes them tolerable. You can buy it at Ernst and Sons hardware store downtown next to the antique mall.

When we first moved here, I freaked out, used every spray possible, called an exterminator, and basically, still had tons of ants. We tried everything....cinnamon lines, chalk lines, peppermint spray, pepperspray, caulking up any entry place, borax and sugar mix...the only thing that has worked well is the Terro.

And also, I am not so freaky about it now. We get them in part because we have a yard full of flowers that the ants love, like peonies. I am NOT getting rid of my flowers...so the ants and we are learning to live together.

Good luck! They take some getting used to, but once you get them under control, a stray ant here and there isn't so bad!

[mrzmeg]

Put diatomaceous earth in your garden and around the outside of your home!
It won't hurt your kids or animals, but it will take care of the little crawlies quickly.

[ksmeadowlark]

Hey Jojo

We kind of finally feel like we have the ants under "control" over here on the west side of Larryville, but it took a while, and we still have stragglers. Here is what we did:

1) Used Terro liquid in the worst spots (for us, our dining room and our closet, of all places). I kept the closet door shut to keep nosey cats and DS out of it (it does have a little bit of borax which you don't want pets or kids munching on). In the dining room, I put the bait under a plastic milk crate with something heavy on top, again to keep kids and cats out of it. It took about 1.5 wks to work in our dining room, and 2.5 wks in the closet. We got the Terro at Westlake Hardware.

2) Outside the perimeter of the house, we sprinkled diatomaceous earth. We got ours at Earl May but they also have it at the Merc and the one at the Merc has a better pour spout. I especially made sure i got it down in the holes that they come out of. One thing about this stuff, it isn't toxic to kids or pets, but it WILL kill all insects that come in contact with it, so you don't want to just sprinkle it everywhere.

We are also going to caulk up the siding a bit when we get a dry, tornado-free week around here! Hope this helps!

[Quillian]

Diatomaceous earth is not toxic but beware it can scratch your cats cornea. If she gets it on her paws and cleans her face it could cause problems.
Meg