Ants in my kitchen - help me get rid of 'em! - Page 2

[mattemma04]

We have carpenter ants and I have been killing them off with the boric acid(have found at dollar stores in summer).I have also had success with sprinkling the laundry borax(walmart if you can't get it elsewhere) at baseboards and around house.
I have seen the ants eat the jelly/BA mix. I have not had problems with the pets getting into the acid,though I don't leave the jelly mix out!No irriation with the borax along the base boards either.

I bought granules online.Advance.Smells like fish.My ants seem to prefer the sweet stuff right now.You can try grease with BA too,and see what gets more traffic.

Good to see them die,but even better to see them get their fill and carry home a huge batch of poison

[Racecarma]

PLEASE WAIT - Don't use the Borax. I almost used this stuff when I had an entire ant colony coming in my back door one day (even under the brand new door!) Yikes!!! I have a clean house and no open food - why they wanted in I have no idea.

To be sure the Borax was safe and found out it is not recommended for areas where the dust might get in your house and especially where animals and little kids would come into contact with it. They also said not for use near food. Well, being at the back door (heavy traffic) and in my kitchen -- there's no way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax

Then I tried the yeast and molasses thing outside to attract them and kill them. That did not work. They kept on coming in.

Instead I read somewhere that they hate peppermint. I washed the whole area Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Liquid Soap, even sprinkled it full strength by the door opening where they were coming in. They HATED it and never came back!! I was shocked!! WAYYYY COOOL! ...and a lot less toxic.

[AuntRayRay]

:
I was going to right this very thread when I saw there was one already LOL
I have big black ants in my kitchen and small black ants in my bedroom...really freaking my little one out. He won't walk on the floor if he sees one. He gets real upset. I don't want to use anything that could hurt him,my nephew or my foster kitty though. We've been here for about three years and this is the worst ever. Though I do remember my downstairs neighbor saying she gets them bad every year...maybe she did something new this year and now their retreating up here: I've tried spraying vinegar and put out bay leaves..not working. I wash my kitchen with vinegar and tea tree oil, but I will be buying some lemon jiuce and Dr. Bronners and see if that can help. I don't necessarily like the idea of "killing" them BUT....I do not like/want them in my house!! Here's hoping that everyone here with this problem can get rid of these guys asap

RayRAy~

[Ilovelife]

1/2 boric acid, 1/2 sugar, with some hot water to dissolve it all into a paste. Put it into bottle caps (like milk bottles or soda bottles) and leave them in the pathways of the ants. But you can tuck them where children can't reach them, like down the side of the fridge. Use the boric acid, though, not borax. It works slower so they bring it back to the rest of the "family" This will keep them away for a few weeks, then they may come back & you need to repeat. The peppermint Dr. Bronner's works well as a back-up for us, but won't do the whole job. good luck with the critters!

[quietserena]

I feel bad for the ants.

But I'm not comfortable with them walking along the wall where my head is. Why they are there, I have no idea. We have no food in the bedroom. What do ants eat again?

I decided to let them be. There is no food where they are and they've stopped coming into the kitchen after I really made a point of cleaning everything for a few weeks. I think I was messing up their pheromone trails with frequent wiping down of the counters.

So they come in at the bedroom and by the fireplace. Don't know why but since there is no food, my hope is that they'll just give up.

Ants don't bite, do they?

[alexisyael]

Some ants bite, it depends on what kind you have.

[kingschild]

Originally Posted by AuntRayRay

:
I was going to right this very thread when I saw there was one already LOL

RayRAy~

Me, too.

I have tried vinegar. It worked last year for me, but no success this year. So I will be looking for some Dr. Bronners Peppermint soap. Has anyone tried any of the orange oil solutions? I think they sell one at Whole Foods.

[The4OfUs]

we have ants around our sink, and I know where they're coming from...I have some peppermint EO, I'm going to try that plus some cinnamon and see if it stops them. I don't know what the buggers are after anymore, I've been a clean freak in the kitchen so there's nothing for them to snack on anymore...

I'm so glad I found this thread to try out these fixes!

[koofie]

I have some TJ's castile peppermint soap and used it around the door where the ants were coming in as well as the dog food bowl (their favorite food) and NO ANTS today!

I kind of feel like the dog food bowl needs to be filled because said dog is now 15 and getting skinnier.

I hope this works long term because it is cheap and easy! I just rubbed it on full strength with a damp cloth You could see the ants running form the smell!

[kingschild]

I mopped and wiped all the counters down with TJ's peppermint, and DH still saw one on the counter: . I will try again with a stronger solution.

[The4OfUs]

The cinnamon is working! So we either have lazy, unmotivated ants (), or they're finding somewhere else to go.

It's an interim solution while we get the counter caulked and close up the hole they were coming through. So I have a pile of cinnamon on my counter, who cares? There are NO ANTS!!!!!

[littlest birds]

Peppermint oil will completely repel them--spearmint also works. Clove works but it makes paint peel off! Darn it. Hopefully that quality will come in handy someday.

I don't think ants actually live indoors? Ours come in the window edges near our counters and things like that. So, we can make barriers whenever we see them. Every few days, we simply wipe on the oil with our fingers and they will not enter at all.

[koofie]

Originally Posted by arismomkoofie

I have some TJ's castile peppermint soap and used it around the door where the ants were coming in as well as the dog food bowl (their favorite food) and NO ANTS today!

I kind of feel like the dog food bowl needs to be filled because said dog is now 15 and getting skinnier.

I hope this works long term because it is cheap and easy! I just rubbed it on full strength with a damp cloth You could see the ants running form the smell!

I've only seen two since then. I really just put the soap full strength around the door where they get in and the dog bowl. I think finding where they get in and "blocking" them there is most important.

[momto l&a]

I just kept vacuuming and they are now gone

[Mommy&Will]

Originally Posted by deeporgarten

I don't think ants actually live indoors?

I don't know. We have a new kind of ant this year - really large ones - that seem to be coming from interior walls. I have called an extermintor and cancelled the request twice now because I don't want to spray. But I fear --- are these carpenter ants? I look at pictures on the Internet and I'm sorry - all ants look the same to me. :

I bought this at the HFS today:

http://www.ghorganics.com/Orange_Guard.html

[Zamber]

I have had wonderful success with cinnamon. Bonus that it is safe for my cats (I heard borax wouldn't be).

[maybemom05]

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I am still waging a bit of a battle with the little buggers, but things are getting better - I think!!

and, as a plus, I think I'm falling in love with the peppermint castille soap - I picked it up at Trader Joes. It's my go to cleaner now - I have some dilluted in a spray bottle, and I've been happy with it.

You all are such a great resource!! Thanks again!!

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by Racecarma

Instead I read somewhere that they hate peppermint. I washed the whole area Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Liquid Soap, even sprinkled it full strength by the door opening where they were coming in. They HATED it and never came back!! I was shocked!! WAYYYY COOOL! ...and a lot less toxic.

Peppermint doesnt work for us.

[Attila the Honey]

Peppermint has worked for us in the past with the tiny ants, but only if I reapplied at least every other day. And not Dr. Bronner's, that worked maybe an hour , but actual peppermint oil. The tiny ants were easier for me to deal with because they were very obvious about where they were coming in so we could plug the holes and apply peppermint oil to the spots. Of course they kept finding new holes to come in so it was a neverending battle.

Now this is our first summer in a new house and I keep running across the big black ants. Eeek. I've only found, I estimate, 3-5 so far today but they are so spread out and in such weird places that I have no idea how to find how they are getting in, yk? They are in the kitchen, not on the counters or floors but on the walls and cupboards.

I am really scared about this only because it's only May and I don't want to be infested by August. I have a 3yo that gets into everything, as well as 3 cats and a dog!