[beansmama]

UGH!!!

I was just vacuuming and i noticed a few ants on the floor in our dining room. (it's carpeted, with a jute rug on top of the carpet so we don't ruin the floors - we rent). I got down to smoosh them and notice a LOT of ants crawling along the edge of the wall and carpet. Then i noticed them on the rug. Then EVERYWHERE.

The problems started in my DD's bedroom in this one corner...then the bathroom...then the kitchen. I've also noticed some in the living room by the sliding glass doors.

I'm SICK of this.

I've just been smooshing them or spraying them with febreeze (it's all i have and it seems to kill them...)...

HELP? I need to get these things out of here. They are grossing me out. We're clean. I vacuum under the dining room table, sweep my floors, clean my counters, etc.

I have a baby on the way this july and do NOT want my house infested.

PS. is the landlord supposed to take care of this? I haven't talked to him about it yet...

 

[LittleBirdy]

I believe pest control is the responsibility of the land lord but that may vary from state to state.

I've hear borax works well to kill ants but never tried it myself.

 

[Sonnenwende]

If the ants are under the foundation, good luck.

 

[tinybutterfly]

Terro makes an ant killer that is basically just sugar and borax. You open the little things up, the ants come, they take the bait back to the nest and it kills them all. It can take up to a week or two to kill all the ants, but it works really well.

You can also make these yourself, but I can't remember the proportions. It's just sugar, water and borax.

It will hurt animals or children, though, so if you have pets right now or little ones, you'd have to put it out of their reach.

Good luck!

 

[beansmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonnenwende If the ants are under the foundation, good luck.

It's an apartment and we are on the *second* story...
They must be really freakin' motivated...gr.

 

[AGierald]

Tea Tree Oil! We had an ant issue, and my husband diluted tea tree oil,and started spraying, and they died INSTANTLY. Like literally, curled up and died. Just vent well if you have cats, it can be too much for their livers to digest.

 

[To-Fu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGierald Tea Tree Oil! We had an ant issue, and my husband diluted tea tree oil,and started spraying, and they died INSTANTLY. Like literally, curled up and died. Just vent well if you have cats, it can be too much for their livers to digest.

Tea Tree Oil, eh? So do you have to spray it right on the ants, or do you plant it somewhere, or...?

I keep killing them, and they keep coming. I thought ants were smart little soldiers! Ugh.

 

[rubelin]

My most favorite discovery on the planet has been Orange Guard bug spray http://www.orangeguard.com/ It's made from orange peels, so it's totally safe (you *could* eat it, but it's gross

) and it smells like oranges. You can use it to kill them directly, but I've found it best to spray anywhere they can get in, around windows, moldings, etc. It works as a deterrant so eventually you can "seal" them out of the house. My place is old and termite ridden so there's lots of holes for them to get in so I use a lot of it. I started getting vigilant about it in the fall and so far it's been months since they've been in the house.

Good luck!

 

[Poddi]

Good luck getting rid of them! I'll be watching this thread. My parents' house has the worst ant problem. They have ants everywhere. We check before we sit down, check before we lie down in bed, rinse toothbrushes and tumblers before use, rinse dishes before use, ants could have crawled over those for all you know. All foods are stored in the fridge or freezer, we're not supposed to spill a single drop of juice or sauce, or the ant hoard would be on top of it within minutes.

: Sometimes I wonder why I ever want to go back there.

 

[MacroMama]

Mix half vinegar, half water and spray it all over, even where there are no ants. This will keep them away and it cleans too!

Good luck!

 

[Ruthiegirl]

I love love love Terro! I put a few out front where we get ants nesting in our foundation and a few in the garden where they eat my potatoes. And they are gone within a week.

 

[User101]

Moving to Mindful Home Management

 

[katiemfree]

I've mixed borax and confectioner's sugar and added a bit of water to make a paste spread it on a paper plater or saucer. At first the ants will swarm all over it, they gobble it up and then they die. It does take a couple days, but I have found that to be effective.

 

[~gilli~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinybutterfly Terro makes an ant killer that is basically just sugar and borax. You open the little things up, the ants come, they take the bait back to the nest and it kills them all. It can take up to a week or two to kill all the ants, but it works really well. You can also make these yourself, but I can't remember the proportions. It's just sugar, water and borax. It will hurt animals or children, though, so if you have pets right now or little ones, you'd have to put it out of their reach. Good luck!

: Totally. That stuff really works. I have killed 2 colonies with that stuff. Borrax acid is not harmful to people. They use it to make eye drops!

 

[delicious]

yeah to the terro ant traps. when we lived in texas we had ants so bad and that was the only thing that worked.

 

[Panthosette]

Salt sprinkled in a solid line keeps our place ant free.
On hard surfaces, chalk may work too.
The ants that breed near me scoff at chalk and vinegar... salt is all that has kept us ant free.

I'll be watching for more tips as the summer approaches. I'm sure the ants will find some new gloriously creative way to get into my house!

 

[oneKnight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by To-Fu I keep killing them, and they keep coming. I thought ants were smart little soldiers! Ugh.

That's the problem with only killing the ones you see - their friends and relatives just come to haunt you about it. To really be rid of them you must bait them with a slow acting poison that they can TAKE BACK TO THE NEST and feed to all their buddies and the queen.

I highly recommend the Torro stuff, it's a clear gel that is a sugar attractant and 5% borax. Some ants drown in the little clear traps, but enough get back to the hive with it because it WORKS for us when nothing else did.

I doubt salt does much against ants, we had them in our salt shaker last year. Mmmmm protein.

 

[AmyB736]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneKnight I doubt salt does much against ants, we had them in our salt shaker last year. Mmmmm protein.

I was about to say the same. How gross is it to see ants in your salt shaker after you've been sprinkling it on your food... I could not eat salt for a while after that.

 

[oneKnight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmyB736 I was about to say the same. How gross is it to see ants in your salt shaker after you've been sprinkling it on your food... I could not eat salt for a while after that.

They were in our sugar too (before I put it in plastic with an airtight lid) and we just ate them in that too

:
(They got in there BEFORE we started using poison)

 

[Theoretica]

borax, sugar, and grits....works like a charm and it's too big to eat right away so they take it back to the nests and BOOM! Ok no explosion, but it kills the colony

Not good for the Buddhist in me, but damn satisfying otherwise, lemme tell ya!