Due to the rainy and cold weather, ants have been camping out in my apt. They aren't really going anywhere...not towards food (usually) and just, you know travelling around. And in random places too...not necessa in the kitchen. Our landlord told us to live with it, as "everyone has ants this time of year" and that "erxterminators are back logged". Yeah, but it's not like an ant here and there. There are several trails of them all over the kitchen.

We got some ant trap hotels...but they either go around them or party it up all over them and they don't seem to be working. We also got 2 of those Sonic things and now we see more ants...and they don't seem to be driving them out.

We have cats, so I can't really put poison down. DOes anyone know of a way to get rid of these MF's? A friend suggested Baking Soda...another said there is nothing you can do...but suggested to put a plate of sugar down so at least they are concentrated in one place. I envision that idea I just can't see pandering to these pests.

PLEASE HELP! If you know.

Thanks!

You've already tried anything I could suggest.

Good luck though! That sucks...

I have Ants too ,my Kitten chases them around the floor then eats them!

Putting sugar down doesn't work ,i usually use Ant powder ,not sure now what i will use now because of my Kitty.

something like this http://www.unclealbertsantbait.com/??
[Edited 3/14/06 11:40am]

I've been dealing with ants for a couple of years now. I WISH I knew something to tell you that would work.

I seen two ants on my dresser last week. I killed them of course.

superspaceboy said:

You should try to get rid of them.

I hope that helps!

2the9s said:

I would hope for a better answer than that. Is the ol boy slipping or just too tired these days to come up with something better?

I had an ant problem in my store couple years ago. We've since changed locations but, my boss at the time said to spray the plces where you see the most trailing with rubbing alcohol... Something about the scent trails I think. It actually seemed to work a little. I pretty much doused the area! You may also want to check your windows for cracks in the framing. That could stop their cousins from moving in.

Good luck! Those lil fuggers get in everything!

i lived in SF a while and rmember the day they all came and visited my apartment. like streams of molasses down the walls....
and the people at work said 'oh yeah, perfectly normal. they'll leave in a few days.'

i thought they were nuts but that's what happened

XxAxX said:

I hate it when they turn up unannounced. So rude. Never think you might not be in

superspaceboy said:

In your pants?

BRB ... i'll look up the essential oils you can put in a mister and spray round

(safe for all living things )

Have Ants?
Smear a line of peppermint or spearmint oil across your kitchen counter or floor and the ants won't cross it. If you already have a line of ants invading your house, just draw a line of oil across them and they will leave.

If you can find exactly where they're gaining entrance into you home, that would be the best place to apply the oil. Cayenne pepper sprinkled where they enter will also work to keep them from entering.

If you have a diffuser, you can diffuse peppermint in the room.

Outdoor Ant Control
Supplies: 1 to 2 gallons water
Stove or barbecue grill
Instructions: Heat water to 160 to 170 degrees. Quietly sneak up to the mounds of ants and pour the boiling water down the hole.
Note: I normally try to do this between 11am and 2 pm.

Indoor Ant Control
Supplies: 1 tbsp. boric acid
1 tbsp. mint jelly or peanut butter
1 cracker
Small cardboard box
Instructions: Mix the boric acid and mint jelly; spread mixture on a cracker. Punch pinholes in a cardboard box; place cracker inside. Place box in an area where ants cause problems, but away from children and pets.
Note: The mint jelly or peanut butter lures the ants in and the boric acid kills them.

Indoor and Outdoor Ant Control
Supplies: Diatomaceous earth
Instructions: Dust food-grade diatomaceous earth along the ant’s pathways.
Note: The white powder will cut through their exoskeleton and they will dehydrate and die.

Indoor and Outdoor Ant Control Supplies:
1 1/2 cup Cream of Wheat
Instructions: Place a dish of Cream of Wheat where the ants can access it.
Note: After they eat it, the cereal expands and the ants will explode.

• This is an answer for Ana who has problems with ants in her kitchen. I have found sprinkling Comet or Ajax powder around the area the ants are invading works wonders. I also take it outside and find where the ants are coming up into the house and sprinkle it there. This is great in the kitchen because it is not poisonous like bug sprays. Good luck! - LR

• Red chili powder !! I've been using it to repel ants for years. Make a paste using a little water, find where the little black pests are coming in and going out and paste the area. you can sprinkle the powder too, but I find adding water makes it more potent. The ants hate the stuff. Brooke and Mary B.

• To trap ants leave an open bottle of maple syrup (cheap stuff is ok) the ants love it and they drown happy. Just make sure you your children and sig. other know about it (LOL). Also I have had luck with the Torro ant poison. It's like a syrup. This they take back to the colony. - Lucy

• Mix borax with sugar water. Place it on the ant trails and where the ants are coming in. It kills any ant that eats the mixture. From CSinbad

• Some mint oil and mint chewing gum help repel ants in a house. placed a stick or open pack of chewing gum on a shelf. Outside you can plant mint around the foundation. It makes a good groundcover and is fragrant when it's stepped on. I hope this helps. Please let me know. - Diana

Getting Rid of Ants

Q. I have a question about ants. We have had a problem with the small, brown ants. We have tried the borax & sugar, and poison, nothing works. Does anyone have any suggestions?

• We have 'them, too. About everybody we know does, here in Southern California. We don't like to spray poisons around, so we have to put up with them to some extent, but we have found that they hate baby powder (preferably scented talcum). If you find a trail of them in your house, or some "scouts" looking for food so they can bring the rest of their nest to enjoy it, just sprinkle the baby powder on the ants and wherever they are coming in from, if you can find it, and you will see them begin to get upset. After a while, they'll be gone, and they won't be back again for awhile, even after you remove the powder. We dust baby powder on our honey jar and sugar bowl, as well as the outside of the cats' dish and it keeps the ants off.

• Sounds crazy, but try vinegar! Fill a squirt bottle with plain old cheap white vinegar, and squirt it anyplace you've seen ants (kitchen counters, windowsills, etc) and let it dry. It's non-toxic, won't harm anything, and the smell will go away in just a couple of minutes. It worked for me!

• I have a suggestion for the ant problem; plain old cinnamon. I put in or at the site of the ant invasion, they back off quick!

• Black pepper is a nonlethal, poison free, cheap, and safe way to get rid of ants - sprinkle the black pepper where you see them congregating and watch 'them scatter. Follow them to where they're exiting - which is the same spot they're entering in at - and sprinkle the pepper at that spot to keep them from coming back in. It's safe to use in your cabinets, on windowsills, near your pets and kids, around food, etc.

• I have a book with several tips for the use of apple cider vinegar. One of them is getting rid of ants. Make a mixture of 50/50 water and vinegar and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray the surface with the solution several times a day. Ants guide themselves with their scent. Vinegar has a natural chemical that alters ants' scent and which ants avoid.

• My husband was in conversation recently with a gentleman in the pest control business. This man preferred to use environmentally safe methods to control pests. His recommendation for ants was: equal parts Windex and Ivory Soap. Simply mix, and spray problem areas.

• Most ant poisons have a sweetness to them that attracts most but not all ants. Some ants are attracted to grease. Observe your ants and see what they like, maybe you need a different bait. Also, though this is sometimes difficult, see if you can trace them back to where they are getting in, because caulking is usually the best solution, as it prevents recurrence.

• I live in south Florida, the bug capital of the world, and I don't use anything toxic in or around my home. I discovered a safe way to get rid of ants. I found Shakley's Basic H. It is a non-toxic soap made from soybeans. I take a pint spray bottle, fill it 1/3 with Basic H and 2/3 with water, mixing gently. Follow your trail of ants to try to discover where they are entering. Spray a thin stream of the mix around where they are coming in. I also spray around my door frames and into any openings where they might enter. Caulking any little holes or openings is also helpful. Please remember this is a SOAP. Do not spray where it will be stepped on and someone will slip. I reapply it as needed. Try to keep it off painted surfaces as it will eventually bubble the paint. You can also put three tablespoons into a Miracle Grow feeder full of water and spray outside around the foundation of your house. It will soak into the soil and get into the nests. Do this once or twice a month until the problem abates. As an added bonus, use the same mixture in your feeder and spray your lawn to keep it flea free. I also keep the little spray bottle handy to spritz any bugs that try to dash in the door when it's open. If it can kill a palmetto bug (roaches that are as big as B-52's), it will kill anything!

• I had a bad problem with them last year and tried everything. Then, I read in a book to place Bay Leaves on your counters and preferably along the trail where they are coming in (if you can find it). It worked. Now I make sure that I keep some behind my canisters, etc. on my countertops.

• We use plain white chalk drawn in a line at the place they come in they wont cross for some reason and also I use comet cleanser sprinkled where children/animals don't go.

• So far this has worked in my house. First you need to find out where they are coming in at. To kill ants that have entered your home without poison I use straight Simple Green. Believe me it works. Then after they are all dead, clean the area and spray the area with a peppermint spray. Fill a spray bottle with water and add approximately 10 - 15 drops of peppermint essential oil , sometimes called Peppermint Spirits. Ants won't cross the area because they hate the smell. Hope it works as well for you as it has for me.

•Ants will crawl away from mint. I did this as a science experiment and it worked. Just plant mint all around your house. Especially near doorways.

• A line of cayenne pepper usually stops them from crossing over it.

• Try putting some whole cloves around. I put them on the window sills and door jams and also sprinkled a few around in my bottom cabinets. It worked.

• I recently purchased the book “The Garden Guy – A Seasonal Guide to Organic Gardening in the Desert Southwest” by Dave Owens. Below is quoted information that may help you out. Dave Owens, does the Garden Guy's segments on KTVK (Channel 3) in the metro Phoenix area during Good Morning Arizona. – C.L.

XxAxX said:

they've been here for a while.

In your pants?

minneapolisgenius said:

Scroll up five posts.

Mach said:

THANK YOU!!!!

Last night I tried using baking powder as it is safe and clogged the places where they were coming in. Worked pretty well...until they worked around it. But that's the best remedy so far. I might try the boric acid on the cracker. I know about boric acid but I have cats. This is a good wrok around that. OOOH and the oatmeal seems cool... Exploding ants...I like it

TMPletz said:

and I wanna dance

2the9s said:

I second that! You should try to get rid of them. lol.

You could use a hammer!

Thank God, we don't get ants here in the Seattle Area. Good Luck! to you!

TMPletz said:

I knew it was too good to be true that no one had said that already.

this is it guys..... this shit works, i swear it does






get it as soon as possible, and treat as needed...


then tell me how long it takes to see them disappear.... trust me on this one

nakedpianoplayer said:

but that can make animals sick... or die... can it not ??

Mach said:

you dont put it down on the ground, it just takes a little tiny drop, like by your kitchen sink or in a crack where they are comming from.... it kills them real fast

they do have traps with the liquid in them if you are worried about the animals getting into it, but i have had more luck with the syrup directly in their walking trails

good luck !

Years ago when I still had a lake home we had ant problems. Big, black ants. They got into EVERYTHING.

One morning I opened a box of SugarSmacks cereal and what came out into my bowl looked more like AntSmacks.

Mach's post was awesome. I hope something on that list helps. Good luck with getting rid of the little f-ers.

WillyWonka said:

Been there.

WillyWonka said:

They got into my just purchased Girl Scout Cookie...Somosas...my favorites!

superspaceboy said:

Okay...I know you might not like this idea because it's going to require the investment of some$$$$$, but I swear by GOD that if you like your apartment, and you're really planning on stying there, you will NEVER see another bug for AT LEAST a year or two and your animals will be okay...

First,the lead-in: I used to live in Miami Beach, with a water canal and boat dock in back of my place, on the ground floor. Now, being a neat freak with a well-behaved (now ex!) husband, food was never left out, counters were always wiped and floors were always swept and clean.But you know what? Miami being Miami, tropical and all, the place was just INFESTED with every kind of bug imaginable, especially the DR-EAAAAD-ED cockroach !!!! Now,being that bugs freak me out and roaches the most of all, I WAS NOT HAVING THAT...so ya know who I called???


SEARS! Sears Pest Control! My skanky ass crook of a landlord wasn't remotely interested in having her properties pest free, so I just said FUGG IT, and bit it out of my own pocket to the tune of about $400.

Now, that may seem like a lot initially. But considering that the treatment covers ALL bugs, AND you get a guarantee/warrantee that requires them to come back to your house if you see anything crawling around---for free---for one year! It's SOOOO worth the piece of mind, and your babies (the pets) won't be harmed. The guarantee lasts for one year, but honestly, it took two years before I ever saw ANY bug in my apartment again! And still not even one of the dreaded brown thingies!

Beyond that, I think RAID tried to do a generic version of some of the tube jells that the commercial pest controllers use (at least as I remember circa 2000), but you will have to be cautious with where you apply it...

Good Luck!

my grandma complained her drinking water during the night was a bit crunchy - and in the morning when she looked at the glass it was full of ants

Nikki23 said:

I've never had a "problem" w/ them but they were trying to trickle in not too long ago. First I sprayed everywhere I thought they were coming in from (around my door, down the halls - I followed those bitches )

Then I got the Terro traps & put one outdoors where they were originating, & I put one on each side of my front door (inside the door). Never saw them again.

But I don't have cats, so