Ant problem...need to kill them all?
Question:Ants are everywhere in my house. Mostly in my kitchen and a little in my bathroom. I wipe the counters all day long so there is no crumbs and try and kill them and I bought some of those combat posin things but nothing seems to work. I need something that will kill them and is safe for my dogs.
Answers:
well they have to be coming from outside. i had this same problem, they actually got into my central heat/air unit outside and broke it. you need to buy ant powder or get an exterminator to spray outside. the ant powder worked for me. buy a big bag and sprinkle it around the outside of your house, all around the foundation. it shouldnt hurt the dogs at all. this is the only way to stop them. if you just work inside more will come. you gotta make a barrier around your house
Buy the ant traps and hide them EVERYWHERE. Behind fixtures, furniture, etc. It will work. The poison is self contained. The pets won't get to it.
I would spray around the outside of the house. Raid is a good product.
what i do is go to lowes and get ANT KILLER that stuff works. and make sure that you leave all windows and doors closed as much as you can
Ants don't like cucumbers. Put some cucumber shavings about and that will make them go away.
I've had good luck with borax acid. Once they track through it they die off and even carry it back to the nest. It should not affect people or animals and you can dust it into cracks. Also seal all cracks.
I bought some spray at walmart.i forget the exact name but its made by Ortho and has Max on the label.I sprayed it outside along the foundation and even up the foundation.if you have a basement spray down there too or inside the crawlspace.it is safe for indoor use so spray under your cabinets.behind the fridge and around all the room borders.give it some time.it took a few days before i noticed fewer ants.
put salt where they are getting in at. they wont cross salt. worked for me
Boiling hot water from the kettle on their nest or there is lots of ant killing chemicals out there. I'm not sure if it is safe for dogs you would have to check on the package but I personally think the marker/pen type of ant killer is the best, you just draw around where the ants go and when they go on it they die (If I remember rightly) was a while ago now. There are also sprays for killing ants too.
Hope this Helps, Good Luck!
what kind of ants are you dealing with? Ants seek out sweets and do not stop until the have gotten what they wanted. I had the same problem in my kitchen. I had to seal up everything that contained sugar. i wiped down counters with bleach water and mopped with bleach water. I finally tracked them down to see where they were coming from.I went into the garage an got my husband's caulking gun and sealed up where they were coming in. That helped a lot. I also went to several different websites and I read that if you put down grits they carry it back to the queen..she eats and them drinks water and will explode(yuck). when the queen dies.the worker ants soon dies off too..good luck to you...it is a battle I know
The first line of defense is to remove the attractants: keep counters free of crumbs and sticky spots. Cover the sugar and put the honey jar in a plastic baggie. Cut off water sources such as drips or dishes left soaking overnight.
If the ant invaders persist, try these simple measures:
* Keep a small spray bottle handy, and spray the ants with a bit of soapy water.
* Set out cucumber peels or slices in the kitchen or at the ants' point of entry. Many ants have a natural aversion to cucumber. Bitter cucumbers work best.
* Leave a few tea bags of mint tea near areas where the ants seem most active. Dry, crushed mint leaves or cloves also work as ant deterrents.
* Trace the ant column back to their point of entry. Set any of the following items at the entry area in a small line, which ants will not cross: cayenne pepper, citrus oil (can be soaked into a piece of string), lemon juice, cinnamon or coffee grounds.
* Mix a half teaspoon each of honey, borax, and aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet, etc.), in small bottles. Place bottles on their sides, with lids off, in areas of most ant activity. Ants will carry the bait back to their colonies. Important: use indoors only; must be kept away from pets and children.
* Leave a small, low wattage night light on for a few nights in the area of most ant activity. The change in light can disrupt and discourage their foraging patterns.
* Ants on the deck? Slip a few cut up cloves of garlic between the cracks.
Also, out of personal experience... keep all opened "sweet" items very tightly stored, and put where ants cannot get to them if possible. Example - Several years ago, I had an ant problem at an apartment I was living in - when I began storing my sugar in the refrigerator, it made all the difference - the ants were easy to get rid of after that.
Control Measures
The most important step in ant control is to locate the nest and destroy the colony. Sometimes a chunk of jelly, spoonful of honey, pile of sugar or piece of bacon, placed near the site where ants are found, will attract them and help in locating their nest. Once the route is discovered, treatment can be made in the crack or crevice, greatly reducing or eliminating the problem.
In the Home (Indoors)
Never treat entire walls, floors, countertops, cupboards, etc. Apply all insecticides only as crack, crevice or hole treatments, avoiding food, children and pet contamination. Dusts, such as bendiocarb (Ficam), chlorpyrifos (Dursban) or boric acid (Borid), puffed into holes can give good coverage of voids where ants can be killed or carry the chemical back into the nest, killing others. Apply in light amounts. Aerosol sprays can be applied, but dispersal or area coverage may not be quite as good. The use of a paintbrush to apply a thin layer of an oil-based insecticide into cracks along baseboards, window and door frames, around plumbing or heating pipes, etc., can be effective.
Depending on the kinds of ants, certain commercial baits can be ingested by workers, taken back to the nest for consumption or regurgitated to feed and kill others in the colony. Commercial bait syrups such as borax (Terro) will kill ants that feed on sweets. Toxic fast-acting baits kill foraging workers quickly, but are less effective as those that are slow-acting, which are taken back to the nest for consumption. Place baits directly on the ant trails away from children and pets. Other baits include boric acid plus mint apple jelly (Drax), hydramethylnon (Maxforce), methroprene (Pharorid), bendiocarb (Ficam), propoxur (Baygon) and sulfluramid (Pro-Control).
House Foundation Spray (Outdoors)
To prevent ants from entering the house, use a perimeter spray, treating the foundation as high as two feet and out three feet into the soil, especially around windows, doors, etc. with the insecticide mixed in water, preferably as a wettable powder formulation, to avoid plant injury. Dursban, Diazinon or Baygon give good control.
In the Yard and Garden (Outdoors)
Ants can injure plants by tunneling around the roots, causing them to dry out. Sprays or dusts, applied directly in the ant mounds and around the area a few feet, will eliminate the problem. If needed, repeat the application according to the label directions and safety precautions. Again, Dursban, Diazinon, Baygon, carbaryl (Sevin), and bendiocarb (Ficam) will kill ants.
On Trees and Shrubs (Outdoors)
Eliminate aphids, mealybugs and scale that secrete honeydew to reduce ants. Apply similar insecticides as for the yard and garden to tree trunks, shrubs, bushes and the soil to kill foraging workers. Use insecticide formulations that will not cause tree and shrub injury.
Labeled Insecticides
There are literally hundreds of insecticide formulations labeled for ant control. Some are labeled for general use (homeowners) while others are restricted use (licensed pesticide applicators only).
In many cases, once an ant infestation has been found, control measures are best accomplished by a licensed, professional pest control firm. Homeowners often do not have the experience, availability of certain insecticides and equipment needed to perform the job effectively on certain ant species.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/20...
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