How to get rid of ants in the kitchen?
Question:Have ants on countertop and have tried spraying and used ant trap, but still are there.
Answers:
This worked for me, and every spring we get those fricking ants!! They are tiny, tiny critters, but they just wandered around everywhere. I took a shallow dish about 4" across, kind of like a coffee cup dish, and poured 20-Mule Team Borax to cover most of it, about 1/8" deep, except for about maybe a half inch all around the outside of the rim. In the middle I pushed away about a silver-dollar sized area of the Borax, and then in the middle poured in about a tablespoon and a half of honey. Then, I just let it sit like that - no washing or changing, as it's not necessary - for about a week to a week and a half. Those little guys just kept coming: tracking through the Borax to get to the honey!! What happens is that when they walk through the Borax (or boric acid) their, like other insects with a hard outer shell (cockroaches for example), legs get coated with the Borax, and then when they take the honey home to their anthill, the Borax gets all over everything and the others. This Borax dries them out and they die. After a week or so there were NO MORE ANTS! They didn't come back either! No nasty chemicals to poison you or your pets, no expensive sprays or bait traps, no problem. If you can live with the little buggers for a week or so, that's all you have to do. The Borax in that small of a quantity is harmless to people and their "regular" pets, but bad for those ants and cockroaches. Let me know if it works for you too!
Add bleach with water in spray bottle...
if you live in the uk get in touch with the council, they sent a pest control man round who got rid of them and gave us traps just in case they came back
Avon's Skin so Soft bath oil is great for getting rid of ants. Or you could use powdered boric acid (you can get this at Walmart).
spray turmeric powder on that place
I spray along all the edges of where my counter top joins against the wall and all along the edges of where the floor and wall join. I spray a heavy coating of it and wait about 5 minutes and go back and wipe off the excess. I also spray under the sink and the hinge part of the dishwasher door. Also make sure your toaster crumbs are cleaned out. if they are the small sugar ants, there must be a source of food they are coming after. I use zip lock bags and put all my open dry goods in them such as cereals,crackers,flour,sugar etc.
Liz, I had the same problem and after unsuccessfully trying everything the hardware store sold, I called in a pest control company. It seems that ants find places in your home to nest and in my case it was the attic. From there they forage and reproduce. I recommend that you get help. The company I hired, removed switch plates and sprayed the entire house, plus attic and outside perimeter. It took 4 weekly treatments to get the ants under control and once a month spraying should keep it that way. Good Luck!
What you have is probably sugar ants. Buy traps specifically for them. Look for boric acid in the list of ingredients. It takes a while to kill the colony. Put away all sweet items that are on the counter--sugar, honey, etc. Do not spray. It scatters the colony and you'll have even more ants. I had this problem this spring and it has worked for me. No more ants.
You could try mint . I don't think they tolerate it at all.
YOU DEFINITELY HAVE TO TRY THIS:
To kill roaches/ants - Lay out bread crumbs/honey and mix with boric acid or borax (be careful b/c this stuff is poisonous) and aspartame; leave it on the trail _ THIS IS A TRAP!
- Also, mix honey with cornmeal and leave it on the ant trail. The ants take it back to their colony, eat it, and the cornmeal expands inside of the ants and kills them. (You can possibly try it with the roaches)
Ants: Leave dried cucumber slices in cabinets and on counters; Soapy water in spray bottle will kill them on the spot; Leave mint tea, baby powder, cayenne pepper, citrus oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and coffee grounds in cracks and areas will the ants are. (these are deterrents)
- It also helps to wash down tables and cabinets with a mix of vinegar and water, or bleach and water
(New Edition) Terro Ant Killer- this thing does miracles; gets rid of the colony in a few days, and is a very good bargain. Find it at Wal-Mart, hardware stores, and Walgreen's
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