And 409 or Fantastic will stop the ants fast also.

Someone sent me an email about Listerine and skeeters but I can't find it. If I remember correctly, you spray the garden/patio area and they are gone for several days.

I think the one about listerine was debunked on Snopes.com, but I'll definitely try using PAM on the flies.
Thanks for the tip.

Jo

That makes sense. Kinda like hairspray and wasps -- it freezes their wings so you can kill them. Good to konw since I can never hit one of the blasted things with a swatter.

Simple Green will kill ants, too.

Listerine will take the sting from skeeter bites in a pinch, but the patio trick was debunked..and they found that the sugar in it actually caused a problem with ants.

Sooo....I am getting this picture of me in the kitchen....one pesky fly buzzing around....I whip out the Pam and "Pfftz!"...Oops...missed, got the cupboard....that's OK I'll wipe it up later. "Pfftz!" missed again....sorry about that greasy mess on your khaki pants...but that fly was really annoying....
"Bzzz.....bzzz"..."PFFTZ!!"...."bzzzzzz....Bzzuzzuzz"..."Pffrz!! dammit!"
Think I'll stick to a fly swatter and maybe remember to take the spray can of Pam tothe picnic! LOL!!
Linda C

Gee whiz, Linda. You have bad aim! The spray from PAM must be a foot wide. It is a funny mental image of you spraying your entire kitchen with the stuff.

I rarely have luck with a swatter plus if I manage to get one I hate the splattered fly guts on the wall.

I like anything that helps me avoid pesticides, especially around food. It is "tiny ant" season here and I battle them on my kitchen counter. They are invisible against my dark green granite, but leave a drop of jelly on the counter and wow. I will try the spray cleaner. Great idea.

Hairspray on the wasps? Brilliant.

Pam I finally started winning the battle with the ants thanks to a suggestion from Ann_T. Mix equal parts boric acid, confectioners sugar, and water. put it down next to a high traffic area (watch for pets, its toxic to them). The ants will be all over the slurry in a heartbeat, and take it back to the nest to feed everyone else including the queen. Wait a couple days.

I used to try boric acid by itself, and that didn't work. Its the sugar and the water that really get things going.

It also works with big black ants and......ROACHES! AAAK!
I brought roaches home from an auction one time in a box of wonderful antique junk! (LOL! the story of my life!).
Imixed borax and flour and left it all around on little squares of paper. I had a puppy at the time, so only put it out at night.....they were gone in a week, with no emptying the cupboards and no nasty sprays.
Linda C

I'll try it. My mom has trouble with the big ants, so I'll try it there, too.

Eww, roaches. When I was a kid someone gave my mom a pitcher brought back from Mexico. My brother pretended to pour it into his mouth and got a faceful of roaches. Thank goodness he was outside at the time -- we were all doing the La Cucaracha dance.

Pam vs. flies update:

Jo 2
Flies 0

I'm converted. (And LindaC, got 'em each with the first spray)

Jo

So does Lucy......my fly catcher/killer.

My previous Lab was great too and a little less dangerous to the house than a Great Dane is while chasing down flies...lol.

I'll try the pam just for the fun of it. Great tip on the hairspray and wasps.

David

Wow, David that is one heck of a dog! Very noble looking. I imagine she looks a bit less sophisticated when snapping at flies. The flies could buzz around inside that maw for a while before they realize they are doomed. Good dog!

Nice going, Jo.

Good tip! I can't wait to try it! Flies don't bother me too much because they are rare, and while annoying, not menacing. What works on spiders (beside a flip flop or a vacuum cleaner with 15 extension pipes on the hose)?

My cat Jasper is a champ at getting mosquitoes! He ate one in front of me one time before I could stop him... hope it was just protein and not carrying any diseases.

A former friend told me a story of her almost blind grandmother chasing a bug with black spray paint. When the family came over to check on granny, they saw black streaks all over the kitchen counters and cabinets and asked happened. Granny said she'd been chasing a bug with the Raid, but never did get it. My friend joked that there was probably a "floater" in her eye and there was never a bug to begin with. This is the same grandmother who sprayed potpourri Glade in the frying pan thinking it was Pam...

I want to know what happens to the Pam over-spray when you are shooting at flies?. When I use it on a pan, I am very careful to hold the pan over the sink and not get pam all over the stove.
Linda C

No such thing as Pam or any kitchen oil spray over here yet. So it's lucky that we don't see flies in the house but they will come around outdoors some days when we are eating on the patio, so I keep a swatter next to my chair.

SharonCb

Linda, maybe you can take the straw from your WD-40 and stick it onto your Pam nozzle to direct the aim. Better chance of missing that way, though!

Where do you get boric acid? Is it a liquid or powder?

I am having probs with ants on my patio and I really don't want to use heavy duty sprays.

Alexa

I think you get boric acid at the drug store. I know I had it around for something but I can't remember what.

Bobby, you are too funny.

Linda, I guess you wipe it up. You can use the same paper towel that has the squished fly in it.

Alexa, I find boric acid at Home Depot or the hardware stores, etc.

Alexa, Just buy Borax the laundry soap. Sold in most grocery stores. I mix it with either powdered sugar or corn syrup. Either works.

Ann

I use Windex or an ammonia solution on insects - and it helps clean my kitchen instead of adding to oily spots. I've never had enough ants inside to use anything else, but I have bought ant traps for outside. My main insect problem is white flies on the hibiscus, but my Brazilian neighbor showed me that spraying the tree with water will reduce the population significantly. I don't want to use any poison, since I like to make hibiscus tea. Poison also kills the predators of the white flies. I wouldn't mind losing the local squirrel, however.

Lars

I hear Windex is good for getting rid of pimples, too. Opa!

Bobby,
Use hairspray on those danged spiders too! Freezes 'em right up! I have vaulted ceilings and hate to try to swat them above my head. I shoot them with hairspray and they fall to the floor...frozen. Tissue, Eeeewww, whoosh!!!

Deanna (who has no use for anything with more than 4 legs).

Just don't spray hair spray or windex near food. That's what's good about Pam (oh I love to say that!) -- it's edible.

I'm learning good ideas here that I didn't know.

I do like my flyswater though. I just follow a swat with a paper towel and some clorox.

SharonCB, we can't send you food, but could we send Pam? It's wonderful stuff!

Beverly

Thanks Beverly :-) ...but no, I guess if I really wanted to I could try to put some olive oil into a pump spray bottle.
But I get along just fine in the kitchen with a drop of oil on a pan rubbed all over with a finger or a tissue.

Wolf's spider solution (also used on moths or butterflies which accidentally enter the house) is to take his pocket handkerchief and gently catch the insect, folding it inside. He then takes it outside and releases it. I also catch spiders ....rarely seen here in the house though....using a glass jar and sliding a piece of paper underneath then carrying them outside. If a fly comes in the house I usually open a window and chase it out, but we both will swat or spray indoor mosquitos.

SharonCb

Linda, I learned a trick somewhere (maybe on this forum) to open the dishwasher door - put your pan on it and spray with Pam. The dishwasher door catches the overspray and you don't end up with grease everywhere.
Sharon, There were so many flies in Sicily when we visited one summer - that my cousins all joked that it was the official Sicilian bird...:)

I will also vouch for the Borax solution on ants. We had a pretty bad ant problem last year. I soaked cottonballs in the Borax solution and placed them directly in their path. Soon the cottonballs were swarming with ants.

24 hours later, no ants. :-)

It kills some cookware too.

A bird fancier told me that cooking sprays & even non-stick cookware have chemicals that will kill birds, so she used stainless steel pans & olive oil for the safety of her parrots & sun conures.

Cool tip Maria!!!
That's in my "to remember" file!!

Pam really does work
kitchen floor so slippery
dead flies and sore b***

OMG Denise I shouldn't say 'ROFLMAO'. Hope you feel better!