Ants

18 years ago

I have ants crawling on my kitchen counter they are making

me crazy. What can I used to get rid of them? I would

refer a natural remedy if possible. It's me or them.

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Comments (7)

vicki_lv_nv
18 years ago
This has several options for inside and out. Good luck. I would be crazy too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ant control
sjarz
18 years ago
I sometimes get ants in my suites because we live around a lot of water, we get feral ants that are attracted to wet...
I use a spray bottle with about an inch of dishsoap and filled with water. Don't shake it up, just leave it the way it is.
If you spray them, the dish soap kills them and deters their friends from coming in...
Suzan J
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Then we had an outside company come and spray 3 times in three months and they won't go away. ==>>> the ants .. or the company ... did they not guarantee their work??? did they happen to ID them??? .. and if not.. it makes one wonder .... you might want to invest in hiring another company ... who will guarantee their work ... and solve your problem ... in every project.. there does come a time.. when checkbook resolution is the only option.. if for no other reason.. peace of mind ... and frankly.. when i found them crawling ON ME ... it would be the time to do such ... good luck ken ps: i use the type at the link when they invade in spring [various versions per manufacturer] ... its the type rhiz is talking about ... over a couple days... i watch their paths ... and place them in places i know they travel.. and usually within a week.. they are gone.. until the next horde moves in [i figure.. a new nest???] .. lol .. and as noted.. the scouts leave a trail ... for others to follow ... so your repeated.. frequent washing.. kinda obscures the fact that the scout has to report back and his scent followed back by the workers.. who will bring the goo back to the hive .... [ i place some under the stove.. near the sink.. and near the toaster ... all food sources IMHO] Here is a link that might be useful: link
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Comments (4)
I live in NJ & we got the annual little kitchen ants a few weeks ago. My solution is to mix 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry shelf of supermarket) with sugar & sprinkle where the backsplash meet the counter top (their highway). I had also tried the bait stations but they don't work like this does. You have to be careful not to put the borax mix where dogs or kids will find it--poison to us, too. Last year we got rid of them in a novel & accidental way---we had not used the oven for weeks as it had been quite hot. Then we turned it on to bake something and a few minutes later, there was a large mound of tiny ants on the counter next to the stove, frantically milling about & carrying larvae & eggs! They had made their nest in the space between the stove wall & the inside of the oven. I don't like having them in my kitchen but I felt terrible about roasting them & their babies! (So I sprayed the whole pile with Fantastik & that killed them all instantly.)
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Comments (6)
Hi Marnie, What can I say like well Ants are everywhere, and while they are there at least you know you dont have termites, but they are a jolly nuisance all the same. And yes I know what it is like to see them come into your house by the thousands go up the wall and walk all around your cornices to come down again and go out through the front of your house somewhere, beats me why they didn't walk over the garden to the front, or under the house, it would have been a lot quicker. Now we are talking brand new house here 5 years ago, hubby and I built it ourselves and while we were building it I said to hubby look at all those ants coming up the bearers, then when we put the joists in same thing, by time we put the frame up the wall studs were alive with the blighters so you can imagine our surprise one day when we go to the block to start work to find none there at all, why because it rained. And I have noticed over the past few years since we have lived here, when it is real dry they come in looking for water, I used to find them in the bath, sinks and even in the toilet cisten, then when it rained really heavy the same thing happened. This year we have had none so far, in the dry or wet but that could be because I have put down those Bait Stations where they go in and take some of it back to the nest and feed Her Majesty and she dies. About two months ago I layed the Bait Stations again when I seen them come in and I seen them go but they have not returned.I cant believe it as there are thousands in the Garden and if you can put up with them out there, let them be after all its their back yard too. But in the house well thats a different matter and I think its best they are not there.....Cheers..MM.
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kayjones
18 years ago
Go to a hardware store, buy some Boric Acid, get an old jar lid, mix the Boric Acid with some granulated sugar, place the lid in the ants' travel path, and it should eliminate them. The ants go into the lid to get the sugar, the Boric Acid sticks to their feet, they carry it back to the nest, feed it to the other ants, and they all die.
ashli
18 years ago
Baby Powder.
I had read that placing chalk near openings where the ants entered your home would deter them...and later when I saw this long line of ants scurrying down the kitchen counter, I wondered if baby powder would have the same effect...so I grabbed a container and put a fairly thick line of it on one side of the ants...the ants hate it...then I put it where I thought the ants were coming from... sprinkle it, or make a thick barrier of it...not many will cross it, and they'll disappear...If you leave food out in the open, they'll return, I just reach for the powder...Works for me...Talc Powder might work, too.
jannie
18 years ago
My Grandmother used to peel cucumbers and lay the peels around the edges of rooms. Don't know if it works, but it's cheap and won't hurt kids or pets.
frazoo
18 years ago
I clipped this article recently because my folks' neighborhood was infested with ants...followed by termites! I'm glad to know that one insect is followed by another. Guess it's the ol' food chain...LOL!

Leslie/KS
susie53_gw
18 years ago
There is a product called Terro. It comes in individual packs that you just cut off the end and tuck it away where you see the ants. It is great stuff. I had ants early in the summer and have not had them since. I have used it for years..

susie

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Ants

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vicki_lv_nv

sjarz

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