HELP!!! Our home has been invaded by ants!

[DarrenGMiller]

I have never asked for help here on anything other than gaming related issues, but I need to mine the collective consciousness for any bright ideas or tried and true tested remedies.

This past weekend (around Friday), we found our pantry invaded by tiny little ants. I am not sure what kind they are, but they are probably just what they call sugar ants. We live in SC (USA) and it has been hotter than blazes every day with thunderstorms in the evening. There was nothing in there that was not stored in a cautious way. They got into a container of brown sugar THROUGH THE PLASTIC! It was sealed and had never been taken out of the plastic container!!! We took everything and moved it onto a small table, which I use for gaming (to supplement our larger table... we have a large group). Thus, with the ants lessening on Sunday, we moved the pantry items to the kitchen counter, removed anything that we thought would attract them and gamed. The next morning, the ants had found the items on the counter, so my wife moved them back to the small table. Then, the ants started branching out. They found the trash can, the toaster, the recycle bins, some blueberries and were under the refrigerator. They are moving into areas of the house with no food.

I have sprayed some powerful pesticide outside the house that is supposed to last for a season and reaaplied after the rain yesterday. We have put out almost 20 ant bait traps and they found them today. We have tried many remedies found online, including bay leaves, cloves, red pepper, cinnamon and chalk. When we built the house less than two years ago we placed pounds of boric acid inside the walls once they were framed (before the wallboard went up) and under roof. The most success we have had is with a mixture of orange oil, tea tree oil and powdered chalk, with a little Lysol kitchen cleanser mixed in for the cleansing agents. It smells awful but it kills them quickly. I have not sprayed it on or near the traps, as I know those take time. My wife does not want any pesiticide chemicals inside the house, as we are hoping to concieve soon and have had some difficulty doing so.



Does anybody have any serious suggestions as to getting rid of these unwelcome invaders? I am desperate. We have been awake long hours working hard to exterminate them, but they keep spreading. We are beside ourselves!

THANKS!

DM

 

[der_kluge]

Oh wait, you said serious. nevermind

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Oh wait, you said serious. nevermind

...that wasn't serious?

 

[Eeralai]

We had a similar situation 6 years ago in our old house. We also did not want any chemicals inside the house. We vacuumed like crazy and had professionals spray the outside. I think it took about a week after the spraying for the ants to stop. I know that seems like a loooong time. After that, we had the outside sprayed quarterly and we never had bad problems again. In the summer, we would still get some inside, but it was usually right before a scheduled spraying. Good luck!

 

[Bryon_Soulweaver]

Soap. Water. A half cup of bleach. If you want to have some fun, get some rubbing alcohol and a hose, and play "Timmy, why are you burning the ants?". Just dont play "Timmy, why are you burning the ants?" inside the house.

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

I know you mentioned cinnamon, but you might want to give it another shot. When I lived in Portland, OR, we had a serious sugar ant infestation. I traced their scent trails back to where they were coming in (side door next to the kitchen) and sprinkled cinnamon accross their path (basically all around the bottom of the door). They never came back.

Also, Raid has a new line of plant based bug spray called Earth Options. Check it out here:

http://www.killsbugsdead.com/fop_eo_ar_k.asp

 

[Pbartender]

I know you mentioned cinnamon, but you might want to give it another shot. When I lived in Portland, OR, we had a serious sugar ant infestation. I traced their scent trails back to where they were coming in (side door next to the kitchen) and sprinkled cinnamon accross their path (basically all around the bottom of the door). They never came back.

I'll vouch for this... Same problem, same door, same solution. We haven't had ants in the house since.

 

[Uzumaki]

Spray those pesticides and friggin' adopt.

 

[Warrior Poet]

Bummer. The only thing I can think of, aside from what you've tried (and excluding pesticides in-home), is to find the source. Is there a colony center nearby that's accessible (this is a reach, I know)? Is the hill/colony/hive outside in the yard or down the street a little ways, and they've been tunneling to your place from there? If so, you can probably get the little bastards at the hive, and that might help. Or maybe it's a matter of sealing the point of entry with a fresh coat of spackle/cement/whatever? Otherwise, I don't know.

You could call an exterminator and ask them what to do, barring them actually arriving with a tanker truck of PCBs to rinse out your home for that freshly-cleaned spring biotoxin feeling. They'll probably tell you to have them come over and fix it, but maybe there's one in town that's a little more organic friendly, or happy to make a suggestion ("And remember, Smitty's Insecterminator Service means helpful, friendly service with a smile! Tell your friends!") as it could be good advertising.

Got a tarantula, wolf spider, ant lion, or other similar pest hunter? I know ladybugs are aphid eaters, but I don't know what other things eat ants. Sorry, I realize this isn't very helpful. Good luck.

Warrior Poet

 

[alsih2o]

Do NOT turn on your AC.