Warrior Poet
Explorer
Just curious: why not?alsih2o said:
Warrior Poet
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
HELP!!! Our home has been invaded by ants!
- Thread starter DarrenGMiller
- Start date
Warrior Poet
JoeBlank
Explorer
Warrior Poet said:
He recounted a while back (last year?) about getting a faceful of ants from his A/C. Hopeful he will dig up or retell the story. Funny stuff happens to Mark all the time, and he tells about it so everyone can laugh at him and sympathize with him.
wolf70, I opened this thread hoping to have helpful advice, but you have tried everything I know about. Mostly I think you will have to give the baits, spraying outside and spices a little more time to work. Hang in there.
alsih2o
First Post
Go outside and bury a fish in the backyard (about 4 inches deep or so), not too close to the house. The ants will go crazy after the smell (which should be all but undetectable to you) and should leave the house, helps if you also deter them from entering (I've heard of the cinimmon thing, also works with talcum powder or chili powder).
Here is some stuff I found online.
# Vinegar to get rid of tiny ants.
# "One clove of garlic, one onion, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper and a quart of water. Steep for one hour, add a tablespoon of liquid soap and spray it around the house" for ant and roach control.
# Mixing baking soda with powdered sugar and applying to infested areas.
# Wash kitchen surfaces with vinegar solution and sprinkling bone meal, chili powder and powdered charcoal in and around suspected points of entry.
# Pour a line of any of the following where the ants are entering the building: cinnamon, cream of tartar, red chili pepper, salt, dried mint or sage, or cucumber peelings.
# Apply perfume to the entry point.
# Mix a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of borax with 2 tablespoons of water. Soak cotton balls in mixture and place on low lids.
# Band sticky, adhesive materials around base of plants and trees to deter ants, which can carry and colonize aphids.
# Border gardens with bone meal.
# Mix 2 tablespoons boric acid, 2 tablespoons sugar and a cup of water. Soak paper towels, place on dishes, and set out for ants.
# Mix 4 ounces of mint jelly with 2 tablespoons of powdered boric acid. Cut small squares of making tape and dab mixture on tape. Stick on floors behind cabinets and appliances.
# Pour boiling water over the nest
# Pour a line of cream of tartar or chili powder where ants enter house and they will not cross it.
# For fire ants, sprinkle a teaspoon of instant grits on each mound.
# Mixture of 10 1/2 ounces of water, 3 ounces of Tabasco sauce, 2 1/2 ounces of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap liquid (available at health food stores). Spray where ants enter the home.
# Combine: 1 part active yeast 2 parts molasses 1 part sugar Mix the ingredients well. Drop a teaspoonful on several small squares of white paper. Place the paper squares along ant trails where they will not be disturbed. How does it work? The ants are attracted to the sugary feast and will consume it readily. The action of the yeast, however, will produce gas their bellies which they cannot rid themselves of. They essentially will pop. The best part of this method of pest control is that it utilizes no chemicals which could harm you or your family.
# 3 parts Apple Jelly 1 part boric acid crystals Mix ingredients thoroughly. Cut standard soda straws into 2 - 3 inch pieces. Fill a 5 - 10 ml disposable syringe (without needle) with mixture. Use this to fill soda straw pieces. Place in areas that ants have been observed. Keep out of reach of children and animals.
Here is some stuff I found online.
# Vinegar to get rid of tiny ants.
# "One clove of garlic, one onion, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper and a quart of water. Steep for one hour, add a tablespoon of liquid soap and spray it around the house" for ant and roach control.
# Mixing baking soda with powdered sugar and applying to infested areas.
# Wash kitchen surfaces with vinegar solution and sprinkling bone meal, chili powder and powdered charcoal in and around suspected points of entry.
# Pour a line of any of the following where the ants are entering the building: cinnamon, cream of tartar, red chili pepper, salt, dried mint or sage, or cucumber peelings.
# Apply perfume to the entry point.
# Mix a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of borax with 2 tablespoons of water. Soak cotton balls in mixture and place on low lids.
# Band sticky, adhesive materials around base of plants and trees to deter ants, which can carry and colonize aphids.
# Border gardens with bone meal.
# Mix 2 tablespoons boric acid, 2 tablespoons sugar and a cup of water. Soak paper towels, place on dishes, and set out for ants.
# Mix 4 ounces of mint jelly with 2 tablespoons of powdered boric acid. Cut small squares of making tape and dab mixture on tape. Stick on floors behind cabinets and appliances.
# Pour boiling water over the nest
# Pour a line of cream of tartar or chili powder where ants enter house and they will not cross it.
# For fire ants, sprinkle a teaspoon of instant grits on each mound.
# Mixture of 10 1/2 ounces of water, 3 ounces of Tabasco sauce, 2 1/2 ounces of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap liquid (available at health food stores). Spray where ants enter the home.
# Combine: 1 part active yeast 2 parts molasses 1 part sugar Mix the ingredients well. Drop a teaspoonful on several small squares of white paper. Place the paper squares along ant trails where they will not be disturbed. How does it work? The ants are attracted to the sugary feast and will consume it readily. The action of the yeast, however, will produce gas their bellies which they cannot rid themselves of. They essentially will pop. The best part of this method of pest control is that it utilizes no chemicals which could harm you or your family.
# 3 parts Apple Jelly 1 part boric acid crystals Mix ingredients thoroughly. Cut standard soda straws into 2 - 3 inch pieces. Fill a 5 - 10 ml disposable syringe (without needle) with mixture. Use this to fill soda straw pieces. Place in areas that ants have been observed. Keep out of reach of children and animals.
Warrior Poet
Explorer
alsih2o said:
Warrior Poet
Thornir Alekeg
Albatross!
Mostly good advice here. Unfortunately there is no instant fix. If they have established a nest inside the house, the pesticides spray outside will be no help. I found the bait traps do work (you do have the ones where the ants take the stuff back to the nest right?), but it takes about 10 days to 2 weeks before you stop seeing them.
DarrenGMiller
First Post
Thanks all for the advice so far. Keep 'em coming. Also, thanks for the link to the old thread about Mark (alsih2o). It made us laugh, which we need right about now. Between that and the stories of the black widows and roaches, it made us realize that no matter how bad things are, they could be worse.
To update, we went to bed after midnight, having been washing and cleaning everything in the infested areas to get rid of their scent. We were up just before 8:00 a.m. this morning, went to the kitchen encouraged by an obvious lessening of the problem. There were far fewer ants about in the kitchen and dining room and they seemed only to be around the bait traps and in the pantry they originally came from. Then, I went into the bathroom off our master bedroom. The counter was covered in ants, they had a line across the doorway and up the wall and cabinets. This is so maddening. It has caused everything else to grind to a halt while we reclaim our home.
DM
To update, we went to bed after midnight, having been washing and cleaning everything in the infested areas to get rid of their scent. We were up just before 8:00 a.m. this morning, went to the kitchen encouraged by an obvious lessening of the problem. There were far fewer ants about in the kitchen and dining room and they seemed only to be around the bait traps and in the pantry they originally came from. Then, I went into the bathroom off our master bedroom. The counter was covered in ants, they had a line across the doorway and up the wall and cabinets. This is so maddening. It has caused everything else to grind to a halt while we reclaim our home.
DM
DungeonmasterCal
First Post
Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Actually, I've had this problem before. There's an ant-specific pesticide you can get that's a sweet green syrup you place on little cardboard tiles along their trail. They carry it back to the nest, feeding other workers as well as the queen. Once she is dead, the colony dies. Takes about 10 days. You can hide the little tiles in corners and such so they're out of the way, and they work great.
Edit: I didn't notice Thornir had posted the same thing. Sorry for the redundant advice!
Actually, I've had this problem before. There's an ant-specific pesticide you can get that's a sweet green syrup you place on little cardboard tiles along their trail. They carry it back to the nest, feeding other workers as well as the queen. Once she is dead, the colony dies. Takes about 10 days. You can hide the little tiles in corners and such so they're out of the way, and they work great.
Edit: I didn't notice Thornir had posted the same thing. Sorry for the redundant advice!
Warrior Poet
Explorer
Never let anyone tell you humans are the dominant lifeform on the planet.wolf70 said:
The ants are coming.
Warrior Poet
punkorange
First Post
we had a similar problem, which turned into swarm ants (the flying ones). A flea trap took care of them. It sounds like everyone has given any advice I might be able to think of though. Good luck.
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