Ants (cabinet, live, cabin)

[tee-tee]

A friend gave me a recipe for ridding our house of ants and it has worked exceptionally well.

1 part sugar, 1 part corn starch, one part dry boric acid (Borax), 6 parts water. Mix well. Roll cotton balls in this until they are saturated. Place cotton balls on tin foil or plastic on window sills and other openings where children and pets cannot get to them.

Wait a day or two for the ants to find this. Then observe the thousands of ants swarming it. Then a few days later, no ants.

We had a problem a few weeks ago in our rental house, our kitchen had way too many ants regardless of how clean we kept it. Since ants got into our sugar bowl, I put it outside w/ the lid half-cocked and soaked the sugar with Terro (Terro has boric acid as the recipe above); and I placed it near our back door under a chair so it wouldn't get wet. Every few days I put fresh sugar and Terro in and we have not had an ant in the house now for 2-3 weeks - this after my wife had an exterminator come out.

[miamiblue]

Terro is great for this sort of problem. My parents had problems with these kinds of ants and the exterminator told them to use the Terro in little plastic reservoirs (I think they come with the Terro) strategically placed around the house. We also had this ant problem at my last office (on an ag facility) and the exterminator used terro. I had one of the little traps on my desk and watched the ants come and go, and then stop coming.

[Njrover0216]

I used to have a terrible ant problem here in Maryland. It seems like they did not seal this house up tight enough. However I buy Home Ortho Home Defense spray. You can get a big bottle of it. I spray around my foundation, windows, doors and then a little bit inside, where I know my son will not get to it. You can also use bait traps. Take a trap, take a toothpick and put some peanut butter on it, and but the peanut butter right inside where the poisoning is. This will get them to go in there and eat the poisoning. This worked, but my dogs ended up trying to eat the thing, so I had to do the spray method. I spray once a week, just to make sure to keep them out.

[OmegaBaby]

Originally Posted by Njrover0216

I used to have a terrible ant problem here in Maryland. It seems like they did not seal this house up tight enough.

You should be glad that they didn't seal your house tight enough for tiny ants to get in. Otherwise, you would quickly run out of oxygen.

[seanihle]

Agree on the traps, and for instant knock-down spray them with 409. I keep a spray bottle in my sink. One exterminator told me that if you use some types of poisons on the ants, it triggers the hive to split into multiple groups.

[nclover]

I have ants for the first time. We sprayed outside and have baits inside. My sister in law told me to put a capful of vanilla in the pantry. Don't know why it works but it does. They are still on the countertops and floor but have vacated the pantry! I might have to douse the whole kitchen in vanilla!

[lamishra]

Originally Posted by nclover

I have ants for the first time. We sprayed outside and have baits inside. My sister in law told me to put a capful of vanilla in the pantry. Don't know why it works but it does. They are still on the countertops and floor but have vacated the pantry! I might have to douse the whole kitchen in vanilla!

Maybe it's the alcohol in it? At least your house will smell good! Better than smelling bug spray!

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by nclover

I have ants for the first time. We sprayed outside and have baits inside. My sister in law told me to put a capful of vanilla in the pantry. Don't know why it works but it does. They are still on the countertops and floor but have vacated the pantry! I might have to douse the whole kitchen in vanilla!

I have had good luck with Terro Ant Killer. You can buy it at any hardware store. Terro is glycerine with Borax in it, and you put a dab on a piece of cardboard. The sweet ants eat it, and carry it back to the colony for others and the borax kills them.
If you put it in the trail they travel, they will get into it, gathering around like little piggies.

Last year Terro wasn't getting it done, and our bug man told me to NOT put ant bait inside the house because it gave them another reason to come in.
I put it up, he put a borax substance around the foundation, and haven't had a problem since. But it isn't yet the heat of summer, when the ants are the worst.

[lovemaine]

We had a major ant problem in and around our house, too. We especially had a problem inside the dishwasher. Turns out that ants love water, in addition to food. We tried different ant traps and sprays. Nothing helped. We finally signed up for a quarterly treatment with a local pest control company. For $80/ quarter, they spray all around the house and also in the kitchen. The stuff they use indoors is safe for kids and pets, which was a relief. (They'll also come out in-between visits free of charge if ants, or other insects, show up again.) We haven't had an ant problem since starting the treatment about 2 months ago. Well worth the cost, IMHO!

[rickyll]

For those sugar ants try a product called Terro. The good thing about this product is that is a sugar-like liquid that sugar ants love. They eat it and carry the product to the nest killing the whole nest in a couple of days. There is nothing better! This product was suggested by the exterminator and it cost around $4.00 in Home depot!