Fire Ants in Upstairs Bedrooms

[mrstxcop]

Maybe try putting outlet covers on the outlets??? You know, the type that they sell in the baby section at Walmart and Target???

[aceintx]

Most of the time fire ants are getting in from outside, check the perimeter foundation and try to find the nest or nests and treat those with bait like Amdro or treat the perimeter of the house with food grade DE powder. If they are under the slab it gets a little more tricky.

[Sarah TX]

Originally Posted by plwhit

What do any of you do when there are ants coming in from the electrical outlets?

I'm a mite leery of spraying ant killer in the outlets. is there some powder I can sprinkle in the wall after I take the wall plate off?

You don't need to spray in the outlets - just spray around the perimeter of the room. Ant's can't jump or fly, so they will cross the poison eventually.

[TrapperL]

If there is an A/C unit near the bedrooms or worse, a bathroom, you need to call a professional. I've seen where fire ants have built a nest under a tub in an upstairs bath completely filling the hollow area under the tub. That's about a half yard of dirt and ants by the millions. You'd think they would be noticeable but they are bringing in food from the outside and getting water from condensation off of the tub. They get into clothes for the lint for the nest and usually when they are looking for lint, it's a pretty big nest. This is a lot more than a can of Raid can handle. So if there is a bath or A/C air handler close, call a professional.

[DexterCat]

Originally Posted by HillCountryHotRodMan

I highly recommend Ortho Home Defense. You only have to treat your home twice a year. Spray inside along the baseboards in all rooms, then outside where your slab meets the house. Make sure you put the pets outside when you are spraying inside... it takes about 10 minutes or so to dry.

I can't remember a bug that didn't hate the stuff, even in a drought.

have to agree witht his, as i use ortho home defense also and will swear by it. never had a pest problem since i started using it about 2 years back. only pests that come in are big roaches from outside because i leave the screen door propped open to air out my kitchen.

however, my cats usually eliminate them and give them to me as 'gifts'.