Problem with ants!! (Tucker, Chamblee: renting, house, buy)

[livinginbuffalo]

Can anyone point me to a good exterminator? We are getting very tiny ants in the kitchen. I can see where they are coming in and have put traps and sprayed but it doesn't seem to be getting rid of them altogether. We leave for vacation Thursday and I don't want them taking over while we are gone. Does anyone have a company they can recommend that they have used personally? We had ants in our house in NY and one trip from the exterminator and they were gone. Hoping it's that simple here. Thanks!

[cittic10]

Here's a stupid question for you,... did you try cleaning off their trail. Hosing it down, wiping it away or whatever?

A few years back I had an ant hill form half inside and half outside my basement. I've never seen anything like it before. There was literally a huge ant hill on the interior and exterior of the house with the door in the middle of it. With dirt and everything. I ended up hosing away the outside part and sweeping up the inside part and that was the end of that. They never came back.

In other locations where ants have come in, I just cleaned up their trail with a mop or hose and they're gone. At least for a while.

It's worth a shot.

[lastminutemom]

You don't need an exterminator. Sounds like Sugar Ants to me. Go to an Ace or similar hardware store and ask for the stuff to get rid of them. (I don't think home depot or Lowes is as easy to navigate for something like this.)

Works for me every time.

[ATLTJL]

Exterminators are huge wastes of money.

Go to any online pest control site, or you can go to do-it-yourself pest control on Chamblee-Tucker Road.

For as little as $20, you can buy a big bottle of concentrate enough to make like 50 gallons of pesticide. Then just get a spray can, which are under $20 at Home Depot (probably at the pest control places as well) and go around and spray the entire perimeter of your house where the foundation meets the actual house.

That's pretty much what an exterminator does. Only for less than $50, you'll have a few years worth of spraying instead of paying whatever, like $65 each time they come out.

It's also nice to have a sprayer! You can use it to hit weeds with Round-up, spray bleach on your shower tiles, or tons of other jobs.

Please, however, do not attempt to control termites on your own.

[cittic10]

Or you can use water.

[RedJacket]

Get some Liquid Terro. Works like a charm.

[lorilove]

I have had an ongoing problem with the same type of ants. I travel for work and have cat food that stays out, so it is a battle that I am never going to fully win.

The best stuff you can get at Publix or Kroger - it is called Ant Kill.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by lorilove

I have had an ongoing problem with the same type of ants. I travel for work and have cat food that stays out, so it is a battle that I am never going to fully win.

The best stuff you can get at Publix or Kroger - it is called Ant Kill.

Nothing goes better with pet food than poison.

[lorilove]

Originally Posted by cittic10

Nothing goes better with pet food than poison.

Okay - I stepped right into that.

I should have been more clear. The Ant Kill does not go any where near the cat food. I have a very wealthy cat sitter that cleans the cat food area daily.

I primarily have ants in the sink area and wipe down a band around the sink with the Ant Kill. The ants will also travel up the wall to the upper cabinets where I have food stored, I will also lightly wipe down the opening to the cabinets.

FYI, my exterminator recommended Windex for ants

[livinginbuffalo]

ok, I will try these things first then. I just worry because I'm going to be away and don't want them everywhere when I get back. I'll run out tomorrow and get one of these things. Thank you for all of your input! I did, for the record, already buy an ant spray called EcoSmart and some ant traps that are around the kitchen floor and kill all that I found that seemed to be coming in from the kitchen door. The spray kills them when I see them but the traps are doing nothing. I found some in the dishwasher so I ran it on rinse to kill them and when I opened the door there were hundreds swarming on the top of the door. So disgusting!!

I was also away for a week in Buffalo moving the stuff out of our house and my husband was here with my older daughter the entire time. I'm sure he never once noticed one ant so they probably have been multiplying while I was gone.

I will say that the exterminator I used in Buffalo worked like a charm. He put this sugary type stuff inside the house and outside where I knew they were coming in and told me not to kill any or put traps up. They take this poison back to the queen and kill the entire colony. Worked like a charm BUT...since I'm renting and I'm in charge of pest control (except termites) maybe I'll go with the cheaper route for here.

Thanks again for all the input!!