Black Ants and Bathrooms

[AGA]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

It is far more likely that they are coming in through the holes in the wall where the plumbing pipes penetrate the wall, or cracks near the floor or window openings. You plug one visible hole, they find another one you can't see. The bait or gel traps are the best way to deal with them.

I had them and they were coming in from behind electrical switchplates among other odd places. It was HORRIBLE. They really liked my kitchen, but never anywhere else. And never in the sink or on dishes and seldom in food cabinets etc, but came out from behind the microwave, crawled all in the cabinets where the dishes were (next to micro) etc...WEIRD.
And my bug man refered to them by the pet name acrobat ants because they raise up their backside when you touch them...funny looking little things, but a pain nonetheless.
Ended up having to bore holes (behind the stove under the microwave) in the walls and drop stuff in there and then about a week later he came back and did the gel stuff for good measure.
About 2-3 WEEKS before they were completely gone.

[Barbara-Marie]

Thanks guys.Great info. First time I have seen ants in bathroom and kitchen sink. They hang out in the shower underneath the shower taps. I thought they must be thirsty and looking for water. Tried bait but it is three years out of date, hmmmmmm.....Killed a few but they kept coming back. So i USED SPRAY which seemed to be more effective. However, they still pop up in the same places, bathroom, near tiles, kitchen sink, near tiles. I have now learned that they could be either Rover or carpenter ants. The proximity of water must be a clue though. And what about the tiles? Do they eat the stuff that sticks them together? Another question, neighbours cut down a beautiful old gum tree. Perhaps they had to migrate cause they lost their home? Peace and love to you all. Barbara-Marie.

[SickOfCalifornia]

This happens to me every year. My pest control guy has this poison gel. He puts a tiny drop of it behind the faucet and maybe one other drop along their path. The ants eat it, then take it back to their colony and feed to it the other ants. It takes about 3-5 days, but then the ants disappear.

[cdelite]

The little guys that are trying to take over Austin's bathrooms and kitchens are called rover ants. They are fairly new to the area. In over 20 years of living in Austin, I never once saw them until about 3 years ago.

They do seem to like sweet stuff. In our pantry, if we're not meticulous about ziplocking all the open packages of food (including crackers, cereal, candies, flour, etc.), they invade. I have even seen them get into an unopened food package (dates) that was "sealed" around the lid with one of those cellophane rings.

Carpenter ants are bigger. They're usually not too interested in your food. Acrobatic ants are just a type of carpenter ant. Both have been around here forever. Boric acid dust works great on them if you can locate their nest, which is usually outside.

Thanks for the tip about Terro. I will have to try that.