Multiply that picture by a thousand and you will see what I mean by invasion! Unfortunately, they are in the walls and come out anytime and anywhere they've found something to eat. Cat food, ice cream left in a bowl, jelly encrusted knives left in the dishwasher (yes, the dishwasher). I have a bad feeling my freshly baked cookies may not make it through the night; even though they are locked into a cookie jar.
So, I have a new best friend.
Does anyone have any ideas, outside of using a bug bomb or calling the pest exterminators, that they care to share?
Update: 8 Jul, 2007 - Edited post.
I don't know whether it is available in the US but in Australia you can get something called Antex. It is a white powder you place on the ground that the ants pick up and take back into their nests poisoning all of the ants. The stuff is fantastic but highly poisonous to pets.
ReplyDeleteI have it, but not luck with it so far :(
ReplyDeleteWell the magnifying glass may be fun for the first dozen or so, but the army afterwards is a bit more tedious than I wish.
ReplyDeleteFlamethrower... I've just spent a few months remodeling this damn house :P I'd rather have an ant invasion than burn the place down.
And I spread out more granules from the bottle, but I don't think these ants eat them. I had carpenter ants out by a tree and the capsules got rid of them in a week flat. These small ants are the problem :/
Try Borax (powdered boric acid). For ants, you might have to mix it in jelly/jam or sugar. It's always done the trick for me with cockroaches or fleas, especially in carpeted areas.
ReplyDeleteAnts have usually been taken care of with a perimeter defense (outside, 10 foot wide swath of insectide spray in the yard, plus the wall and foundation; inside, a combination of poisoned bait and a pyrethrin-based spray along baseboards, cracks, and under appliances). I haven't had to resort to borax with them yet.
I have sprayed twice now with 9 month pesticide on the parimeter of our house. It kills the ants that are all over the place, but the next day they are back at it right where I sprayed.
ReplyDeleteGoing to try jelly+borax maybe on some cardboard outside the house where I know there is a really big pile of them.
(Grimwell sez):
ReplyDeleteYou have done the perimeter spray, and the powder. Good stuff. Now add in some indoor and outdoor traps. Little things that you just lay out on the floor and counters. They walk in, but don't come out (and it's not messy). Spray them when you see them too.
If this is starting to feel expensive, try talking to an old timer at a local hardware store (not Depot or a big joint, somewhere like Ace or True Value). They will know the local critters and what works best if you are lucky.
Otherwise call Orkin eh!
So far so good... seem to be winning with raid and the spray. And the cookies survived.
ReplyDelete