I have a small kitten and I don't want to use any poisionus chemicals.
2006-06-13 08:24:50 · 22 answers · asked by Panada 4 in Pets ➔ Cats
Ants come into the house to forage for food. You need to find out what is attracting the ants and eliminate the food source(s). There are about 200 species of ants in the USA and different types of ants eat different things, but there are two general categories that come into homes: grease-eating ants and sweets-eating ants. So your first question is: What is attracting the ants to your home?
You mentioned a kitten - if you feed canned cat food, the grease-eaters just love that. Pick up the leftovers and clean the food bowl after each of your cat's meals.
If you see ants on the kitchen counters, look for spills of sugar, flour, crumbs, etc. It doesn't take much to make a meal for an ant! Checkinside your cupboards also.
Also, ants follow the same trails to and from their nests. Watch where the ants go and see if you can find the nest(s) and destroy them.
2006-06-13 08:36:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I get sugar ants sometimes because of my own fault by forgetting to wipe up the counter top in the kitchen after I used the sugar for something, or forget to put a soda can outside in the recylcing, or don't rinse out a glass that I drank something sweet out of. I also have two cats that I also don't want to poison by pesticides. The first thing after an initial attack of ants is, get out the old vacuum cleaner and suck em up! You can basically track them back to where they are coming from into the house. You may have to vacuum up some left over ants for a few days after, the stagglers. Clean up any area that they were congregating around. Then, if you must use a pesticide, put the cat in the bathroom with food and water for a few hours, and spray the point of entry of the ants and wait until the pesticide is dry before letting the cat out. Generally, the cat will not even be curious about the area sprayed because it's usually in a corner or crack in a room somewhere, also they don't like the smell of it and will generally stay away from it altogether. Not sure about the vinegar idea, although I have heard that it is a natural bug repellant...I haven't tried it because I don't like the smell of it. Best bet is the vacuum cleaner to suck up the ants and generally keep everything tidy and clean!
2006-06-13 16:25:01 · answer #2 · answered by romeochiro 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DO NOT USE BORAX!! If you have a kitten, do not use it. if it gets on the kittens paws, and she licks her feet, she could become sick. Sprinkle some grits around the areas that the ants are, and they will die. Works kind of like those rat pellets that make the rat blow up internally when it drinks water. They tkae it back to eat, and when they drink, they explode.
2006-06-13 15:32:32 · answer #3 · answered by alymail2002 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can purchase ant baits that your pets cannot get into...the ant carries this back to their nests and they die there. It typically takes less than 24 hours once the baits are in place.
To not get ants in the first place...make sure you clean up any sweet, sticky spills....ie, sugar, syrup, soft drinks..this is typically what the ants are after.
2006-06-13 15:28:38 · answer #4 · answered by kueria 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use Twenty Mule Team Borax (find it at the grocery store in the aisle where they sell the laundry soap) sprinkle it around where the ants come in, I put it on my windowsills the edges of my cupboard and the floor by the doors....It worked for me, hope it works for you
2006-06-13 15:31:14 · answer #5 · answered by lorac 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Find where they are coming in, usually a small crack or hole somewhere, and put a small puddle of dishwashing detergent there. Anytime you see a line of ants, wipe the invisible line they are walking along with the dishwashing detergent (this confuses their sense of smell, which they use to follow the trail.)
Be vigilant, you don't need to use a lot of dishwashing detergent but it needs to stay fresh, and they will give up.
2006-06-13 15:30:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try this stuff called Terro... It works great, see it's some kind of sweet poison that attracts them, then they take it back and feed it to the rest of the ants and it starts killing them all!
2006-06-13 15:35:37 · answer #7 · answered by foxi_brown_eyes 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use Cider Vinegar
2006-06-13 15:45:16 · answer #8 · answered by tobaseki04 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use chalk to put lines around any area you don't want them to cross and they won't. Like at the base of your doors or windows, or foundation, inside & out. Reapply as necessary.
2006-06-13 15:42:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I use Home Defense,, it kills all nasty bugs, ants, spiders... In fact I used it just this morning, on the some pesky ants that like my porch and sidewalks... They are no more.... LOL
2006-06-13 15:39:58 · answer #10 · answered by cutienoz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋