What to do about an invasion of ants?

Question

Serious answers only, please...
Still trying to identify if these are carpenter ants or not, they are big and black, that's for sure. (Will try to get agriculture extension to id on Monday.) We can't seem to locate a "trail" of where they are coming from, rather they are scattered about individually. The one exception was when they took over our trash bag a week ago (don't know WHAT they found in there; I was throwing away PAPERS, for gosh sakes!). They are in kitchen and bathroom areas only, but really getting to my dear 91 year old Dad, who is talking about calling in exterminator, which I would like to avoid. Dad doesn't complain about much, so I know this is bad for him. So far have tried: ant traps, vinegar, cayenne pepper, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Am nervous about using the boric acid; seems too much like poison. Is borax related to boric acid? That would seem safer, if as effective.

I appreciate everyone's helpful input, and wanted to add some possibly helpful input of my own. I took an ant body to our local college for identification today and they said except for some hairs missing on the torso (which may have been torn off), it matched exactly with the id for a carpenter ant. Which is probably why vinegar & regular ant bait traps haven't worked. She recommended spraying the foundation w spray for carpenter ants & putting carpenter ant specific traps inside the house. She also said they were probably looking for water & coming in on pipes. Results not in yet, but at least I saw a couple ants actually ENTER the bait traps. Not sure if I'm up to the spraying project; it seems like an enormous job, so still may have to hire someone. Anyone with any more suggestions specific to carpenter ants, thoughts are very welcome!

Answer 1

I had a similar problem and found that treating the outside base of the house with ant poison found at home depot kept them from coming in. I didn't have to pay for an exterminater or have chemicals in the house.

Answer 2

there must be a hole they are coming in, perhaps where a drainpipe or a cable goes through the wall. Ours were coming in by the telephone wire, I filled that hole and they stopped.

Kitchen and bathroom suggests a waterpipe.

Borax is stuff they take back and it kills the nest, it did not work for us.

photo here
http://www.epestsupply.com/ants.htm#Carpenter%20Ants

There is a spray ("Dethlac" in the UK) you can spray on the outside of the house around doors and windows, eg under the windowcill. This does not kill them but they won't cross the line of the spray.

Put your honey and jam in the fridge! They seem to get into a jar even if the lid is screwed down.

Answer 3

I reckon you should try drowning them with water dude. Don't leave any crumbs, pieces of food around..keep sugar well away. Me and my sister were in a hotel once and there were these huge big ants (probably the same ones)..my sister was really frightened of them,,she thought the ants would climb over us in the night and eat us because some ants nip..thus, she didn't want to sleep..so I thought of putting a BIG spoon of sugar in the corner of the room so the ants would be attracted to the sugar instead of us..LOL in the morning half the sugar was gone and there were about 20 ants in that area..it was really scary..I know what you're going through! lol

Answer 4

Buy some 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry soap, I have pets and have used it for years. Put the dry soap in one of the squeeze ketchup bottles that you can buy and any dollar store and apply around base boards, kitchen cabinets drain pipes under the counter and anywhere you see the ants, they will carry it back to their nest and it will kill them. When you no longer see any signs of the ants vacuum up any excess that is left and use the remainder of the laundry soap in the box to do laundry with, my grandmother also used this remedy.

Answer 5

My mother always uses Baby Powder!!!

I read somewhere, spray VINEGAR where they are coming in at!

I use those tin ant traps.

Husband has been spraying bug spray!

Every year it's a new pest. This yr is the yr of the black ants. Last yr it was earwigs, the yr before tiny red ants.

Answer 6

i don't know what species of ant that you have

,but generally i find that ordinary talcum powder, run across doorways and window ledges, seems to stop them coming in doors. ( why i don't know )

Traditional ant Poison, does not work ,in my experience and is a waste of money .

i also go outside and try to locate their nest ( boiling water sorts this out rapidly .)

They may have been considering the paper in your trash can , for nest material ( could they be wood ants ???)

Luckily, for us , the "ant" season ,is usually quite short . So the wretched little pests once controlled stay away for a year round .

Answer 7

Boric Acid is safe as long as you don't have toddlers or pets that might get into it. They are also making sprays now that are Organic and won't be harmful. You can usually find them at your local hardware store.

Answer 8

Flee the Planet... no...follow the path and try to kill the colony as you go. just use raid spray and follow them to the sourse... They also make a type of pellet that the ants take back to their home too... That stuff seems to work too....

Answer 9

Yes, Borax is another name for Boric acid, and it is the most effective insect killer there is. Just make sure your kids and pets don't get into it!

Answer 10

My Ants are brown, and bigger then the Ants
I had last year. We spray, and use Ant Traps.
Black ones sound scary.