my house is getting invaded by ants what do i do?

Answer 1

Various insecticide baits exist for ants. The general idea is to trick them into eating something that will kill them.

My mom always used to sprinkle boric acid on the places where ants came into the house. It is fairly inexpensive and is poisonous to ants. Wikipedia suggests mixing boric acid with sugar or grape jelly to make it more attractive to the ants.

If you know where the anthill is, you could place your bait near it to increase the chances of killing the queen ant. Wikipedia also says that pouring boiling water down a fire ant nest can be an effective method of killing the colony.

Answer 2

My old house was totally invaded also. We had ants that were like cockroaches. Every time you lifted up a dish, or moved a dishtowel in the kitchen, about 20-30 ants would scurry away and try to find another dark place to hide.
Here's a few tips:

Make sure the house is clean. Ants tend to be attracted to sweets, so make sure all the candy and sugar and such is in some sort of sealed tupperware. In my house, ants got into some candy canes, and all that was left was a plastic candy cane shaped wrapper afterwards.

You can put out ant traps. These are only good for about a week or two though, so be sure to replace them often. You can also try ant spikes, which you stick into the ground around the perimeter of the house.

Ants sometimes come in because of the cold outside.Try to find where the ants are getting in. Sometimes you can use a caulk gun to seal off any holes or cracks.

If it's not out of your budget, look into an exterminator. We had nightmares with ants for months. Finally we cracked, and hired an exterminator. He came once every two weeks for about 2 months, and the angry ant menace was finally expelled. We noticed the result about a day after the first visit, and we kept the service for a while to make sure we got em all. The exterminator will usually spray around the perimeter of the house, drop some granule ant killer bait, and maybe put out a few small "ant hotels" that have a special poison. This was really the way to go for us, but I have had success with all the other methods I listed. Good Luck!

Answer 3

A lot will depend on exactly what kind of ants you're being invaded by.

An infestation of pharaoh ants will have a completely different strategy for control than an infestation of carpenter ants.

The first step is getting your ants positively identified by a qualified source.

Once you have an ID more specific than 'ant', then you can decide what, if anything, needs to be done.

Answer 4

The first step is to get rid of anything that's attracting them. Sugar and other sweets, and greases or fats of any kind are usually the major attractants. A lid on the sugar bowl won't stop them (as you probably know), so use air tight containers for that and cookies, cakes and the like. Don't leave greasy pans or platters more than a few minutes. Wipe cabinets and floors with a cup of vinegar in a couple of quarts of water.

The second step is to put a barrier between the ants and you. Anything in crystal or flake form can be used to deter them. Salt, black pepper, red pepper, baking soda, talcum powder... the list goes on. (Used coffee grounds are said to be especially effective, even against fire ants.) Why does this work? Imagine yourself faced with a shoulder high snow drift that's too soft to hold your weight. Would you go through it if you didn't have to? Neither would I!

Thirdly, attack their hills. Pour boiling water down the main entrance to each hill you can find. Use at least a gallon to each hill. You might have to do this two or three times, but it will work. You can try borax mixed with flour around the base of your house or near their hills, but boiling water is cheaper, safer and more efficient, as ants are selective about what they eat.

Ants don't care for mint or citrus, cloves or bay leaves, so think orange peel, peppermint tea, lemon juice, ground cloves, etc. If you can plant mint around the foundations of your home, you may deter them from entering. Vinegar has the same acid as citrus, so use it to clean with and ants won't feel welcome. (It probably erases or overpowers the odor trail other ants have left for them to follow.)

Answer 5

Pay Money:
Orkin-type pest controls, $50-$100 per visit should last at least a couple of months.

A deep cleaning service, better than the average Molly Maid, should be $75 - $150 per visit, and should last almost as long depending on traffic. Ants like food crumbs.

Pay less money:
Home Depot type stores sell spray pesticide, about $25-$60, and are fairly reliable, and will last for multiple sprayings.

A deep clean is free, unless you can quantify the pain that elbow grease will sometimes give.

Good luck.

Answer 6

first: try cleaning up- get rid of all crumbs and food on the floor that might atract the ants.

second: look for small holes in the ground and cover them up in the mean time to stop the ants from getting into your house (with sticky tack or something)

third: by a spray that kills ants and spray the remainder of the ants

fourth: if that doesnt work bring in the professionals!

Answer 7

Go to the dollar store and buy some boric acid powder and put it down where they crawl. This stuff will kill them for years to come.

Answer 8

MOVE NOW!!!. lol thats what i would do. Other wise spray and spray and spray. All entry points, places the go, cornors and baseboards

Answer 9

Put cinnamon powder at all points of entry..

Answer 10

Move or get an exterminator