We live in a tropical climate and we have those teeny sugar ants year-round. I have two cats and a toddler, so chemical sprays or poisons are right out. We've tried the bait traps, but the ants don't seem to notice them. We called an exterminator, but he wanted to spray poison all over the house. I've tried to eliminate everything they would be attracted to, but they still keep coming in. I even bought a $100 sealed trash bin and put all my cereals, sugar, pasta, etc. in airtight containers. I keep the house very clean, but the ants are everywhere. I've even noticed them marching around in the bathrooms and the laundry room-- places where there is absolutely nothing edible. What do I do?
2007-02-08 06:39:04 · 7 answers · asked by Rachael 6 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
I've seen exterminators use a boric acid solution to eliminate carpenter ants. They say it is completely non-toxic for pets and children. It doesn't poison the ants, but erodes away the meniscus joint in the legs, eventually killing them.
Don't know if it will work for sugar ants, but worth a shot.
2007-02-08 06:46:41 · answer #1 · answered by Skyhawk 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had this problem too. Once you seal up all your food and they still persist, the only thing that I found that worked was spending some time really looking for where they were coming into the house and then using the toxic spray just on these entry points. Keep in mind that the toxic chemicals in household sprays only perisist for a few hours, so do this when you can keep kids and pets away from these areas for a relatively short period of time. After I did this, I sprayed their trails with windex or other relatively safe household cleaner (last time I used Method kitchen cleaner - it worked too).
Non-toxic approaches just didn't seem to get rid of them but this minimally toxic approach did.
2007-02-08 06:54:14 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not everybody likes cucumbers. You may be interested to learn that ants hate cucumbers, especially cucumber peels. You'll especially appreciate that fact if you want to get rid of them. Just spread some cucumber peels - the more bitter, the better - where ants enter your home and they should get the message. Consider cucumber the "anti-welcome" mat for ants.
Cucumbers are one example of natural pest control. It's using natural and generally non-toxic ingredients to repel or get rid of pests including ants, wasps, mites, moths, flies and other insects.
People are slicing up cucumbers instead of spraying Bug-Be-Gone because they don't want toxic chemicals in their homes or in their garden sheds. There is growing evidence that synthetic pesticides pose a health risk to humans and animals.
2007-02-08 06:47:06 · answer #3 · answered by niesy l 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
- Find out where they are coming in and put a "barrier" of ordinary
talcum powder across the entrance route, e.g. on windowsills,
door-frames etc. It doesn't have to be very thick or wide, but don't
leave gaps.
- mix equal parts of
bread yeast, sugar and honey, and put small amounts of this
mixture about where you are seeing the ants
- put a mixture of bayleaves and
listerine mouthwash in the corners of your food pantry to keep the ants out of the flour and sugar
2007-02-08 06:49:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i cant recall the name however find some honey flavored chewing tobacco and have them fed on it. theyll take to there queen and soon no more ants.
2007-02-08 07:36:46 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cut vegetation back from your home or building. seal all cracks and crevices. clean up food source regularly.
2015-06-24 10:02:39 · answer #6 · answered by Ampm Exterminators Pest Control 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
chalk, this sounds funny but it dose work. Aslo I head a line of baby powder they wont cross.....
2007-02-08 06:48:12 · answer #7 · answered by ohdarnitsmeagain 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Black pepper - the cheap ground pepper. It will not kill them but it will deter them.
2007-02-08 17:10:16 · answer #8 · answered by noonecanne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋