Problems with Ants?

Question

Since we had the warm weather this year in the Midwest the Ants are all out already. I have been fighting them the past two years but can't get rid of them. Have a few mound in the yard, I also suspect there may be one under the house. I have used Ant dust and buttons, doesn't seem to do anything. I even dumped the dust right into a mound. I do not want to get an exterminator. I would like to exterminate them myself once and for all, and do it economiclly.

They are black ants in two sizes, large and medium. They seem to like sweet and grease. They also wander at random.

Answer 1

sir please call orkin pest control they will come out and give you a free inspection and let you know exactly what you are dealing with first of all !there are many types of ants that all cause different problems ~~i just treated my home for carpenter ants they eat the 2x4-s in your Walls they can do damage like a termite so please call them they are good and informative and they will get to the point of where there living!!!!!!!good luck and remember the 1st visit to let you know is free

Answer 2

I'm in the Midwest too, and I've had a similar problem. I read something online about using a dessicant of some sort.

First, ants don't wander at random. The scouts leave a chemical trail of where they've been. The workers all follow the trail, but if the ant walked around funny, they will too.

A dessicant is something that dries out something else. In double-paned windows, the dessicant absorbs moisture. When you buy shoes, it's the little pack that says "Do not eat". When you use a dessicant on ants, it clings to the oils on their bodies and dries them out. It kills them pretty effectively too. The problem is that ant colonies are so so so so large, that it may take a very long time to get all of them.

I watched a few of these guys working and they were coming in through a floor register in my bathroom on the ground floor. I have a slab-on-grade foundation (no basement). This means that they've been waiting there and working patiently since 1996 to get through. I went to Menards and got some caulk. I sealed the teeny little gap between the foundation and the floor and haven't seen any since.

My ants reminded me of the ants in the old Popeye cartoon. I thought I'd need a metal sofa.

Answer 3

You can buy something called Tarro. It's a sweet eating ant killer. I had ants horribly at my last apartment. Especially when it rained. You leave out little cardboard disks with the Tarro on it. They eat it, take it back to the nest. It takes about two weeks but you will see a difference. Just make sure no children or animals can get to the disks. It is a syrupy consistancy and very sticky. Best of luck.

Answer 4

Ants become a nuisance when they enter homes. Instead of spending money on costly pest control, you can get rid of ants by removing the food source and using soap water.

Answer 5

Diatramacious Earth..... it will kill any insect with a hard exoskeleton when it crawls across it! It won't hurt animals or children... some farmers feed it to their animals to keep the fleas off them! It works on Texas ants! And Boy do we have 'em!! I get mine at the feed store, but I think even Walmart sells it now.

Answer 6

go to the store and buy lots of pop rocks if u go to walgreens
they should have them for 99 cents
see what will happened is the ants will go to the pop rocks because of the suger in then an when they eat then thell die
of go to walmart and but some ant traps the 1s u put water in

Answer 7

Have U tried Bleach? Works on the lil buggers I have here in Arizona.
Also if U can, get Ur hands on Ant Pellets. They seem to work reallly good.

Answer 8

We have problems with imported fire ants down here in Texas. They are a nuisance, and it sounds like yours are too. Try Amdro or Spectracide. Just make sure that those ants are not protected somehow, like our native red ants. Good luck.