ants in the house

[madmarine]

Knowing the wisdom that abounds in BWH i am now in the position of needing some advice.

We seem to have our own little army of tiny ants that like to invade our kitchen. We keep the area clean and disinfect often but they are almost always there.

Any ideas from anyone on how to get rid of them????

Thanks in advance.

Chuck and Debbie

[CountryKitty]

If they're the same kind as mine (crush one under your thumb and then sniff--they smell like rotten coconut!), then they are likely nesting in the walls to get out of the soggy soil. (They live in colonies a couple hundred insects strong, and you may have several colonies in the walls.)

I dislike poisons, but tried natural remedies like mint planted around the house and cinnamon sprninkled where they come out from under the baseboards--nothing phased them. Terro brand ant killer worked really quickly and efficiently. I get mine from Walmart, but the local hardware store has it too. Put several drops on the little orange cardboard 'servers' that come as part of the package and set them where the ants will find them. The ants will quickly find the poison syrup and suck it down (you'll see them form a ring around it as they drink). Keep adding more drops as it gets eaten up, til you don't see ants anymore. It usually works within 2-3 days for me.

[madmarine]

Thank you so much. I heard about Terro on a homeimprovement talk show on XM radio yesterday. Happy to hear from someone who has tried it in real time and it works. These talk show people tend to promote stuff for their own self interest and i was skeptical.

[cubcadet]

For a natural fix for ants try rotonone. I used it two times and it wiped `em out within a few hours. You know it is working when they are wandering around aimlessly and trying to climb the walls and falling over. Good for fleas too. Just use the fresh stuff. It is powerful, but becomes inert after exposure to air and water. I like Bonide brand .

[MooseToo]

a little boric acid dissolved in water and placed in shallow jar lids on the windowsill or counter - give it a few days to work -

[rae-dean]

i sprinkle bonds medicated foot powder along where the ants appear.we don't have any animals though.the ants die instantly and the powders killing power last a while.i do not put it on counters in the kitchen.just around the garbage can and in the bathrooms..it smells sort of good too.

[Dagny]

Forget peppermint, cinnamon and grits, all of which I tried to get rid of an ant problem. The ants LOVED the grits, which were supposed to swell in their stomachs and kill them.

A mixture of half and half powdered sugar and Borax is an old remedy, and white vinegar will repel them, but has to be reapplied frequently.

I think I've finally gotten rid of mine with a combination of Grant's ant stakes (little gray plastic stakes with a dollop of tasty poison that the ants carry back to the nest) and noting where they were coming in, namely over and under a tile backsplash on an exterior kitchen wall. I caulked all the cracks this afternoon and have only seen one since.

If all else fails, check carefully around your house and try to locate the hills. I found an amazing number of them underneath a stepping stone to my porch. Once located, you can either dig up the hills and destroy them or pour boiling water down the holes.