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Need Advice ** Ants inside the home ** Need Help!

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by r_rai, Jun 12, 2009.

  1. r_rai

    r_rai New Member

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    Hello,

    For past one month we are seeing ants on the first floor. I keep spraying and they keep coming back. Tried to find where do they come from and sprayed there too ... but no luck.

    I have read old posts here and found following two things -
    1. Use Sugar and Boarx (or that Terrro product)
    2. call "Superior" pest control company for the treatment.

    I have 2 little kids and so hesitant to call for a treatment where they will spray some chemical all over the house.

    Please post your recommendations and experience.

    Thanks in advance for your help!
     
  2. rabbit

    rabbit New Member

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    Peppermint oil. It doesn't work like bug spray but you avoid the poison. Ants hate it. Rub it on the surfaces where you see them with a cotton ball and you can watch them avoid it. You may have to apply it often. And it smells nice. Try to find where they are coming in and out. I also read this tip once but never tried it: Put something sweet like honey or sugar syrup in a little container and put it outside near where they are coming in. They'll go to the container instead of your house. Then you slowly move it further and further from your house and they will follow. Don't know if it works but it's worth a try. In our house we seem to have ants a couple of times a year and mostly when it's rainy. Then they go away.
     
  3. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    r_rai: putting bait poison outside the house may be a viable solution for you. Put it outside the house around the perimeter and that will help.

    With all the rain.. they come out more
     
  4. Sasquatch519

    Sasquatch519 Member

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    I had the same problem a few weeks ago. Before you go spending the money on a pro, there's a cheap solution that you might try. It worked for me.

    Step 1: Figure out how the ants are coming in. For me, this was pretty simple. I found a large caravan of ants headed from my back yard up the corner of my foundation and under the siding. I bought a $9 outdoor ant killer spray from home depot and killed every ant I saw. I followed the trail from my house, out into the back yard, and out into the trees outside my yard, drowning every ant in sight.

    Step 2: I knew there were ants in the walls where I couldn't spray, so I picked up some Terro liquid ant bait because I read some good reviews about it. They sell it at Walgreens: http://www.walgreens.com/store/prod...Count=0&nug=VPD&skuid=sku393362&id=prod393361

    Terro is one of the few brands that uses Borax, which is extremely effective at killing ants, and fairly safe for mammals. (We have 2 curious and destructive cats and they ignored these bait traps.) I did some research and found that other brands use other chemicals that are harsher on pets, and not necessarily as effective as Borax. Anyway, I put these things where I commonly found ants in my house. I can say that this stuff works very well. The ants think it's food, and they carry it back to the nest to feed the queen and babies. In about 3 days, I noticed a significant reduction in the number of ants, and in about 2 weeks I noticed zero ants. You will also find piles of dead ants on your floor, the ants will clean the dead bodies out of the nest and put them in mass graves.

    I'd recommend trying this method before calling an exterminator, you might be able to fix the whole problem for less than $20.
     
  5. lilpea

    lilpea Member

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    Sasquatch - is spot on, we also used the Terro liquid and it worked like a charm.

    The ants came in via the garage & mudroom , be lined to the dogs food. We sprayed Terro along the mudroom & garage door and no ants. Highly recommend this spray.
     
  6. tiff78

    tiff78 Broadlands Resident

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    I've read that you need to change the bait every so often (protien bait vs sugar bait). My husband and I have been using strictly Terro for the last 7 years and now it doesn't seem to be working like it did the first time. I've got ants in all the bathrooms, kitchen, living room, basement, front door. At first the Terro was great, killing the ants for the entire season. Now I use Terro and they are only gone for a week or two before they are back!
     
  7. afgm

    afgm Ashburn Farm Resident

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    My guess, with the moist spring we're seeing a huge increase over the normal numbers of ants. Moisture drives them inside.

     
  8. jim

    jim New Member

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    For little ants: Ant traps inside the house in their path + Ortho Max outside. No more ants here.

    For carpenter ants: You may have wet and rotting wood on your house. Find it and correct it.

    -Jim
     
  9. erica

    erica New Member

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    Help! BFAs have infested our home! Not the cute little ants, but big frickin' ants that could carry a small child away.

    Any tips or pest control companies other than what's listed in this thread to resolve this problem? I've used the Terro bait traps (mentioned here) in past seasons with mixed results.

    Thanks!

    ~erica
     
  10. afgm

    afgm Ashburn Farm Resident

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    I imagine some would want to rent your ants if they characteristically can carry away children.

    At least for a little while.
     
  11. rich351854

    rich351854 New Member

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    We have Orkin in for monthly service......and have no bug issues in our home...not sure if it is because of Orkin, but I wouldnt want to test it
     
  12. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    Careful, those behemoths may be carpenter ants. You don't want those around your house. They come in brown too. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://affordablepestcontrol.web.officelive.com/images/carpenter_ants2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://affordablepestcontrol.web.officelive.com/carpneterants.aspx&usg=__sgw5A6ReeKlAOeqNeIyaqBKSUgI=&h=432&w=576&sz=99&hl=en&start=13&zoom=1&tbnid=VV1eoX2zyuG9rM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=134&ei=djZpT-WwJ-Lt0gGh0pilCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcarpenter%2Bants%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1

    The ants have probably developed a resistance to the Terro. Adaptation.

    The best way to rid the house of ants is to find out where the entrance is and seal it up. Do not use noxious chemicals. The bait traps are probably safer to use indoors if you cannot use borax or peppermint.
     
  13. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    What kind of bugs do you have that require treatments monthly?
     
  14. BzyCookn

    BzyCookn New Member

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    I imagine none, since it's for preventative purposes.
     
  15. erica

    erica New Member

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    I might turn my back if I saw them carrying away my two cats. (Don't tell my kids!)

    Yikes, KTdid, they could be those carpenter ants! Oh no!
     
  16. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    We use Terro liquid ant baits around the perimeter of the house. It keeps them outside. It worked great last year and so far has been working great this year as well. Good luck!
     
  17. soccerdudes

    soccerdudes New Member

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    I sprinkled cinnamon at my door thresholds outside (obviously need to reapply when it rains), but ants won't cross it. Sounds weird, but it worked (and it wasn't harmful to my kids). They don't like cinnamon. Worth a try, maybe.
     

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