Ant Invasion

I would have to agree with Lauren about the Terro. These have always seemed to work the best for me. I usually put some out if I have an ant problem and then I put a few new ones out after they are gone to keep them away before they start again. They do take a few days for them to go away and you may see a train of ants going in and out...but they do work. Good luck.

My mom used to put sliced green pepers at the entrances where the ants were coming in. I believe it worked pretty well. Be sure to replace every 2-3 days. Also, Check with your local helth food store for info as well.

Hi! There was an article about this in Mother Earth News a while ago. I used the cayenne pepper and the vinegar (pepper around the outside of the house-- if it gets into the baby's eyes it's a nightmare) and vinegar on the countertops and floors. Voila! In a few days we stopped seeing ants, and we still clean with vinegar (it's better than most commercial cleaners for the environment & our health anyway) but have stopped the pepper-- and we are still ant free! I've linked the article below:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1988-07-0...
Good luck!
A.

I have used a product called terro. You can usually find it at WalMart. It is a syrup type solution you put on a small piece of cardboard and set in the path of ants. The ants will swarm this and take it back to their nest. I love this stuff! It has never let me down. Once you see the ants have stopped coming for the syrup your problems will be over. Good luck.

used ground coffee! it works wonders. if you know where they come from, just everyday after you drink your coffee, dump the grounds where they need to be! the little boogies won't cross it! good luck!

Terro works great - it takes a day or two, but does the job. you can get it at Tractor Supply, or Walmart, and it can be placed just about anywhere - obviously you want to place it where your kids can't get at it. If you can put it along their path, that's the best. It comes in a "trap" form, and a bottle form where you place a little on a piece of cardboard. I find that the traps work best - then you don't have to worry about the poison being out in the open.

OMG! The ants seemed to start earlier this year than the last couple. They are annoying. We've tried the cinnamon and bay leaves in the kitchen. We used professionals and they even used the professional powered stuff, but it didn't work. The one thing we do use that seems to consistently keep them away is baby oil. I don't know if it's safe for pets or babies, but we rub it around our sink and in our cabinets (the corners, not all over) and we don't have a problem. I'll be trying the mint, the cornmeal and the borax solutions, though.

This worked very quickly, and we've never had a problem since. There is no mess, and it isn't toxic. http://www.antcafe.com/ANTPRO.htm

For some reason, ants hate mint. I've kept mint planted next to every house I've lived in. It's a very hardy plant and spreads great. You can keep cutting it and it keeps coming back! Plus it smells great when you cut it. If I have found ants inside, I try to find where they are coming in at and lay some unchewed pieces of mint gum (the cheapest spearmint you can find) around that area. I also keep pieces of mint gum around my countertops and inside my cabinets (just make sure the little one doesn't try to eat it). I hope this helps!

I use vinegar. Spray it full strength around all your doors and windows (inside and out) and anywhere else you think they may be coming in. You may need to repeat every so often, but vinegar is relatively inexpensive and completely safe for people and pets, so I figure it's worth a little extra work.

we bought some spikes that you put around the foundation of your house and they work wonders. It's about $7 for 4 and I think they are great. We put a few extra around than it called for and they stayed away for a year!

Hey C.,
I feel your pain girlie... We are having the exact same problem here too. We tried everything from orange oil to putting cinnamon in our window seels. (the cinnamon did work by the way. they HATE cinnamon) We've been having to spry everytime it rains which is really annoying. A friend of mine said to break chicken bone in half and bury them around the perimeter of your house and that will keep them out of your house because they will eat the bones. He said that he and his wife used to have a huge problem with ants in their old farm house and they never saw an ant again after they burried those chicken bones. I haven't tried it yet but I am going to go pick up some chicken legs tonight!

Good Luck,
K.

I use Bay leaves. They don't like the smell of them. Just place them in the cracks, under cabinets, and around sweet things. Also Vinegar in door way and window seals. I do this every month and I keep them out. Also sweet in low sugar makes them die too. I use to spread the sugar around the outside of the house. Just watch where they are coming in and it place bay leaves or vinegar. I have kids so I don't have to worry about them getting a hold of. I hope this help

Two things work for me:
1. Taro. It is a thick liquid that you pour on a small piece of paper. The ants eat it, take it back with them, and die. They do not come back. But it is a pesticide.
2. Cornmeal. Put little piles of it around, raw. The ants cannot digest it, but they bring it home to their colonies, and they die from not being able to digest it. (much better with little kids around!)
Good luck!

I have two cats besides children in the house, so I didn't want to use pesticides of any kind. I have had luck putting salt down on the edge of the counters where the ant trail goes. They don't cross the salt. I haven't tried putting it down outside, but where ever I have put the salt inside, the ant trails have stopped. Hope this helps.

For us, it worked to pour a line of baking soda across the openings such as doors and windows. Supposedly the ants won't cross it.

I have read that if you put out corn meal, they eat it but cannot digest it so they die.

We live in the country and had bad ant problems the professionals couldn't even cure at first, after many many sprays, traps, and some type of ant repellent drilled and placed into our walls. The only way we got rid of them was to find the nest (apparently in our crawlspace) and get rid of that. I don't know if it's an option for you but if your ant problem is persistent like ours was, it may be the ONLY way to get rid of the ants for good. If your ants are stubborn, they may live somewhere in your house. Make sure you get your money's worth and if you hire a professional make sure they GUARANTEE that they will remove the ant problem no matter how many trips it takes for whatever you pay them.

Good Luck!

We had the same problem with ants and also did not want to use a pesticide we asked a friend who works for an extermination company what we could use that is non toxic and he told us cinnamon we put it everywhere we had ants last summer inside and out and the stopped coming in.We have also heard to use peppermint oil, but we did not try it. Good luck!

C.,
I feel your pain!! I didn't want to use pesticides either, but because of my animals (still trying for a baby..) and after doing some research the only option I found was mint like one of the other women said. I however have a black thumb as far as growing anything, so we bought peppermint oil (not flavoring..the oil) and used a qtip to put it around the door, and windows, and anywhere else they were coming in. It really did work! My husband decided to test this when we first started and drew a box around an ant on the wall (with the peppermint oil) and the darn thing looked like an ant mime, it *Wouldnt* cross the box. Downside is you haveta reapply every so often, but it is chemical free... This year I have gone for the little ant bait traps that have liquid and look like a plug in that you set on the floor of window sill etc (this way I can hide it under the washer, or sink out of pet reach) ... they work wonders! Good luck!!

My husband sprays the house inside and out with Ortho (brand name) Home Defense Max. It creates a barrier around the house that if the bugs cross it, they will die. This stuff has worked great for us so far. I do see bugs occationally but they are usually dead. We have also used Terro traps in the past and they do work wonders. The ants come and eat from the trap and then take the poison back to the collony so that you are getting rid of the whole group and not just the ones that come into your house. Since you already have them in your house, maybe you could use a combination of the two to get them out and keep them out.

Try using vinegar to wipe down the areas they are crossing. The vinegar interferes with the scent trails the ants leave for each other. Good Luck.

We have used Terro liquid ant baits with a lot of success. They are pre-filled liquid baits that can be used inside or out. We use them outside mostly. they will attract the ants to them, then the ants take the bait back to their colony and feed the poison to the rest of the colony. We have almost no ants in our house anymore.

I have put the sugar traps outside the house, where I could see them coming in the walls. That helped a lot. Good luck!

Don't laugh but this worked for me when I was a college student living in a trailer and for my mom when she moved to a new house. Put some jelly, jam, syrup in a jar lid just outside your house. The ants will go to it. Keep refilling and move the jar lid farther and farther from your house, 6-10 feet at a time. The ants will keep going farther and farther,too.

I don't have a big infestation now, but they do show up every spring. I'm not sure of the brand, Raid or something, that has these small round top with metal stakes (all about 3-4 inches long) you put up around your house. I use those every spring and it helps.

i found these natural remedies online. here is the link http://www.eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm

" The first line of defense is to remove the attractants: keep counters free of crumbs and sticky spots. Cover the sugar and put the honey jar in a plastic baggie. Cut off water sources such as drips or dishes left soaking overnight.
If the ant invaders persist, try these simple measures:
Keep a small spray bottle handy, and spray the ants with a bit of soapy water.
Set out cucumber peels or slices in the kitchen or at the ants' point of entry. Many ants have a natural aversion to cucumber. Bitter cucumbers work best.
Leave a few tea bags of mint tea near areas where the ants seem most active. Dry, crushed mint leaves or cloves also work as ant deterrents.
Trace the ant column back to their point of entry. Set any of the following items at the entry area in a small line, which ants will not cross: cayenne pepper, citrus oil (can be soaked into a piece of string), lemon juice, cinnamon or coffee grounds.
Mix a half teaspoon each of honey, borox, and aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet, etc.), in small bottles. Place bottles on their sides, with lids off, in areas of most ant activity. Ants will carry the bait back to their colonies. Important: use indoors only; must be kept away from pets and children.
Leave a small, low wattage night light on for a few nights in the area of most ant activity. The change in light can disrupt and discourage their foraging patterns.
Ants on the deck? Slip a few cut up cloves of garlic between the cracks.
Clove oil-based commercial ant deterrents are available online."

Hi! I have to add my vote for Ant Terro! We get a small invasion of ants every year or so, and Terro seems to be the only thing that gets rid of them. As everyone has said, it takes a few days and sometimes it seems as though it is getting worse, because they go tell their friends (LOL) but after a few days to a week, they are gone! I leave it out almost all summer, just in case a few new ones come to visit!

I haven't seen this as a response, yet, but this is the only thing that works for me. Baby powder. I read it in a magazine or something a couple of years ago and it's all I use. I sprinkle it around the outside of my house. Usually not even my whole house. Just on the back wall and the front wall. Last year, I had to do a line of powder in the crack by my front door and in the window sill between the outside and inside windows. I read that they bring it back to their homes and they dry up from the powder. We got an overload of baby powder from my first child's baby shower, so I tried it and have telling people about it since. I hope that you find something that works for you.