Okay, I saw a post about ants a few weeks ago but I didn't pay any attention to it because I didn't have ants. Well, gues what? Now I do. They are in my kitchen and even my bathroom (what they like in there I don't know). I have made sure that there is not any food left out, the floors are always swept, and the trash can is tightly shut but they just keep coming. Does anyone know any good home remedies to get rid of them? I have small children so I would like to not use any chemicals if possible.
I had this same problem a few weeks ago and just used Raid Ant spray. But yesterday I read online that you can make small piles of cornmeal around the kitchen/bathroom. The ants will take it to their nests and eat it but they cannot digest it, so it kills them. The only thing is it may take up to a week. I think I will try this next time!
We had an ant problem this year too (2 days after we told the Orkin man that we have never had an ant problem) and we ended up getting Ortho Home Defense Max when nothing else worked. Haven't seen an ant since. I have a 2 1/2yo and an 8yo. It's non-toxic for kids if you just let it dry first. My kids wouldn't have come into contact with it anyways since it gets sprayed on baseboards and around doors and windows and then around the foundation. It's not like my kids rub up against the baseboards or anything! lol!
I use a "natural" Pest company. Try and find one near you. Be sure they are ants.......any wings? Wings are termites.
I had ants and the pest control man told me I was doing the wrong thing to sweep them away. This just made them lose their path and spread out, making the problem worse. Instead he applied a non-toxic gel (DuPont Advion Ant Gel). He watched where they walked and met each other then put just little drops of this stuff on their path. Soon 100's of ants came to feast! He said leave them alone for a couple of days. I did and they took that back to the nest. In about 3 days.......NO MORE ANTS.
Baby Powder, or any type of body type powder. I use cheapo, dollar store powder and it works great. Sprinkle it around the baseboards, sliding glass door, wherever your investigation has led you. The ants won't cross it, and if any gets on them, they die within a few minutes.
My bug guy said that using a citrus/orange-based cleaner helps to interrupt their pheromone trails. Can't hurt to try! Also, some types of ants are looking for water, not just food.
Combat for ants. The little baits that come 6 or 8 in a pack. I bought some last weekend and I haven't seen an ant since!
Find where they are coming in and pour splenda or nutrasweet in there. I swear it works! And no, I don't consume either one of those.
as mentioned in one of the other responses, use baby powder, any cheapo brand will do, just make sure it says with corn starch, you wont believe how well it works
M. - Try this and you not have ants in your home again:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Produc...
the above is the indoor remedy.
http://www.baitisbetter.com/index.php/ant_block/
this is the stuff (above) you use outside.
draw a line of dish detergent and honey, side by side each other, the honey atracts them, and the dish detergent kills them. and if the kiddies wont be drawn to it, because of all the ants that will make a run to get to the honey
K. h.
sprinkle the baseboards with cinnamon, ants hate it. Vinegar is good and windex kills them instantly. We use Terro ant bait. It is some clear stuff that you can either put a drop on cardboard or there is a little rectangle that you can cut an area out and the ants can go in and feed and spread to their colony and it wipes them all out. It has worked well for us and we put it out of the way so the kids can't access it.
We used to have a serious ant problem. Like you I did not want to use chemicals and tried vinegar, Borax, and other natural solutions because of my kids. Each year my ant population seemed to multiply so last year I decided enough was enough and took someone's advice and tried the Terro Liquid Ant Bait. They worked AWESOME and I have no regrets. It must have killed the nests because this year I have seen very FEW ants. It is wonderful to open the garbage can or dishwasher and not see a parade of ants (and I literally had a parade last year). You can buy 4-6 baits at Walmart for under $6.
I spray with vinegar or vinegar mixed with water. Wipe up the dead ants. They leave a scent trail so you have to figure out where they are coming from and then use caulk to block their entry. Also, I put out new ant traps under the furniture or whereever I think the kids and dog can't reach them. They really hate the vinegar and it works for a while. Good luck - it's really gross.
I use cornmeal to get rid of ants. I put some in a plastic lid and set it by the ants. The ants eat it and apparently can't digest it so they die. It does take a couple of days but it worked for me and I didn't have to worry about my kids getting in to it. Good luck.
Hey M.,
Ants hate anything spicy. You can use Cheyenne pepper and it will at least keep them at bay, but it can be messy. I use the Ortho Home Defense spray and it works great. It is not harmful to my children or pets and it smells nice so the kids and pets are not attracted to it. You can spray it inside or outside the house or both. I do both once a year and it keeps just about everything out unless it comes in through the door. You can get it at any Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc. Hope this helps. God Bless.
Liz
We use PreSpot from Melaleuca. Bugs hate Melaleuca oil! It works and no worries about chemicals. Good luck!
Boric acid is pretty safe. They sell it at the grocery store. Even Orkin uses it.
diatomaceous earth. i pour it around any place i see them coming in. obviously it's best outside, but if i can't find the source, i'll put it inside until they give up and then sweep it up. it's not toxic, but you do need to be careful not to have it where babies are crawling, as the tiny grains are sharp and can irritate the breathing passages if inhaled (also be careful when using it yourself) but it's easy, not poisonous and extremely effective.
khairete
S.
According to the internet (emails), dryer sheets deter them. I don't know how it works exactly. I had an ant problem a couple of months ago and I did use chemicals. We put two ant traps out: one under the stove and one in back of the fridge. Other than that, I just srubbed my counter tops with soap and water (I don't like chemicals either) and I didn't see the ants anymore.
I mixed borax with some jelly and put it in a jar top (maybe a teaspoon or two of borax in a teaspoon or two of jelly). I put two to three in the kitchen some around the foundation of the house outside. The ants die instantly. within a few minutes, I had hundreds of ants in my mixture and more showing up. Now, no more ants for the moment (it has been about 2 months). If they show up again, I will use this mixture again. I did put this mixture out of reach of the dog. My kids are older, so no issues there. good luck!!
