Ants!!!!! - Crown Point,IN

I use skin so soft original bath oil spray from Avon. I spray around the counter tops and around the bottom. If some of the skin so soft get on the floor I wipe it up with a damp mop. For the counter tops I use a damp paper towel to wipe up. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Melaleuca sells a product called Prespot. Not only is it an amazing spot remover but the enzyme in it kills ants!! And it is completely non-toxic! i don't get through a summer without the stuff. If you want to order this let me know and i can get it for you for the preffered customer price or you can order it online at melaleuca.com Good luck with the ants! Those little ones are a pain.

OMG....this must be the year for these darn ants! I have 'em, my neighbor has 'em. Anyway, I finally found a way to get rid of 'em. I went to Lowes and got this stuff that you sprinkle around the base of your home, OUTSIDE. Then I got a spray that you spray on the inside...you make a 4" barrier. Haven't seen one ant since.

I think the manufacturer was Max Force for both items. The outside stuff is granular. The inside stuff I sprayed on my counter, but only where it intersects w/the wall. Then you let it dry. It was odorless and colorless. I looked all over the bottle for warnings, but couldn't find anything that scared me too much. Obvioulsy, I don't put food on that part of the counter, but I'm extra safe now since I don't want to take any chances. For the outside, I just sprinkled it around the foundation by the kitchen (not the whole house!). Like I said earlier, I haven't seen an ant since (and I battled these things all summer!).

Good luck!

Hi, D.!

I too have had a problem with this type of ants and boy have they driven me crazy. I've gotten a couple of home remedies that people say help. One is boric acid - although it's an acid it doesn't burn people or animals or counters for that matter. The other is baking powder or baby powder. Apparently the ants can't walk through it.

I also have cats, but mine don't get on the counters. I was lucky enough to have found a liquid "trap" that they drink then track back to the nest and kills the group. It's actually gotten rid of mine this year.

Best of luck!

Use Splenda, my sister in law in Ohio had them really bad. She tried it and it worked! Though, makes you think twice before eating it yourself.

I have them too! I always use a 50/50 mix of water and ammonia in a spray bottle. I spray along the outside of the house where I think they might be coming in, and then on the inside right along the base of the floors and along the back of the counter. I also spray the inside of the sink while it is empty. Let it all dry before letting anyone in the kitchen. It really works for me, but it is rather smelly though.

D. i have heard that if you feed them grits (put them in a bowl they take it back to the queen and literally blows up kind of like birds and rice

I also have had these ants over the last week. I wiped them up and the trail that lead them into the house with a clorox wipe. This seemed to elimiate them. For true environmentally friendly - try full strength white vinegar. It's totally safe for you and the kids in the kitchen. You can spray it all over the counter edges or floors where they meet the wall (or where ever you think they are coming in) Just be careful if you have pergo or hardwood, you might want to swab it on with cotton balls or a towel. As a kids, I remember my parents using black pepper along the edges of the floor where the ants were coming in. This seemed to work too. good luck!

D.,

I had a problem with ants years ago. They were also the sweet ants. Someone told me a trick. Run a line of Dawn dish soap along the edge where you think they are coming from. It worked like a miracle. Good luck with it.

B.

My family has always had luck with Terra ant. It is a liquid and you dab it on a piece of cardboard. It isn't safe for pets but you put it under the baseboards (or if in the kitchen) or appliances. I had carpenters ants coming out of my dishwasher even one time and they were gone in 1-2 days (never to return) with this stuff. I have a tiny dog but I put the stuff under my dishwasher and then a couple of other hidden places. It works by attracting the ants to it, they pick it up and bring it back to the nest. Check it out! The only thing I've seen work:)

We had a bad problem a few years ago. I ended up using Terminix. They came back whenever I saw an ant and kept looking for where the ants were getting in the house. We finally found out they were coming in behind the dishwasher. Of course, we had to remodel the kitchen to find that out.

WE were in Menards talking to someone while we were looking at bug spray for around our home. These people had the same ants you are describing. Other than the Borax with sugar we have used to get rid of carpenter aunts, (although your other animal might not be safe then I heard something about putting vinegar down. Worth a try. If anyone finds out what these ants are I'd like to know, too.

Sprinkle cayenne (sp?) pepper over the problem area. Totally worked for me.

I don't have a solution, but I think they are coming in looking for water. It's been very dry the last few weeks and when we see them, it's usually in places where there is water (kitchen sink, shower stall in our bathroom).

B.

Good luck! If you find a solution that works, great! I have them really bad.They are also the little one, I believe they may be called Argentinian ants. I have been batteling them since spring. I live in an apt complex. I personally have done the Terro (liquid borax) baits, used ant spray/poisons. That did not work. I prefer to use non-toxic stuff, because I have little kids who play on the floor. So I used some Melaleuca products, those have not seemed to work. We now have an exterminator for our complex. They have sprayed outside as well as inside. That has not worked. I used bleach and wiped down all the trails, no such luck. Borax, nope. Cloves, nope. Now, I have sprinkled most of my base boards, and the edges around my kitchen counter with ground cinnamon. The cinnamon is supposed to burn their legs when they walk on it, so they will tend to steer clear of the cinnamon. I have seen the ants divert the trail of cinnamon. It have been a couple of days and my kitchen seems to be better, but still bad in living room. I will try the vinegar or ammonia spray next. I know you have to be patient and wait a couple of days for each new trick, but I am loosing mine rapidly. Good luck!

Hey D.,
You can use vinegar instead of poison to get rid of ants. Vinegar is a natural but mild repleant. It's not going to get rid of the ants completely, but it'll certainly help. You can also sprinkle diazone around the outside of your home along the foundation if you feel your cats would stay away from it. Another natural bug trap that you can use is oil. Put about a 1/4 cup of oil in a shallow bowl over night. It will attract all sorts of bugs hiding in your house or garage. The bugs will get in but they can't get out. Although I can't see that going over very well with cats.

Are you POSITIVE that they are ants? We had these teeny tiny little black bugs & had Orkin come out & they wound up being Springtails. The most common places that we found them were the kitchen sink, the bath tub, & the laundry room....all places where there is water! If you're unsure what they are, put your finger next to it & see if it "jumps", not a big jump, just a little one. If it does, it is most likely a Springtail. They are a pain in the rump & it's gross to think that you have any bug problems in your home but they do not do any harm. We still get them occassionally in the bath tub because they mutiply by the millions! But Orkin has really decreased the occurrence of seeing them. Hope this helps!

I heard they won't cross a line of flour if you put it down. Never tried it though...

They just had a posting the other day on Mamasource. Hopefully this link works (you will have to copy and paste it or re-type it):
http://www.mamasource.com/request/18020406960121184257

This was mostly natural solutions. I have ants too and I think I am going to try the borax solution that is listed (bread, a bit of sugar and borax...).