Help I Have Ants in My House!

Victoria has it spot on! Terro is AWESOME!!!! It's only like $4 at home depot and it's non poisonous to humans! We use it when we get black ants in the house and they disappear quick! It last forever too. We havn't had to buy more in 2 years. Go get some and you won't be sorry!

Go to Home Depot and get some "Terro". It is essentially a small bottle of liquid Borax that you put out for the ants to eat and take home to their nest.
It is toxic and tastes sweet, however, so you don't want to put it somewhere your pets or children will be able/tempted to lick/taste it.

The little ants line up like cows at a trough to drink the stuff up... then they take it back to the nest. After a few days of this... no more ants!
p.s. It only costs about $3 for a bottle. And you'll only need one bottle.

Hi E.,

I feel your pain, we have had Ants since March. Nothing worked. Finally I got some granuals but killer from Target which my husband spread around our yard, and not 1 ant inside since.

Be careful if you have pets or let your kids outside, because some are very toxic.

I suggest killing the outside and not allowing them to get in.

R. Magby

You don't mention what kind of ants you're dealing with. You'll need to address structural issues if they are getting in through rotting or leaking sills. The fact that construction is fairly new is irrelevant if something was installed improperly...think like a rain drop.

My grandmother always swore by putting mint sprigs in her cupboards. Myself, I make a cleaner with the base being a strong peppermint tea (with castile soap, baking soda and borax). This will eliminate any scent trail the ants have left behind. You can do the same with your own cleaner by adding a tea or several drops of essential oil.

You may want to consider fogging your house and then disinfecting everything or spray them with an ant killer and disinfect where you sprayed. Just a warning I want to share with you.... When my son was about a year old I had given him a granola bar for breakfast. Without me knowing he had eaten half and thrown the other half under his table. A couple of hours later I saw him bend over stuff something in his mouth and start screaming. Ants had covered the granola bar and he didn't know when he started eating it! I immediatly ran and grabbed him, he had ants inside and crawling out of his mouth! Def. the scariest moment of my life! Fortunatly, I was able to get them all out and he was ok. Just a warning to be very cautious with the kids and ants in the house, I was lucky with my situation! Good Luck

there has been an epidemic of ants and bedbugs in Michigan. you are not far so it may be spreading to your state also. i have noticed an increase in my home as well but i am terrified of spiders and CENTIPEDES ARE THE WORST!!!! so I let them live because they eat those other to buggers!!! i haven't seen any brown ants in my house just black ants.

I've been there... and it doesn't take much for them to come back..

Make sure every crumb is cleaned up. Leave nothing on your counter. Put everything into tupperware or ziplock bags. Clean your sink so it shines and dry it. They seem to like the moisture in the sink??

Spray outside and inside. Spray along the foundation - all the way around your house. Spray under and around all the windows. My MIL puts moth balls in her window sills - I'm not sure you want to do that if you have little ones and open windows...

I spray under my kitchen sink and behind the back splash. I spray anywhere and everywhere I see them. I find that if I keep my counters pristine and my sink dry, they seem to vanish!

YMMV
LBC

Eww! As one who hates crawling things, especially in my house!, I empathize. I'm not an ant expert, and the suggestions below sound good. I didn't see anyone mention cinnamon. I don't know if it kills them, but it did keep them out of our ground floor condo after we found them sneaking in. We sprinkled the cinnamon liberally on the slider door frame and the patio and they actually stopped! I don't know what kind of ants they were, so I don't know if this will work with all types.

Shortly after we moved into our house, and older home, we discovered rats in the garage (thank God not inside!!!) and big black ants inside. There weren't a ton of ants, but I couldn't figure out where they were coming from, therefore how to stop them. We called a pest control company and both the furry and six-legged "guests" were gone in no time. Though not the least expensive solution, it was quick and guaranteed by the company or they would treat again. There are a few good companies that use kid/pet/earth friendly treatments. Good luck!!

Ants are terrible where I am right now too.
Everyone has them.
They aren't even after food or anything, they are in bathrooms, etc.
When it rains, they come in.
When it's hot, they come in.
Terro works, but only temporarily if they are in the walls.
You might need to look into an exterminator.
Ugh.
I can't stand ants or flies and we have both right now where we are. Everyone does.

Best wishes.