I'm having an exterminator come by the apartment on Friday afternoon (at the apartment management cost) but I'd like to know how to keep ants out of our place between visits. This will be our third year here and I've had him come by once before -- and they are in other rooms this time instead of confined to the bathroom.
Thanks,
Julie
Hi Julie! I'm Jana, and boy! do I know about ants!!! We had
swarms of them, and after I hired an exterminator, my son developed a reaction to whatever chemical he used. I mean, my
son COULDN"T BREATH!!! I caution keeping using chemicals. I
found a way to keep the ants OUT naturally. It's called SOLUMEL
and there is a girl I know who can tell you more about it.
Just e-mail Sarah at [email protected]
Ask her about alternatives to chemicals to keep ants and
spiders, etc. out of your home. She's very helpful and
knowledgeable.
:>) Jana
You need to try and find where they are coming in your house. That will be the first step to ridding yourself of them permanently. Cayenne pepper is one product you can use. My friend had them coming in her window, so she just sprinkled it along her windows. Ants, spiders, etc don't like to cross the hot spice. I've also heard you can use it to deter mice, rabbits, dogs, cats, etc.
Good luck!
Hello Julie -
The stuff that the average exterminator sprays is toxic to humans and pets, as well as to ants.
I would suggest finding a non-toxic exterminator. When we lived in Boulder CO we found one who used a sugary paste with the consistency of peanut butter to get them. He would squirt it in their trail space. They would come running from all over, carry it back to the nest, everyone in the colony would eat it and they would all die. It contained a poison that only affected them if they ate it, which they all did and since we didn't eat it, it didn't hurt us, whereas the sprays make me and my middle son both incredibly ill for 2-4 weeks after each application.
The other thing that Scott, our exterminator, taught me was to put powdered cayenne in the spots where they were entering the house. They would take one bite of it and run away. I have used that method in our new home in WA and within a week they stopped coming in.
I would strongly recommend against having an exterminator spray as I notice your son is diagnosed with ASD. I suspect you know that there is a mountain of evidence showing that ASD is linked to toxicity, particularly at the neural receptors. Keeping toxins away from him is key and then using detox methods to remove the toxins currently in his body is the next step. If you would like more info on this, feel free to write me. Also, the monthly publication "The Idaho Observer" runs excellent articles on ASD, detoxing, dietary recovery, etc. Their subscription price is meager and well wroth it for the quality of info their health writer, Ingri Cassell, puts out.
Best Wishes -
Dionne
Hi Julie!
I've used the info from this web site a few times for various pest problems. Hope you find something useful here.
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm#a
Kerry
Hi, I also have had trouble with ants! I hate them! I have discovered that Avon's original skin-so-soft kills them instantly!!! Mix it half and half with water, put in a spray bottle and spray around the baseboards it will not only kill them but kept them and other insects from coming in also spray it on your window screens...your apartment will smell like baby powder. I am an Avon Rep. you may go to my Avon website and order some if you do not have an Avon Rep. www.youravon.com/joycemurray1819 I am not just telling you this to order from me it actualy works! beginning of last Spring my kitchen was black with ants my husband mopped the floor with skin-so-soft and I haven't seen an ant since!!!!! I am a happy camper!!!!!!
You need to break their trail. The stuff the exterminator uses probably will be something that stays for awhile and may break their trail. I lived in California for a couple years and it is one giant ant hill. They can't chew through steel wool and if you find the place they are coming in and can put some in the hole that will help. They also will not go through cinnamon. I have a tiny problem here in my apt in the summer and I put it in my sliding glass door way, along the baseboard and windows. Mine come in the kitchen. They are looking for food and water. I would try putting cinnamon along the floor next to your bathroom walls. It is safe for your kids and it doesn't smell bad either. If they are coming in from up above I would try the avon stuff the other person recommended and somehow getting the steel wool over the spot.
ACCCCKKKK!!! Sounds like me! I've been living in a small apartment for a little over a year. When my son and I first moved here, there were those little sugar ants ALLLLLLLLLLLL over the place. I mean ALL over. They were crawling on the kitchen floor, in my son's room, by the front door, the living room floor...etc. It was Horrible! The apartment complex do their best to bring out the exterminator to help alleviate the situation, but it doesn't always do the trick as a whole. What I've tried that seems to work, is buying some of those ant traps, the ones they go into, eat, and then leave to die. I also get some of the Raid spray for ants. I make sure that my son is at school/with friends/outside while I do this, that way he doesn't try to pick up the ant traps you lay and doesn't inhale the spray. But I spray the inside edging along the house. Then I lay a trap wherever the ants are at the most. It's a temp solution, but at least will help for at least 3 mos. Another thing is, I've known people who's infestation were so bad, they end up finding a nest in their walls! Just be aware. Hope this helps! Good luck! ~Brenda :D
Ants are hard to get rid of. If your exterminator was just spraying along baseboards and high traffic areas where the ants were, and along the outside of the house, that won't take care of it. Trust me, been there, done that. You are going to have to get MUCH more aggressive with them. Ask your exterminator for options.
Holly
See if you can chat with the exterminator before or after he/she starts. Ask him/her what you can do between visits. See if he knows where they are coming in and what you can do to deter them. I know with some pests, if you start doing your own treatments between exterminator visits, you might counteract what they are doing and/or have a funky combination of chemicals that don't respond well together. Good luck!
Hi Julie,
Can't help you out with the ant issue sorry! However my 4 year old son has also been (medically diagnosed) with ASD. He has been in Eary Intervention for the last year but the medical diagnosis just came through last month. We live in Portland OR where it is extremely difficult to find programs/pediatricians etc w/out waiting lists of 3-6 months. About me: 46 - Freddy is my only child and the light of my life! Kickboxing is my main "thing" right now - also working on remodelling our very old house and love being a Mom! Would love to hear from you Julie or anyone else in similar straits! Have a good day all!
Melanie and Freddy
Julie. The solution to your ant problem is Terro Bait. This stuff rocks and is non-toxic. I got it at my local Ace Hardware store in CA so hopefully they sell it here too. It comes in an orange box and I buy the pre-poured containers that go in the house. They basically look like little plastic containers that have a sugary/sticky clear liquid inside. The ants will gobble it up and then take it back to the nest. The only gross part is that you have to let them go after the baits for about 24 hours and they will come out in droves but then they will go away. The ingredient is borax which is a natural ingredient (boric acid). It's weird becasue it sounds like a poison, but it's totally not. People use Borax to do laundry and boric acid is actually an effective treatment for yeast infections for women. I HATE chemicals, so this was a great solution for us. You can also get larger baits for outside which is great if you can figure out where they might be entering your house. Good luck and happy ant killing!
-Beth Smith
essential oil of clove works well - put it around the the areas where the ants are entering the house or areas that they are choosing to go like pet food dishes. First sprinkle it out of the bottle - it will come out in drops, then smear the drops together to make a continuous barrier.
Best of luck and please limit your pesticide use for your child's sake. Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) is a great resource both for alternatives to pesticides and their effects on humans and the ecosystem - all scientifically based - no scare tactics (it really IS scary - to tactics necessary!)
If you know where they are getting in, spread red hot pepper flakes there and that will keep the ants away. I had problems with ants and did this and no longer have any problems.
Hey there! We have this stuff called Orange Guard (http://www.orangeguard.com/) that we use to spray the ants and also their entrance if we can find it. I like it because it's made from orange peel (but really works!), making it nontoxic for us, pets, and children. I know that Whole Foods carries it, and I'm sure there are other places too. It lasts a long time and really works. I found it a few years ago after a roommate and I got raid, sprayed, and had to pretty much leave the house because it smelled so bad and we were coughing. This stuff just smells like oranges! Good luck with your ants; I know it's obnoxious.
Cinnamon! This may sound really silly but it works. I had a neighbor (from another country) suggest it a few years ago and it was amazing. I'm not sure if they just don't like it or if they are actually allergic to it, but ants will not cross a line of cinnamon. I would suggest sprinkling a thin line of it around cabinets and the edges of the rooms they are in.
I spent part of last summer working at a pizza place that was having an ant problem and it worked for them, too. Plus it's healthier safer for people.
I have 4 kids, 3 of them on the spectrum, so I understand your concern for their health!
Good luck!
Michelle
Spray them with Clorox or Lysol disinfectant spray. It will kill them on contact, and the others will stay away. Another thing you can do is squish a few of them and leave their bodies there. According to our exterminator, the dead bodies emit some kind of message that the others pick up as "danger". So, the others will stay away. Still though, I think the Lysol works better and faster. We use that as soon as we see a trail and immediately call the exterminator, but by the time he gets there, there are none to be seen because of the Lysol.
White vinegar is the best natural deterrent. Wiping down hard surfaces, or putting a piece of papertowel or cotton ball with vinegar on it at the point of entrance can help a lot. My husband left food out and had a horrible infestation, while I was gone once. He wiped the counters with the vinegar and they NEVER came back to the kitchen. Any mild soap solution sprayed on them will kill on contact; but, to dter them from coming back, the vinegar is the best. I agree that Terro, is one of the best things you can buy, they take it back to the nest and it kills them off, though it takes a little while and you need to be sure to keep it away from pets and children. Be sure to read the cautions if using chemicals.
Hi Julie,
I just got an email the other day with lots of tips in it and getting rid of ants was one of them! They suggested putting small piles of cornmeal down. Apparently the ants cannot digest the granules so when they eat it, they end up dying. It did say that it would take some time for it to work, but at least kids or pets wouldn't be harmed by it.
Hope this helps! :)
We have ants in our apartment as well, and the exterminator has been coming every couple of months to spray, and he has also started spraying in other areas of the building. Maybe when he comes, ask him how often it needs to be repeated, and if there is any practical things you can do as well. Also, have him spray the other rooms as well. Just try to pick up things and pull them away from the wall. p.s. I have also heard that they don't like baby powder much!