Seem to be having a problem lately in my house with ants. They're coming in from a few different places. What's the best, safe for pets and kids, treatment to get rid of them? My father-in-law tried to sell me on laundry soap but that seems far fetched. Any help would be appreciated...
My money is on "Crazy" ants. http://www.chron.com/life/gardening...reak-havoc-in-Houston-and-they-re-1670878.php They are everywhere but once the first real cold front comes they will disappear.
They seem to be the type that's mentioned in REEKO's link...Raspberry Ants. A single treatment from a pest control company could be about $200 and likely wouldn't last that long.
I was having problems but some Raid ant bait did the trick. It actually took a while to work, maybe I was using too few traps, but they eventually disappeared once I put out a few more.
We've had them all year long at work and have pest control come in once a month. Nothing has worked and they are still everywhere.
Ok....I tried borax for a month. Guy came out and put bait in, ants were gone within a week. Could be that I did the job ahead of him and he took the credit. He also said that borax was BS....maybe he was BS? Anyway, if I was off here based on my experience, my bad.
Its more effective on certain types of ants so that may have been the issue. If you want to use borax based commercial baits, you can get them at Home Depot. http://www.terro.com/faq-ants.php http://www.homedepot.com/buy/outdoo...iller-liquid-bait-stations-6-pack-126925.html
<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9WQ6rFKhyn0?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9WQ6rFKhyn0?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> I remember watching "Leningen [sp?] vs. The Ants." Is your name Leningen?
Diatomaceous Earth Pest controlDiatomite is also used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate.[9] Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. It is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness. Medical-grade diatomite is sometimes used to de-worm both animals and humans, with questionable efficacy.[10][11] It is most commonly used in lieu of boric acid, and can be used to help control and eventually eliminate cockroach and flea infestations. This material has wide application for insect control in grain storage.[12] It has also been used to control bedbug infestations, but this method may take weeks to work.[13] http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1394296&CAWELAID=188273783
Clean up any crumbs, find where they are coming from, Raid the area. Do it for 2-3 days straight and they should relocate, from my experience.
spray the cracks around your house with raid or black flag and then take heed to spray around your ac unit because they're attracted to that to and can damage it. Also spray where they are coming in if you can figure that out. Another trick is to clean your floors and counters, or dirty areas where they are searching for food left behind. Good luck.
The house was cleaned just the other day and they're not entering in areas where there is food (master bathroom, living room). Though, the a/c is next to the master bathroom. I'll be spraying that area tonight....
there has to be a line of ants at some point...when they start to build up just look for it and follow it...cover up the hole/crack, spray raid on it, etc..
