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March 15, 2012 at 5:32 pm #602518
JoBParticipantMarch 15, 2012 at 6:42 pm #751545
Betty TMemberLast year the first time I saw ants on window sill and some house plants. Lately I’ve seen a few. The other night I saw one crawling up outer edge of computer screen. Getting some ant traps.
March 15, 2012 at 6:50 pm #751546
WSBKeymasterBeen back in our house for a month now. There seems to be no escape.
March 15, 2012 at 6:51 pm #751547
JoBParticipanti went for bait..
it slows them down for a while
but then they pop back up somewhere else:(
i have come to the conclusion that there must be moisture in the crawl space that makes them thrive
March 15, 2012 at 7:51 pm #751548
anonymeParticipantMake sure you thoroughly clean any area that the ants came in contact with, especially their entry pathway, with Borax or other safe, neutralizing cleaner. The ants leave a chemical trail that they will contine to re-explore – especially if they found goodies at the end of the rainbow.
March 15, 2012 at 7:58 pm #751549
JoBParticipantanonyme..
i do that..
then i leave the bait in the nearest level entry spot
hopefully one that doens’t include traipsing across my kitchen counters ;(
i can handle almost anything else
but i only want to share my living spaces with critters of my choice
i made the squirrel in the attic move out too
March 15, 2012 at 8:03 pm #751550
anonymeParticipantI’m still trying to figure out how to build the starlings out of the soffits. They seem to be able to breach any barricade…must be those raging spring bird hormones.
March 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm #751551
JoBParticipanti once lost the argument with woodpeckers
who thought the home i then lived in the perfect mating drum
nothing worked
until they found mates and ran off to nest in the nearest tree
March 16, 2012 at 12:16 am #751552
KatherineLParticipantJoB, are these the tiny ants called odorous ants? Supposedly, if you crush them, they smell like coconut. I’ve never tried it. But a pest control man told me to get Terro Liquid Ant Baits from the hardware store. It’s the same thing they use professionally.
They come in little boxes the ants have to crawl through to get the bait. He warned me not to expect immediate dead ants. The poison works slowly enough for them to take it home to the nest and come back for more. The second dose kills them. In the meantime, the nest is destroyed by the bait they’ve brought home.
I used only one out of a box. I haven’t seen any ants for months. If you’d like to try one of my leftovers, email me. You have my address.
March 16, 2012 at 3:09 pm #751553
JoBParticipantKatherineL..
i haven’t tried terro yet
with inquistive and very smart pets i have been afraid to use anything that they can get to
i have used combat max gel that comes in a tube
it’s easy to put drops of it on window sashes the dogs can’t reach.. and it works.. for a while.
but they just keep coming back:(
i haven’t tried sniffing them to see if they smell like coconuts when squashed..
though i confess to having squashed enough of them…
i will sniff the fingers that squash them next time they surface..
i am too stuffed up to try it today
they seem to be gone again this morning
as is most of the gel
we will see
March 16, 2012 at 3:26 pm #751554
KatherineLParticipantWould your dogs chew a plastic thingie they found? Or you could set it on the window sill. They’re narrow.
Oil of peppermint discourages them. They don’t like to cross a trail of it. If you know where they’re coming in, and treat the area, they avoid it. But it has to be the oil, not the peppermint flavoring you find in the grocery store.
Do I sound like I’ve had ants a few times? I’m with you, can’t stand critters in the house without an invitation.
March 16, 2012 at 6:43 pm #751555
PatrickKeymasterTalking to an exterminator at a WSCoC function I learned the following about our friends, the stupid stinky little ants:
– They change their appetite to suit their needs. The change can happen in less than a week.
– They are attracted to electricity and all things electrical.
– No pest service will give you a long-term guarantee as the stupid little ants will find a way to come back.
We went away for a couple of days last summer and the little creeps colonized my old Brother printer and the power strip it was attached to. Both the printer and strip had to go straight to the trash. That’s how my conversation with the exterminator started, he said, “Yeah they love electricity, it just draws ’em in.”
March 16, 2012 at 8:01 pm #751556
KatherineLParticipantWhy on earth electricity? Do you suppose they get high?
March 16, 2012 at 11:30 pm #751557
PatrickKeymasterRecently they were swarming all over a dab of shaving cream on the sink. Maybe they had a hot date, who knows?
March 17, 2012 at 3:17 am #751558
maighdlinMemberWe had those little buggers invade our house for years. There would be an inch wide parade of them under the door crack straight to the dog dish. It was a nightmare!! We ended up calling an exterminator every single summer and that would keep them at bay until the next summer.
UNTIL….
We got chickens!!!
We got 2 chickens that live in our backyard 2 years ago…..and ever since…..not a *single* ant in the house!!! Best natural pest extermination ever! Plus, they eat our fruit/veggie compost and give us a dozen eggs a week!!
Was an unexpected upside to having backyard chickens that I thought I’d share. :-)
March 17, 2012 at 3:45 am #751559
kmweinerMemberYohan, at Progressive Pest control uses only environmentally safe pesticides. 206-444-6250
He comes out and sets traps and rechecks them shortly thereafter. Guaranteed for 1 year I think and then the cost is about $49 if he needs to redo it . A very nice man.
March 17, 2012 at 3:51 am #751560
The Velvet BulldogParticipantWe’ve had good luck putting Boric Acid along the cracks where the baseboards meet the floor. BUT, that probably wouldn’t work with inquisitive pets.
March 17, 2012 at 3:54 am #751561
2 Much WhineParticipantThat’s funny, when I squish pesky coconuts they smell just like ants. I guess it depends on your perspective.
March 17, 2012 at 4:09 am #751562
trickycooljParticipantBorax works great for most insects. My apartment had silverfish something fierce so I put Borax powder between the baseboard and the carpet and it stops all but maybe 5 a year that come down from the ceiling, clever little buggars. If you have sugar ants, mix equal parts Borax with powdered sugar and put it where their trail goes (at my mom’s they were feasting on the crumbs under the microwave). We put the mixture in a line right under the front of the microwave and they never came back. If you dilute the Borax they take it back to the nest. If you don’t dilute the Borax it’s instant death. Some googling told me Borax dissolves the exoskeleton. Since it’s a mineral it’s a little safer than heavy pesticides for pets/kids.
March 17, 2012 at 4:31 am #751563
HunterGParticipantThe ants actually stink? How strange.
March 17, 2012 at 5:37 am #751564
BigRedMemberI have these too. I think EVERYONE in WS does. Everyone I know anyway. They don’t go away forever, you can only combat them for periods of time. I have Terminix come quarterly. I don’t love that I have to do this, but I prefer my kitchen to only have beings with 2 legs and sometimes 4 (if the dogs are on their way outside to the backyard. ).
If you don’t want to use Borax, baby powder works well too. They won’t cross the powder. I think this would be better if you have animals who get on counters and such. Also a tip I learned from vacationing in Mexico, ALWAYS WIPE COUNTERS DOWN WITH WHITE VINAGAR. We do this after we cook, EVERY TIME!
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For some reason this works wonders. It must mask their trail. Try it. If you have a line of ants and then wipe in front of the trail they will become disoriented and don’t know where to go.. I just wipe up the trail of the suckers and plop down baby powder. Then I call Terminix
March 17, 2012 at 6:27 am #751565
kayoParticipantWe have our ant problem managed by pros, but if you want to try managing by yourself, I recommend cleaning up with windex only (never uses ant spray on these buggers as it makes them worse), use Boric acid traps (the best we have found are called Intice Gelanimo Ant Bait Stations and can be found online), and keep your perimeter free of vegetation. We slip the bait stations under our couch or under furniture where we see ants coming in and it always takes care of a minor invasion and our dogs and kids can’t get to the traps that way. We have dealt with these ants for years and the only way we have managed to keep them out is to use a professional service which is not cheap. I have also heard from others that chickens are useful so that is also a good idea if you are into urban farming. Good luck. West Seattle is basically a giant anthill!
March 17, 2012 at 6:53 am #751566
BigRedMemberThis chicken thing is interesting. I assumed it would bring other problems. Never thought it would mitigate ants!
March 17, 2012 at 4:56 pm #751567
tom kelleyParticipantI had and on going converstion with a pro exterminator last year. He called these moisture ants and said first deny them any moisture. He strongly recommended Terro which he said would be carried back to the hive. It worked very well(available at McClendons). He cautioned that killing the ants outside the hive stimulated the hive to split in two excaserbating the problem.
March 17, 2012 at 7:00 pm #751568
JoBParticipanti can believe the moisture part..
they seem to come into the house mostly when there has been a heavy rain…
and they love electricity
i now check my power surge strips regularly
white vinegar does confuse them
but in my experience, it doesn’t stop them
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