Ants; the new “bamboo”

[vash]

Something is afoot in my neighborhood. An ant invasion. It hit my neighbors on both sides and various homes around. My boss thinks it’s the drought. He got them 3x, and once at his moms. The Nextdoor app is buzzing with an ant discussion.

They got into my pantry, targeting a bottle of balsamic vinegar. (Weird). Let’s just say my pantry is so reorganized and spotless- now! I traced the entry point and placed a pro- bait. Advan or something. It’s black with ants. So gross. I found their entry point and put a bait station outside as well. I hate killing the colony since I know they are a vital link in our ecosystem. But damn. I’ll seal up the gap with silicon later. What a pain. I wipe down food prep areas damn near hourly with an organic cleaner. Citrus oil stuff. Dr Brommers. It’s great stuff. And we pick up pet bowls nightly and wash them. Not sure what else there is to do. Maybe fire.

I’m going to call a pro pest control company tomorrow. Release the Kraken.

[HobieMarty]

I haven't had them get in the house but this year I have noticed lots of little ant beds in my back yard. I have sprayed a couple of times with some stuff you attach to your garden hose but they are persistent and keep coming back.

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[look 171]

Cliff, get out to China Town and see about getting some Chinese chalk. It will be difficult to get them to sell it to you because its not legal. Poke around and try. Someone gave my mom a couple of them long ago so I used it on my house and found it to be extremely effective. When I first moved in 20 years ago to this hell hole of a fixer-upper, I had an ant invasion like if the interior was painted with honey. No matter what I tried, they kept coming back within a day or two. I had the place spotless, with no food left out and had the pros come out to treat the place. Within 2-3 months, they would slowly come back. They came back, treated it and same thing, ants came right back.

One day, I was left with nothing to lose and decided to use the chalk. All it is needed is to draw a small, 1/2" line right across their pathway. Go away and enjoy the afternoon. Come back in a few hours and watch all the ants go away. They will carry away their dead too, so no clean up for you. They carry the chalk back to the nest and that kills them all. You can even draw it in a few location where they enter the house. You must draw it across their path way. This way they are sure to take it back to their colony. Just a light line, nothing heavy.

I have not had any ants problems in more then 0-15 years. Occasionally I will get a few in the house, but I really think those are send out foraging for food sources. I drew a line under my doors years ago, and has been effective ever since.

I remember my workman telling me he bought some at the local swap meet for a buck or two. In the mean time, I will look around for you if you are willing to use it.

[stevej37]

I use this stuff every spring and summer for the perimeter of the house and the edge of the driveway. If I don't...the ants move onto the asphalt and start mining sand out of any cracks. The brown sand crowns are terrible if I don't use it.
It's for outdoor use only...2 oz per gallon of water.

[porsche tech]

Gonna try that stuff. My paver driveway has sand between the pavers and every year I get piles of sand all over the driveway from ants. I’ll check for it on Amazon.

[stevej37]

^^^ Menards or Lowes both carry it also.
The more rain you get...the quicker you'll need to reapply.
We have had an exceptionally dry spring. I only applied it once so far.

Also, I never apply it on the asphalt or the cracks. Just on the soil on the edge (about a two inch band)

[onewhippedpuppy]

We get an invasion of the little bastages every spring. My wife keeps our house spotless but they still come. We now do a pre-emptive strike by calling a pro before we have them, and that seems to be working. Tried all of the big box store products and they all seem like a band aid, nothing kept them away for more than a few days.

[flatbutt]

"chinese chalk" contains deltamethrin and cypermethrin both of which are legal and available in other forms.

[ckcarr]

They Live. In the desert I get invasions every spring... cockroaches, giant black ants, black widows... The worst to me are the yellowjackets. They hide and build their nests everywhere... And guard from 10 feet away... Hard to mow the lawn...

[schamp]

Get some Taurus SC. It takes a little while but will get all of the ants. Works for a good bit of time.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Not to hijack Vash’s thread, but if anybody has a product that actually works for spiders I’d love to hear it. We leave our outside lights on at night and by mid summer our house looks like the set of arachnophobia.

[Zeke]

Boric acid. Like Timbor. Safe and friendly to all but six legged creatures. It's a powder so you seep it into cracks with a paint bush or make the same line. As with the 'chalk' rain will wash it away outdoors.

[Sooner or later]

When I lived in Tyler I had fire ants make a nest between my water bed mattress and frame. (I know, water bed).

I would get up in the morning and would have numerous bites on my arm. Took me a couple of days to figure out that they were in the damn bed.

For several weeks after my girlfriend refused the sleep over. At least that was the excuse she used....

[masraum]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Not to hijack Vash’s thread, but if anybody has a product that actually works for spiders I’d love to hear it. We leave our outside lights on at night and by mid summer our house looks like the set of arachnophobia.

Demon WP kills everything including spiders.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

When I lived in Tyler I had fire ants make a nest between my water bed mattress and frame. (I know, water bed).

I would get up in the morning and would have numerous bites on my arm. Took me a couple of days to figure out that they were in the damn bed.

For several weeks after my girlfriend refused the sleep over. At least that was the excuse she used....

When I was in college and moved from the dorms to an apt, I had a water bed. It was the cheapest bed that you could buy. I once had ants crawl up the cord to the mattess heater. They built a little nest in the tiny box built around the heater components. Fortunately, for me, they were irritating, but harmless. I found them and got rid of them and they never came back.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by masraum

When I was in college and moved from the dorms to an apt, I had a water bed. It was the cheapest bed that you could buy. I once had ants crawl up the cord to the mattess heater. They built a little nest in the tiny box built around the heater components. Fortunately, for me, they were irritating, but harmless. I found them and got rid of them and they never came back.

That is what they did. Climbed the cord and then munched on me at night.

[red-beard]

You think you have problems!



And a classic ball!



And in my pool!!!!! Royalty are released after a rain storm. They are attracted to water, since it is easier to make a new colony.

[Sooner or later]

They ain't very big, but they are aggressive and mean little bastards.

[Evans, Marv]

For ants, I use Tempo Ultra SC manufactured by Bayer. You mix 4 ml per gallon of water. I use it to eliminate ant colonies - mostly red ants. I mix it in an old gallon container (Defender home insecticide ?) with a spout, which I use to pour down the entrance of the ant colony - maybe 8 to 16 oz. The next day the colony has collapsed. For spiders I use Terro spider and ant insecticide in the orange spray can I get from H.D. Any small bit of spray kills spiders very quickly. I only do this when they get intrusive. Otherwise I leave things alone.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

"chinese chalk" contains deltamethrin and cypermethrin both of which are legal and available in other forms.

I researched that bit too. Its used in the farms as petscide

The reason its illegal is that they didn't pay to play with the gov.