Ant-eradication advice wanted!

[herr_oberst]

Can't get rid of 'em, tried almost everything. . . Dust and liquid poison around the outside perimeter, traps and aerosol spray in the inside, but I can't find the big nest. They generally come from under a baseboard, but when I pry it off, the trail disappears under the hardwood floor, and I can't find the trail outside.

Any ideas?

[Hugh R]

Roaches? Try boric acid, (Home Depot) it dissolves their exoskeleton and they will frolic in it.

Ants?, try Grant's Kills again at HD.

[RWebb]

how big are they?

[Heel n Toe]

I've heard many people say that Terro is the way to fight ants.

Ant Problem? Terro = Ant Control Solutions

[Danimal16]

put up some bird feeders in your yard. The first year it may not be noticable but the second year your birds will eat them plus they go after cabbage butterflys and those big moths that lay eggs that give you tomatoe worms.

[herr_oberst]

Randy - these are just little sugar ants, but this year especially they have been a real issue. I try something new, they disappear for a while but then they show up again with all their friends, having a picnic of cat food.

I tried Terro bait traps, they worked for a time, but then they just decided to move on to a better meal.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Randy - these are just little sugar ants

I've heard somewhere that some ants go after sugar, and some go after grease/oil/fat. If they are eating dog/cat food, maybe they like the grease in it. There's supposed to be a poison specifically for that type.

I just found this online.

Grease and Protein-Loving Ants. Big-headed ants, little black ants and pavement ants prefer grease and protein; in addition, they will also feed on fruit juices. They respond best to protein/grease baits.

A protein/grease bait recipe from Field Guide for the Management of Structure Infesting Ants is:

* 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) peanut butter
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons)
* honey
* 3/4 teaspoon boric acid

There are some commercially available baits (DRAX®-FP) that will also work for grease-loving ants.

These ants are very persistent and may be difficult to control. Ready-to-use insecticides applied into cracks and crevices in the vicinity of the nest may be effective, though re-appearance of the ants after a week to 10 days is common. Better control success has been reported when ant bait is used.

Most available ant baits must be mixed with a grease or oil to make them attractive to grease ants. Any grease or oil that can be mixed with the bait should be effective. I suggest vegetable oil, peanut butter or a raw pie dough mixture of shortening and flour. The bait-oil mixture must contain enough grease to be attractive, but not so much as to dilute the active ingredient below where it will be effective. Though exact proportions of the most effective mixture are not known, I suggest starting with one drop or of oil, to 5 to 10 drops of bait. If ants are not attracted to this mixture, try another oil or increase the amount of grease in the mixture.

Small amounts of the bait and oil can be mixed together on wax paper and then transferred to the area of ant activity. The bait can be placed on small squares of paper, the non-sticky side of small masking tape strips or directly on the ant trail. Baits must be used with care. Make sure the bait is out of the reach of children and pets. When ant activity has ceased, carefully dispose of the remaining bait.

[RWebb]

ok, call the local Ag. Ext. Svce (it's a branch of OSU) and tell them what you tried and what is going on now.

I'd have suggested Terro but maybe there is a better bait. Terro works for me. I used to mix green apple jelly with boric acid, but it's too much trouble.


You DO want a bait tho - you must kill the Queen - the workers are like the tentacles of a many-headed hydra. You can cut them off time after time and nothing happens. The Queen does all the reproduction - the workers do not breed - they just work for the Queen.

NOW - after that, you have to change the environment or a new colony will move in the next year or so. This is the same with ants as with cougars or bears -- if there is food & shelter, then they will expand into that area.

For the ants, you cannot get rid of their shelter, so you will have to clean everything very carefully and keep it all clean -- all the time. Then you will only see a few ants searching for food, not hordes (foraging lines) moving it back to the nest (where the Queen turns the food into... more workers).

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by RWebb

ok, call the local Ag. Ext. Svce (it's a branch of OSU) and tell them what you tried and what is going on now.


NOW - after that, you have to change the environment or a new colony will move in the next year or so. This is the same with ants as with cougars or bears -- if there is food & shelter, then they will expand into that area.

For the ants, you cannot get rid of their shelter, so you will have to clean everything very carefully and keep it all clean -- all the time. Then you will only see a few ants searching for food, not hordes (foraging lines) moving it back to the nest (where the Queen turns the food into... more workers).

What would you recommend when you say change the environment? The cat has to eat, and if I move his setup, the ants will just find it again, right? As far as clean, I'm no Felix Ungar, but I'm not Oscar Madison, either. His bowls and his mat are cleaned about once every few days, I keep garbage contained outdoors, etc. . . Also, do you have a number for OSU that would cut the red tape?

By the way, thanks everyone for your advice. I'm going to try the Grease/bait mix and I'll call OSU, see if I can get through

[cstreit]

Pyrethrin (sp) seems to work quite well....

[Paul K]

+1 for boric acid.

[Danimal16]

Boric acid is good and so is diatamascios earth. (yeah I probably misspelled that)

[ODDJOB UNO]

NAPALM gets 'em every time!

[enzo1]

I have pets, so I use this safe,natural way to kill insects..... Natural Pest Control Products Organic Pesticides DIY Green Pest Control

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

What would you recommend when you say change the environment? The cat has to eat, and if I move his setup, the ants will just find it again, right? As far as clean, I'm no Felix Ungar, but I'm not Oscar Madison, either. His bowls and his mat are cleaned about once every few days, I keep garbage contained outdoors, etc. . . Also, do you have a number for OSU that would cut the red tape?

By the way, thanks everyone for your advice. I'm going to try the Grease/bait mix and I'll call OSU, see if I can get through

well, you need to clean up after said cat

or you could trade the cat in on an ant-eater

you can certainly knock them down for a period of time with a bait type poison

complete eradication is likely just a dream

[porsche4life]

Your local neighborhood pharmacy should have Boric Acid as well.... I know we stock it.

[Heel n Toe]

Herr Ob, I've got an idea that would probably keep 'em out of the cat food.

Cut a piece of 1/2" plywood to a size that is about 3 inches larger than the dimensions of your cat food bowl... circular, square, doesn't matter.

Then about an inch from the edge (this is going to be the bottom), run some 1 1/2" wood screws in about 1/2"...these will be "stilts" to keep it about an inch off the floor.

Coat these screws and the plywood (just the bottom) with some of that Terro Liquid Ant Killer Ant Problem? Terro = Ant Control Solutions so the ants will have to climb through it, over it, etc. to get up to the top of the plywood.

I think it would work.

[Tobra]

Diatomaceous earth is what my Dad's pool filter uses, fossilized diatoms, either algae or little critters, can't recall which.

Better than Terro on the stilts, which might get tracked into the cat's food, would perhaps be tanglefoot. Tanglefoot is sold at garden stores, sticky stuff used on the trunks of trees to keep ants from going into your tree, like to tend their aphids

[Hugh R]

Put cat food bowl in a larger bowl with a 1/2" of water in outer bowl.

[flatbutt]

Carpenter ants were killin' me! I gave up, bought a 2 year contract with Terminex...ants are gone.