Ants!

[mikester]

I set out a few of the ant baits where they seem to be coming from. There are 3 main spots. I also put baits directly outside of those spots to try to get them to go outside.

The spot which is by far the worst and makes me suspect that the ant bed is under the house in that particular spot is literally filling the bait with ants. It had so many ants in the first hour after placement that I put a second one there. The outdoor bait hasn't had any traffic yet. The other two baits are getting traffic as well but not to this extent.



I'm hopeful that this localizes them and puts a stop to the trails in my house at least. I may need to buy more of these things though...It's a crazy amount of ants...

They are not carpenter ants though as they are too small for that. They are these guys: Monomorium minimum. They are relatively harmless but they are a tough pest to get rid of. The main problem is that they are getting into everything and every where (still not the kitchen though yet). Multiple queens...I know I've already killed a few of those.

Man I hate ants.

[look 171]

Boric acid will grind up their exoskeleton to they dehydrate and die. They take it back to their nest so they'll all die from it. YOu don't need much but a puff of it into the cracks so they walk over it or mix it into sugar or something they like and take it back to kill the queen.

[Heel n Toe]

The Terro Liquid Ant Killer works well, too.

Ant Problem? Terro = Ant Control Solutions

We used to see some ants walking across the window sill in the kitchen about once a year in our previous house. A few drops of that stuff here and there, and they were dead/gone in less than a week.

[mikester]

This morning there are no ants on those ant baits and no other ants to be seen...

I will wait to declare victory...

[Capt J.D.]

Originally Posted by mikester

This morning there are no ants on those ant baits and no other ants to be seen...

I will wait to declare victory...

And prepare for a hostile invasion of "uncle" pismires!

[RWebb]

look like "sweet" ants - Terro will zap them

[LeeH]

Same bait traps I used last time I had them. Will be interesting to see if this solves your problem, too.

[look 171]

I have tried Terro but it didn't work so well with me because there were just too many ants all over the outside. This was at my parents a couple of years back.

[mikester]

2 days ant free.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by mikester

2 days ant free.

Great. YOu are winning the battle.

[slodave]

Not in the long run.

[look 171]

I found the Terro worked for a few weeks. They will invade again as soon as the temp goes back up again. Boric acid got rid of them for good. It as been a couple of ante free years now. What a PITA Mike, I know how you feel.

[mikester]

Originally Posted by slodave

Not in the long run.

Well, in the long run there will always be ants. There won't always be me though I suppose...

The terro worked well enough and quickly to contain the ants that I feel like it controlled the problem. Of course I have to wait for them to show up again (and I know they will) and use it again. I'll say this - it worked better than the pest control company. The problem was so much worse after the treatment and they had no advice and offered no help. Just said 'that's normal, wait 10 days'. With the baits - I controlled where they went in the house and it seems to have taken care of those nests. Now a new nest will eventually show up I'm sure. At that time I'll try the terro again and see if it continues to work.

The reviews on Amazon are almost all good - it's one of the best reviewed products I've ever seen.