How do you get rid of ants without killing your T's ??

AneesasMuse

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Messages
838
My DH and I have lived in this place for almost 3 years now ..and the ant problem (most likely due to the termites in the stucco building) gets progressively worse and more fatal with every year!! :mad:

I have my vivs in water moats ..boric acid mixture and chalk lines... sugar traps (they are sugar eating ants ..the type, species, whatever) ..I spray with essential oils and castille soap mixture ...and clean all shelving to break scent trails ...DAILY!! I also have moth balls under my place ..and Terro pellets outside the perimeter OUTSIDE (have to be careful with that due to my tortoise).

I still have ants!!!

I lost a B. vagans, 5 Hermit crabs (and not the common purple pinchers, either ..dang it!) ...4 Crested geckos (2 were high end Super Dals) ..and yesterday, I lost a full nest of mice pinks and 2 hoppers ...to ants!

These ants are attacking my animals while they are ALIVE ..and devouring them! Usually happens when I'm not home ...or in the middle of the night.

What can I do???

I have roughly 35 T's, rodents, snakes, lizards, fish, frogs, roaches and 2 Hermit crabs ...so whatever I can do to kill the ants ..it must NOT kill my pets!

I'm desperate! :eek:
 

the nature boy

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
3,067
My DH and I have lived in this place for almost 3 years now ..and the ant problem (most likely due to the termites in the stucco building) gets progressively worse and more fatal with every year!! :mad:

I have my vivs in water moats ..boric acid mixture and chalk lines... sugar traps (they are sugar eating ants ..the type, species, whatever) ..I spray with essential oils and castille soap mixture ...and clean all shelving to break scent trails ...DAILY!! I also have moth balls under my place ..and Terro pellets outside the perimeter OUTSIDE (have to be careful with that due to my tortoise).

I still have ants!!!

I lost a B. vagans, 5 Hermit crabs (and not the common purple pinchers, either ..dang it!) ...4 Crested geckos (2 were high end Super Dals) ..and yesterday, I lost a full nest of mice pinks and 2 hoppers ...to ants!

These ants are attacking my animals while they are ALIVE ..and devouring them! Usually happens when I'm not home ...or in the middle of the night.

What can I do???

I have roughly 35 T's, rodents, snakes, lizards, fish, frogs, roaches and 2 Hermit crabs ...so whatever I can do to kill the ants ..it must NOT kill my pets!

I'm desperate! :eek:
Several on the boards said that they hate listerine, perhaps you should include it in your line of defense.
 

Skullptor

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
497
I feel for you. Ants can be hard to get rid of. I have heard many things that people try. Here are some and I see you have tried some:

Black Pepper
cayenne Pepper
sugar water
windex/Ivory soap
apple cider vinagar
chalk
mint
cream of wheat

Don't know if this helps as I don't know if there is something that works 100% of the time with every ant species. I applaud you for looking for a natural way.
 

WARPIG

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 29, 2007
Messages
821
I recently had a big ant problem and feared for my collection, I bought simple ant traps by Real-Kill Ant Bait (for Sugar ants and grease ants), I placed it by the two small holes I saw them coming up through my wood floors, and within 5 days they were GONE. This stuff apparently sticks to the ants, they carry it back to the nest and then end of days.

The box cam with 18 bait traps and all I used was two.
No ill effect to any of my T's.

Hope this helps.

PIG-
 

Veneficus

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
317
The ant pellets don't work as well, and I hate to say I haven't found any 'natural' substance which works. My husband uses this gel (Combat® Ant Killing Gel) which he puts around the perimeter of the house, and it's the only thing we've found which kills ants. Right now you're in the middle of the season, so it will be harder to get rid of them; although, the gel still works. My husband will put this gel around the house in the Spring before the ants become a problem. He will also put this gel around their burrows in the yard.
 

Noexcuse4you

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
673
They are most likely argentine ants if you're in the bay area. Most of California is infested with them and they're extremely hard to get rid of due the fact that their colonies contain multiple queens. My Ts have also been invaded by the ants. I left one of their enclosures on the floor of my bedroom and I left for THREE HOURS and came back and her tank was swarming with ants! I keep my Ts one of those metal shelves that you can get at target for like $30. If I keep the Ts on the shelf then they're fine. It has something to do with the metal that the ants don't like to walk on. I also remove any left over food items from their enclosures. They seem to be attracted to roach bolas rather than the Ts themselves. Also, vacuum the room a lot; this will get rid of their trails.
 

mwh9

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 25, 2007
Messages
211
I had an ant problem a few months ago. I used the ant killing granules without any ill effects to my T's, even in the same room. I would suggest this only as a last resort though.
 

Noexcuse4you

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
673
I've sprayed Raid in the same room as the Ts with no affect on them so I don't think pellets will be a problem.
 

halfwaynowhere

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
601
I use vaseline barriers on all my tanks, around the cat and dog food bowls, everywhere. A few weeks ago I had a bad scare with my versicolor, she was covered in ants, i thought she was dead... In the past two years, I've had these ants kill two pet mice... One just got really sick from being crawled on (from that acid they produce), and the other one was eaten alive while I was away for the weekend. These ants are awful. Vaseline is the only thing I've found to work successfully as a barrier, and it doesn't need to be reapplied very often, as long as it doesn't get rubbed off.
 

AneesasMuse

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Messages
838
Thanks! You guys have given me some hope that a little stronger approach will not wipe out my T's and other "bugs", etc.

WARPIG.. I am really sorry you 've had this problem. How awful! I'm going to get your RealKill things and this Combat Gel ..and see how it goes. Thanks!

Veneficus.. do you think the Gel stuff will be enticing to my tortoise, at all? I have a Red Foot that free ranges the backyard on warm days (the Bay Area isn't warm every single day) ..and I don't want her to get sick, or worse, for sure!


I am very discouraged with all of the natural things I have tried cuz they do little to actually stop them ...and just simply keeping them at bay until I run in again the next hour ..that's not working! I have a rescue to run and a household ..a life.... I've become obsessed and overrun with killing these stupid ants and protecting my animals..

I'm the Crazy Ant Lady!! {D

..but I don't want to be
 

MyNameIsMud

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
50
You could also try Ditamaceous Earth. Just be careful dusting around the T enclosures. It'll eat through an ant shell in seconds. Sprinkle around where they're coming in and around the outside perimeter of the house and that should slow them considerably if it doesn't stop them completley.
 

T 'n T

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
68
Whenever I see an ant it gets smashed immediately (ants and skeeters are the only insects that don't get released outside). Then, instead of trying to cover up the trail, I deliberately grind the ant's body into the floor. It's not as tidy, but I figure the ants will think a big ant-eating predator is nearby and vamoose. So far it seems to work, but then there's not a big ant problem in my house.
 

gvfarns

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,579
How are the ants getting across your water moats? I would have considered that a sure thing, last resort. If I had the problem you do I might consider upping the quality of the physical barriers. I might put them on a wire bookcase and put the legs in pans of water or something. It sounds like you have done something like that but there must have been a way around your barrier.

Good luck with it!
 

Veneficus

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
317
Thanks! You guys have given me some hope that a little stronger approach will not wipe out my T's and other "bugs", etc.

Veneficus.. do you think the Gel stuff will be enticing to my tortoise, at all? I have a Red Foot that free ranges the backyard on warm days (the Bay Area isn't warm every single day) ..and I don't want her to get sick, or worse, for sure!
I can't honestly say about turtles..you might want to ask an exotic vet or something. I know it's safe around dogs, and mammals have no interest in it. I also saw you can use it inside, and it should be fine since it doesn't give off any fumes. Here is some more information on it:

http://www.combatbugs.com/index.cfm?page_id=193&pid=3
 

Kid Dragon

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
1,123
Ant infestations are incidious. I removed my T enclosures sprayed ant killer, set down ant traps, waited 24 hours and returned the enclosures. I haven't lost any Ts, and the ants haven't been back...yet. :evil:
 

barabootom

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
644
ants

I live in a newer house in a wooded area and have had ants invade several times. I started buying diazinon pellets at Walmart and sprinkling them around the perameter of the house every Spring. I haven't had ants in the house since. It lasts about 2 months. A large bag costs about $10. It's used to kill ants and other insects in lawns. I prefer not to use it anywhere except about 6 inches going around the house. It works for the ants we have here in Wisconsin.
 
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