Help with ants

Blueandbluer · Jun 28, 2015

Hey, guys... anyone have tips for getting rid of ants? Don't worry, they're nowhere near The Luggage -- completely different floor -- but they're eating the food my slob cats drop around and are in my bedroom and walk-in. Obviously I don't want to spray because of The Luggage. Would traps be effective/be safe?

I've already moved the cat dishes into pans of water and wiped all around with vinegar, but the [redacted] [redacted] ants are still all over.

Any advice welcome.

cold blood · Jun 28, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
Hey, guys... anyone have tips for getting rid of ants? Don't worry, they're nowhere near The Luggage -- completely different floor -- but they're eating the food my slob cats drop around and are in my bedroom and walk-in. Obviously I don't want to spray because of The Luggage. Would traps be effective/be safe?

I've already moved the cat dishes into pans of water and wiped all around with vinegar, but the [redacted] [redacted] ants are still all over.

Any advice welcome.

I like to use natural means....so I suggest getting yourself a nice anteater. Should take care of the problem:wink:

Diatomacious earth (I'm sure I butchered the spelling) sprinkled in areas could help...not sure if it would harm kitties sniffing it to check it out....or walking through and licking paws afterwards.

SpiderInTheBath · Jun 28, 2015

Can vouch for Diatomaceous Earth. I used it to treat fleas; get the food grade (not pool grade!) and it won't hurt your cats at all. It'll kill every insect in your house though, haha. I've found so many dead woodlice. Basically any flea I've seen alive since I spread it in the bedroom has been in some amount of trouble. Fingers crossed they're all but gone..

The Snark · Jun 28, 2015

If all else fails.... Ant powder containing Dursban. A 3 foot wide swath entirely around the house.

Our ant battles are epic. Tried everything under the sun. Diatomaceous earth, all sorts of chemicals and odor stuff. After 6 years of losing the battle my partner just went berserk with the nasty chemical and it, applied as described, did manage to work. They are still trying to eat the dog in his sleep though.

widowkeeper · Jun 29, 2015

cinnamon wont kill them but it will keep them out only thing I have found that works so far get a couple big jars dump it around the outside of the house that and then a small pile of bakingsoda mixed with powdered sugar at any spot you find them coming it at it will kill the ones inside your house and keep others out

louise f · Jun 29, 2015

i would go for the cinnamon too,like widowkeeper. i use it when i have ant problems,it works just fine. Happy hunting

Angel Minkov · Jun 29, 2015

You're just wasting money on 5 minute solutions. The ants in your house are most likely a satellite colony - they're looking for food. You kill 50, another 50 hatch. It makes no difference whatsoever.

pyro fiend · Jun 29, 2015

i also vouch for diotomacious earth it keeps small ants away and even killed some stray wild [and im sure lost feeder] crix lol

a few people think its semi crool but when you can stick a pen through a window corner, youv gota do something =\

Blueandbluer · Jun 29, 2015

Angel Minkov said:
You're just wasting money on 5 minute solutions. The ants in your house are most likely a satellite colony - they're looking for food. You kill 50, another 50 hatch. It makes no difference whatsoever.

So... What? I should just give up and let them crawl all over my bed and into my cats' food?

I bought some food grade diatomaceous earth, thanks for the recs, all. We'll see if it helps.

AphonopelmaTX · Jun 30, 2015

Don't mess around and waste a bunch of money trying all of these solutions that may or may not work. Every time I have had an ant problem in a room I have used good old fashioned Raid ant killer from the grocery store. Never in the room my spiders are housed in though. Since you say there is a floor separating where the ants are and where "The Luggage" is (whatever that is), the pesticide will not affect it at all. I have used the Raid ant killer in a different room (same floor) from where my spiders are and I have not had a single problem. A floor separating the animals you don't want affected by pesticide and the ones you do make it even safer in my opinion. I'm not suggesting you go crazy with pesticide or anything and "bomb" the house, spray just around the baseboards and where you see the ant trail(s). In my experiences with eliminating ants, I have been able to find the source by following the trail(s) backwards. I've found a colony taking up residence in a shirt in my closet once and two other times found they were coming in from cracks in my baseboards. One localized application of Raid ant killer and the problem was solved quickly, cheaply, and effectively with no harm to my spider collection. As a matter of fact, I still have a can of the junk from when I had to take care of an ant colony in my bathroom last year.

REvan342 · Jun 30, 2015

Drop cornstarch on their main paths.... They won't be able to resist it, however it will pretty much clog their tummy a, and kill them.... The human equivalent would be a man eating a bunch of cement.... Works every time guaranteed.... Plus it's dirt cheap, and non toxic, unlike raid.

Angel Minkov · Jun 30, 2015

Blueandbluer said:
So... What? I should just give up and let them crawl all over my bed and into my cats' food?

I bought some food grade diatomaceous earth, thanks for the recs, all. We'll see if it helps.

Yes. You're basically just throwing money in a bottomless pit. Nothing you do will affect their numbers, unless you exterminate a thousand in 1 try, which won't happen. I started keeping ants perhaps 6 or 7 years ago and I know you will accomplish nothing.

Blueandbluer · Jun 30, 2015

You must also be in the "no point in cleaning as it's just going to get messy again" camp.

cold blood · Jun 30, 2015

Angel Minkov said:
Yes. You're basically just throwing money in a bottomless pit. Nothing you do will affect their numbers, unless you exterminate a thousand in 1 try, which won't happen. I started keeping ants perhaps 6 or 7 years ago and I know you will accomplish nothing.

Lmfao, people all over the world have had ant issues and managed to solve their problems...success is certainly not impossible. If ants were as bad as your making them out to be, we'd all be bowing to the ant king by now.

Nothing you do will affect their numbers? WTF man....LOTS of things you can do will indeed affect their numbers, they're not indestructible....several posters have actually done it....in several different ways:unsure:

viper69 · Jun 30, 2015

Angel Minkov said:
Yes. You're basically just throwing money in a bottomless pit. Nothing you do will affect their numbers, unless you exterminate a thousand in 1 try, which won't happen. I started keeping ants perhaps 6 or 7 years ago and I know you will accomplish nothing.

Dude you are flat out wrong, that's plain CRAZY-TALK.

In my experience I have fended off ants that tried to make a small invasion into a large one. I accomplished SOMETHING.

By your logic I should have done nothing and let them keep pouring in.

They are driven ruthless animals. You must be vigilant about removing the source of their interest and taking appropriate countermeasures to wipeout this insurgency. You already have too many scouts in your living quarters this may not be easy at all.

BobGrill · Jun 30, 2015

Ok Roger that. Next time I'm having ant problems, my best option is to do nothing and just let them overrun my house. Thanks for the advice Angel.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

pyro fiend · Jun 30, 2015

cold blood said:
Lmfao, people all over the world have had ant issues and managed to solve their problems...success is certainly not impossible. If ants were as bad as your making them out to be, we'd all be bowing to the ant king by now.

Nothing you do will affect their numbers? WTF man....LOTS of things you can do will indeed affect their numbers, they're not indestructible....several posters have actually done it....in several different ways:unsure:

all i could think when he said that was "so if i pour molten aluminum down a hill *cough* again *cough* *cough* i wont decrease numbers?

"

RagingBambi · Jul 2, 2015

Whenever i had problem with ants i had used,
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Terro-Li...ns-6-Pack-T300/202532940?N=5yc1vZbx4wZ1z0qemg
had gotten rid of the ants with no issues, no problems with the t's.

Angel Minkov · Jul 2, 2015

You can just brag on about how you got rid of satellite colonies and how you "exterminate" them, but in reality the only way to get rid of them is either bombing your house in every spot with insecticides, which is unacceptable if you have Ts, or keep your house spotless, with not even a bread crumb on the floor. Even if you were to wipe out a hundred or two, most colonies consist of several thousand ants. And what's everyone's problem with ants? "Overrun" you? You must be joking. Ants are absolutely no issue to most if not all things. They're basically just scavenging for food like bread crumbs, maybe a piece of chocolate that fell on the ground. They're cleaning your house for free, that's why I don't let anyone kill them.

Just read they're over your cat's food. Salt should be able to stop them, so if you don't mind putting a little salt around your cat's food bowls and you keep your house very clean of food leftovers, they will drastically reduce in numbers.

cold blood · Jul 2, 2015

www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/education/pet-poisons-and-toxins/toxic-food-for-pets.aspx

---------- Post added 07-02-2015 at 05:36 PM ----------

scroll down for salt

Help with ants

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