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May 30, 2007
parent of newborn need exterminator
We have a MASSIVE ant problem in our garden level apartment. We've tried ant trays, and we've tried every green-friendly solution I can find online (e.g., spraying warm water with dish detergent). I'm normally not at all above NUKING the bastards with the most toxic stuff I can find -- the more carcinogenic, the better -- but I have a baby who's about to start crawling. Any suggestions for an exterminator I can truly trust not to do anything that will harm my kid? Thanks.
Comments
try this stuff: http://www.diatect.com/how-to-kill-sugar-ants-safely.php
it's worked well for us.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2007 3:58 PM
That title has a really dark & gruesome ring to it. FYI
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2007 4:59 PM
(hate to admit it but you made me laugh 4:59!)
I had ants before and had an exterminator who didn't do much. Finally I used that stuff that's a stick of white chalk I bought in Chinatown that you draw in places they crawl across or come out of. I have no idea if it's toxic. I have a cat and she wasn't harmed by it. But it worked.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2007 5:06 PM
That chinatown stuff is really toxic.
Think about it: it turns into a powder which can be easily aspirated (aka "breathed in") and you have a newborn who will be crawling around ON THE FLOOR. Eeeks.
I recommend Peter Scala at Parkway (www.parkwaybugs.com). He treated my house (with a newborn present) a while back and his wife was about to have their second, so he can relate for sure.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 30, 2007 6:25 PM
I've had problems with ants since moving to my new brownstone. I just ordered the diatect stuff (plus extra stuff for pets and bed bugs). I hope it works, the website made it sound very good, safe, and effective. I'll let you know my experience.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 31, 2007 6:29 AM
ants will not cross talcum powder, for some reason. that is probably why the chalk works, though there is no telling what other ingredients are in it so i wouldn't use it. i lived down south and had a terrible ant problem which i solved by boiling water and pouring it into the ant beds. you have to kill the queen.
Posted by: anon at May 31, 2007 8:32 AM
try cinnamon. they don't cross that either!
Posted by: mh at June 2, 2007 4:26 PM
While it's true that cinnamon and baby powder work, I used caramel and a confectioners sugar anglaise to perfection back in 1972, before it was gauche to call a vente a grande and long before babies snorted chalk. Kids these days, huffing in the streets of Chinatown! Please.
Posted by: Larry Hollywood at June 3, 2007 4:16 PM
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