Ants! Anyone else having a major problem?

For years now we have been using food grade diamataceous earth (DE) which is fine white powder that kills ants and other critters with exoskeletons. It is safe for pets and kids if they touch or ingest it (not great for lungs but not dangerous either) and it has kept the ants at bay. What DE does NOT do is kill the queen and remove the colony – we must have one mega-nest because we have had ants set up what might be satellite colonies in indoor plants on our windowsills during the summer (and last summer they set up shop inside a big herb planter outdoors on our deck). This year we’re renovating outside so they haven’t come into our house yet – I guess they got disturbed by the construction and their usual paths were thrown off. So that’s another way to get rid of ants – dig up your yard.

jeanmarine2

in Appraisals 11 years and 10 months ago

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mousta | 11 years and 10 months ago

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We have our quarterly exterminator visit next week. They usually put that gel near the perimeter of the the house but the ants have worked their way up to the parlor floor and into the middle areas. Anyone have success in slowing them down?

mab | 11 years and 10 months ago

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An effective DIY solution is to use Ortho Home Defense spray. You can find it at any hardware store that has a gardening section. I don’t know if the big box stores have it, but you can check. Follow the instructions on the bottle and be persistent. We were plagued with the annual spring march of the ants a few years ago and were beside ourselves. After using Ortho diligently by starting “treatment” before the warm weather kicks in and continuing through the season, we’ve had great success and not one ant has made it into the house. We’ve also used boric acid strategically placed indoors, but be sure to keep kids and pets away from treatment areas. Good luck!

anotherposter | 11 years and 10 months ago

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I’ve always had excellent luck with Terro ant poison.  I know Lowes usually carries it.  You can buy a little bottle of it and just pour it onto a disposable surface.  For a few bucks more, they now sell it in little containers–just cut off the opening, put it in the ant path, and a day or so later, no more ants.  Many years ago, when I was in college, we had an ant infestation on the third floor of our dorm in many rooms.  I put out terro and a few days later they were gone for good.     I just keep a few of the terro bait stations around and if it rains a lot and some ants start coming in, I put one out.

snowman2 | 11 years and 10 months ago

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I had a problem annually in the spring for several years and tried all the suggestions above plus others with no luck.  Hot Shot (Lowes) was what worked and I haven’t seen any ants for the past 2 years.  I could see where they were entering the house but never saw them in the house.  I injected the opening with Hot Shot as well as along the outside trail.  They stopped trailing and no more entered the house but the next day the ants  that were already inside started coming up between the floorboards on the first floor in a couple of places.  I injected those places and within a day I had a ton of ants dying in the cellar.  Haven’t seen any trailing in since then.