Ant Infestation!!!

[okami]

My house is currently being invaded by ants!!!
Like, seriously. Leave something that contains sugar out for a minute and they swarm it.

What would you guys do to keep the ants at bay??

[k_angel_iii]

Mmmmm.

I'm not into pesticides and chemicals, so I take the natural approach first.

Take away their nutritional resources:
clean the dishes, put all food in sealed containers (walmart has lots of plastic containers ^__~ ), try to eat in a serving tray (not just for babies, it's actually easier to clean up and spills and stuff happen in the tray, not on the floor or table... and trays are easy to clean ^^).

Take away their hiding places:
It's summer, so I say go on a cleaning spree, arrange things neatly, vacuum and stuff. When things are neatly arranged, it's easier to spot and handle the vermin.

Summer is that time of the year when ants and flies come out in numbers, so you'll probably still have the occasional wandering insect. However, if you believe you have an infestation (i.e. you think they've settled in under the boards or somewhere within the structure of where you live), get the landlord to get a pro to check it out.

If the landlord is being difficult, tell him of all the potential damage insects can do to the value of his property :p .

That's just me though. If you're into pesticides, then the best approach I'd go for is the bug killer chalk (my gramps used it, but like I said, I'm not into pesticides, so I don't remember the name or brand anymore). You can use the chalk to draw lines along the walls --- crawling insects don't cross the line. I've also heard ants don't cross a salt line, but I don't know if it's just an old wives tale. If you have children around, take them into account when using pesticides.

Oh, and apologies to anyone from animal rights :D .

[negativzero]

Well, for one if you spill someting, try cleaning it up right away. Or if you are evil and cruel like me, you would take a bucket of water and splast if over the entire ants nest.

[pajee]

LMAO. I do what negativezero does.

I heard covering your garden with bark dust works. I haven't seen ants since I moved to this house and it's loaded with bark dust.

[SoulBerry]

exactly the same problem here, except the ants are limited to my desk, which they seem to love for some reason.

I followed a friend's advice wipped the tabletop and legs with a damp cloth soaked in a solution of pure lemon juice. Anything acidic, like vinegar, works as well, if you can stand that stuff. Anyway, since applying the lemon juice, I'm seeing way fewer ants. Not lemon juice from stores mind-the ones made for drinks have sugar and will worsen your situ. Pure squeezed lemons are the way to go.

[okami]

Don't pure lemons have sugar too anyways?? o_O

I get ants in pure, plain distilled water too. How d'ya explain that??
Had to wash my glass every 10min last night to prevent consumption of Corpse du Ant.
-_-"

And look! 3 ants are crawling on my laptop screen!!! arrghhh!!!

pajee: what the heck is bark dust?

[negativzero]

^^
Ants are only attracted to glucose, sucrose, maltose, and fructose, which are all in very miniscule amounts in lemons.
Wow! You get ants in distilled, you must have a real big problem in your house, should get the pest buster to come in and have a look.
I believe bark dust = saw dust

[okami]

Ahahaha pest busters!
But we don't even know where they're coming from.

And I just saw a row of marching ants in the bathroom!!! Like how gross is that.
Tell me soap doesn't contain monosaccharides or disaccharides.

[negativzero]

Just call them in the house and let them take a look at the ants so that they can work their magic.

[okami]

Yeah I think we'll probably do that.

Exorcise all the ants outta here. mwahahahaha.
"I banish thee~!"

okami is in a whimsical mood today.

[SoulBerry]

there's this sweet stuff you can get. you put it on the table, let the ants carry it home and feed it to their queens. the sweet stuff's poision, of course...

kinda cruel, but effective. someone somewhere suggested pouring boiling water down the anthole @@. (those little pests frustrate me to the point where I actually might, if I could find the anthole.)

[okami]

Seriously?! I've never seen those in stores though.

And boiling water? Bring it on!!!
Too bad I can't find the ant hole. :p

[jewlreya]

I don't know the name of the product but my mom used to buy this powdery brown thing that comes in a small yellow box. It has pictures of co.ckroaches on it but it can be used for ants as well. It works just like what SB described.

[okami]

Ohhh I think I know which one you're talking about.. The yellow and red box right? The stuff you buy from the hardware stores?

[jewlreya]

I'm not sure whether it has red on it. But anyway, it has co.ckroaches pic on it for sure. It works really well. 2 days and it will be gone for at least 1 month if you don't drop any food around the house.

[Annagen]

I've heard that mixing something like borax or powdered soap with sugar and leaving it out in a dish is a good idea. The ants take the stuff home and feed it to all their little friends, which kills 'em. Like the suggestion above, only not storebought. Boiling water down the anthole is also very effective (Though boided ant smells awful).

[Icy]

RAAAAAIIIIIIIDDDDD!!!!!
Use lots and lots of Raid.

Poison those little buggers and they're queens...*evil laugh*

[I-010]

hair spay + lighter = crispy ants ^^

[JudgeMe]

If you were the average human, that was uncareing and liked to watch the pain of small, inferer creartures like 90% of the world, you would spray a butt load of RAID on them and watch and laugh as they go into their miniature pre-death seizures. It's a great American pass-time. :cool:

[okami]

o_O I don't think RAID is available here... :p

But I most certainly am sadistic.
-points left-

*laughs evilly*

I think I'll use Baygon.

[garouga]

Use a flamethrower, works for me :D


Seriously, like some people in here said use an insecticide. Try putting in another sugary item and when they swarm it, spray the insecticide on where they're coming from.