cha ngo
Well-Known Member
Can anyone please recommend a good way to keep ants out of the house? This time of year they invade like crazy. I have heard that boric acid will work but would like to hear from some of you.
Friggin' ants
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iggy_fenton
Well-Known Member
Toro ant killer has always worked well for me.
fretman124
Well-Known Member
a six year old with a magnifying glass and/or some matches
Buford
Well-Known Member
I make a boric acid solution to kill them. Get 1/2 cup of water hot and dissolve 1 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of boric acid powder in it. You can put cotton balls in soda bottle caps and pour this syrup over them. Put these traps right where ants are coming in and they'll go nuts over it.
Resist the urge to kill the ants - the boric acid won't kill them immediately at this concentration. You want them to take the syrup home with them to feed other ants and the queen(s). After a few days the ants should start vanishing.
You can save the excess syrup (this makes a lot) to refresh traps or make new ones by putting plastic wrap over the cup it's in. I still have some left from last summer.
Resist the urge to kill the ants - the boric acid won't kill them immediately at this concentration. You want them to take the syrup home with them to feed other ants and the queen(s). After a few days the ants should start vanishing.
You can save the excess syrup (this makes a lot) to refresh traps or make new ones by putting plastic wrap over the cup it's in. I still have some left from last summer.
We have a big problem with them here in Hawaii, especially in the older housing I am in. Here is what has worked for me:
1) First try to figure out where the buggers are getting in and seal those areas off: Some of the many places are around utility/cable cuts from outside, vents, around windows and of course your doorways. Alot of these places have little holes that can be fixed with some caulk.
2) Look for obvious trails of ants inside. They like to live in walls, and come out by electrical sockets. Other places are under stoves/refrigerators where there always seems to be some food that drops there.
3) Seal up anything that might attract them. Some ants like oil, some like sugar. Some are actually attracted to water. Tupperware or cheap versions work great for food storage. A couple of companies make these clips that work great for sealing cereal bags to keep them out.
4) Get some good quality spray that says it will kill for a certain time period after applied. Spray around baseboards in the kitchen, etc...
5) Ant traps might help under the stove or refrigerator.
6) Lastly, get some outdoor bug spray and spray around the above mentioned areas (windows, doors etc...). Also get the perimeter of the house from the ground up to about a foot on the side walls.
1) First try to figure out where the buggers are getting in and seal those areas off: Some of the many places are around utility/cable cuts from outside, vents, around windows and of course your doorways. Alot of these places have little holes that can be fixed with some caulk.
2) Look for obvious trails of ants inside. They like to live in walls, and come out by electrical sockets. Other places are under stoves/refrigerators where there always seems to be some food that drops there.
3) Seal up anything that might attract them. Some ants like oil, some like sugar. Some are actually attracted to water. Tupperware or cheap versions work great for food storage. A couple of companies make these clips that work great for sealing cereal bags to keep them out.
4) Get some good quality spray that says it will kill for a certain time period after applied. Spray around baseboards in the kitchen, etc...
5) Ant traps might help under the stove or refrigerator.
6) Lastly, get some outdoor bug spray and spray around the above mentioned areas (windows, doors etc...). Also get the perimeter of the house from the ground up to about a foot on the side walls.
Buford
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the boric acid solution only works on ants that are attracted to sugar. I use it because I have a cat and at that concentration on the little traps it's next to harmless to a cat, and our ants will swarm all over the stuff.
Something you can also use to impede ant progress is filling any cracks they're coming in by with dishwashing soap. It's goopy and the ants won't try to go through it.
Something you can also use to impede ant progress is filling any cracks they're coming in by with dishwashing soap. It's goopy and the ants won't try to go through it.
I will go around the house & find the entry points, then blast them with a persistent pesticide. Then fill them in later, because it seems like the ants go mobile when it rains.
If they are coming in through tiny cracks around windows & such, Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Filler. It wicks into thin cracks and sets up. I had a major problem with my kitchen's window & a couple applications of Capt Tolley's did the trick. It's a boating product.
If they are coming in through tiny cracks around windows & such, Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Filler. It wicks into thin cracks and sets up. I had a major problem with my kitchen's window & a couple applications of Capt Tolley's did the trick. It's a boating product.
cha ngo said:
Check this thread out
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=25413
Gross stuff in there but they say it works
TheJadedDog
AFK ATM
I just use those cheap ant cups seems to work great. Also, if you see that they are always going to the same areas, remove anything that might be in that area and clean it really well.
MA_Brewer
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homebrewer_99
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Draw chalk lines (dust) around the base of your doors. Supposedly they can't cross over chalk.
jelsas
Well-Known Member
boric acid has worked for me, too, pretty much the same recipe Buford posted. it takes a few days, and you have to deal with ants SWARMING on the cotton balls. We had the ants coming up through the floor & around our bathtub -- they would chew through the grout/putty stuff sealing around the tub. nasty to see that many ants teeming around your bathtub.
If you know where the ants are coming from or how they get into the house, and you're opposed to poisons or have pets, you can get some Diatomaceous earth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth). It is a mechanical killer for insects with exoskeletons -- gets in their joints & immobilizes them, I think. Just sprinkle some of it on the ant hill, or around the base of your house, and any ant (or other bug) that crawls through it will die. Its not at all harmful to mammals if ingested, unlike most other insect killers. If it gets wet its useless, so you'd need to sprinkle some more after it rains.
If you know where the ants are coming from or how they get into the house, and you're opposed to poisons or have pets, you can get some Diatomaceous earth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth). It is a mechanical killer for insects with exoskeletons -- gets in their joints & immobilizes them, I think. Just sprinkle some of it on the ant hill, or around the base of your house, and any ant (or other bug) that crawls through it will die. Its not at all harmful to mammals if ingested, unlike most other insect killers. If it gets wet its useless, so you'd need to sprinkle some more after it rains.
Buford
Well-Known Member
I like watching the ants swarm on the boric acid covered cotton balls. It's fun in a morbid way. "Yeah, eat that poison you little bastards! Eat it all! Muhahaha!"
Borrow a flame thrower from an army buddy. Just try not to burn down your house.
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