Ants!

[Maylar]

I just bought a house and I'm finding big black ants all over, especially in the kitchen. I know I'll have to put down some chemicals around the foundation, but what can I do to control them in the house without poisoning myself? I need to treat the counter tops where I prepare food.

This sucks, I haven't even finished unpacking yet. Grrrr.

 

[ChelisHubby]

I would Spray the hell out of it and eat out for a day or two and then clean the heck out of it . But you need to find the nest and feed them. some ant baits!

 

[passedpawn]

Get Demon WP from Amazon or DIY pest control store. Comes in small powder sachets that are water soluble.

Drop one in a gallon pump sprayer and spray along the baseboards in your house, under sinks, around patios, etc.

Sweep up all the dead critters for months.

 

[AkTom]

I had ants once. My wife in frustration took a spray bottle of a simple green clone and sprayed them on the counter. Some died right there. The rest retreated. Whenever she'd see one, out came the spray. Soon no more ants.
True story.
Then I started wearing pants with Velcro cuffs at the ankle. Kept my ants where they belong.
Not true story.

 

[kh54s10]

That sounds like carpenter ants. Make sure you do a good job of exterminating them. They will be eating the wood in your house. I would use ant baits and put them in the cupboards, under the sink and other places around the kitchen.

 

[bfish]

Use some liquid ant killer such as Terro. Most are just Borax. If you want, I am sure you can google up how to make your own borax ant killer.

 

[jrgtr42]

Of course, the other option would be to call in the pros - a pest control company will have access to better chemicals than we can get at the orange, the blue or any other place. They also have the expertise to tell what kind of ants they are, and therefore where they like to nest, plus how best to get rid of them. Costs money, of course, but what doesn't.

 

[passedpawn]

Of course, the other option would be to call in the pros - a pest control company will have access to better chemicals than we can get at the orange, the blue or any other place. They also have the expertise to tell what kind of ants they are, and therefore where they like to nest, plus how best to get rid of them. Costs money, of course, but what doesn't.

Years ago we had a pro company spray the inside of our house monthly. I had little kids at the time and asked they guy what they used. He told me Demon WP. That's the stuff I posted above.

I recently sprayed a and-infested gardenia tree with it and the next day they were all gone.

 

[JohnSand]

We use Terro traps with success on small ants.

 

[jonz82]

Use some liquid ant killer such as Terro. Most are just Borax. If you want, I am sure you can google up how to make your own borax ant killer.

We had a bad infestation of carpenter ants last Summer. We wanted to be careful about what we used since we had a newborn.

Mixed about a tablespoon of borax with about a half a cup of powdered sugar on a paper plate. We put this everywhere we saw the ants. It took about a week, but the ants disappeared for good.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Raid Bug Barrier is a great product that comes with an automatic spray nozzle. It's safe for pets, works both indoor and outdoor, and kills all sorts of bugs. It works for a whole year.
I spray it around the base of all my walls and have zero insects anywhere ever, even after a couple years.
I also spray it outside on my patio to keep ants & spiders away.

I got conned into using a professional company to spray outside for pests, but never again. This Raid product is way more effective.

Good luck.

 

[Maylar]

Thanks guys. I got a pack of the liquid Terro traps from HD and put em in the kitchen. Next is to spray outdoors around the foundation.

 

[arturo7]

StarSan

 

[JonM]

Let the Terro do its thing - some ants (like those damned Pharaoh ants) will flee the nest when its sprayed, and they'll create a couple new queens so they can create several new nests. When that happens, you have three or four nests that know the way to your house.