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  How to rid kitchen of large black ANTS? Annual spring-summer invasion.

  2 0 I second the Terro stations. They really are the BEST and cheap (the unfortunate part is that it will cause a bit of a swarm to start so... you've got to tolerate more before you get less). The pro I spoke to said that the 2 big goals are (1) to make a barrier around the house so that new ants aren't coming in: Bifenthrin or other such poison on the foundation works well. I used something I found at Home Depot. The trick here is to make sure you don't have vegetation that goes from the ground, past the foundation, right onto the house as that will allow the ants to avoid the poison barrier you just spent money to create. and (2) to kill the queen of any ants within your walls (boric acid is IDEAL for this). The Terro stations are boric acid mixed with sweet stuff. The ants find the sweet stuff and then carry it back to the nest where they feed it to their queen and their homebound compatriots. Then they all die. Yay! Boric acid by itself can be a deterrent when applied in large quantities (they won't cross it if they can help it). In smaller quanitites they walk right across it, it gets stuck to their bodies and they take it back to the nest with them where they die and take others with them. Yay! I've found that the ants in my house eventually grew tired of the Terro stations. It seems like the near decimation of their nest triggered some kind of flavor craving change. I was still seeing scouts and other random ants, but they just weren't interested in the Terro. So I poked around the internet until I found a place that sells the gel baits that the pros use (I used optiguard but there are several others). I put some gel bait out and that perked their interest in poison again. I haven't seen a single ant since. Other things I did: Unscrewed all the power outlet covers and "puffed" boric acid into the space between the walls. I even pulled out the canned lighting things and puffed boric acid into the ceiling space. Basically I put boric acid any place where neither I nor my animals would encounter it --> into the walls, under carpet, and behind the fridge. I put cinnamon under all my cupboard liners (they don't seem to want to cross cinnamon, and it's not toxic to me or my cats). I started pouring all my used coffee grounds into the flower beds around the house (don't know if this really works but it certainly didn't hurt). Other miscellaneous info: In some types of ants (odiferous, sugar ants), squashed ants release a chemical that tells other ants to send more troops. So squishing can actually attract more. Sweeping, wiping, vacuuming (into a boric acid filled vacuum) or running down sink is what I did. And yes... I occasionally squished. Some ants tastes change in the autumn to favor fats, and proteins over sweets. There is bait for that too (advantage among MANY others). ;) It took me about a month to get rid of my SEVERE ant problem. I can now leave cat food out without problems now... so I call it a success. Diatomaceous earth is supposedly really great. I found it messy and to use it well seems like it requires more attention than I have available. It is however a great alternative for folks who are averse to poison. You can eat diatomaceous earth as a digestive supplement if you're so inclined. I am not. I say: Yay poison! That said, boric acid, though I personally wouldn't want to eat, it is supposedly non-toxic. I suspect Bifentherin is manufactored in hell... which is where I want to send my ants. foodoogeek answered in Pest Control/Weeds 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

• Comment on Sacrelicious's answer…

  0 0 I second the Terro stations. They really are the BEST and cheap (the unfortunate part is that it will cause a bit of a swarm to start so... you've got to tolerate more before you get less). The pro I spoke to said that the 2 big goals are (1) to make a barrier around the house so that new ants aren't coming in: Bifenthrin or other such poison on the foundation works well. I used something I found at Home Depot. The trick here is to make sure you don't have vegetation that goes from the ground, past the foundation, right onto the house as that will allow the ants to avoid the poison barrier you just spent money to create. and (2) to kill the queen of any ants within your walls (boric acid is IDEAL for this). The Terro stations are boric acid mixed with sweet stuff. The ants find the sweet stuff and then carry it back to the nest where they feed it to their queen and their homebound compatriots. Then they all die. Yay! Boric acid by itself can be a deterrent when applied in large quantities (they won't cross it if they can help it). In smaller quanitites they walk right across it, it gets stuck to their bodies and they take it back to the nest with them where they die and take others with them. Yay! I've found that the ants in my house eventually grew tired of the Terro stations. It seems like the near decimation of their nest triggered some kind of flavor craving change. I was still seeing scouts and other random ants, but they just weren't interested in the Terro. So I poked around the internet until I found a place that sells the gel baits that the pros use (I used optiguard but there are several others). I put some gel bait out and that perked their interest in poison again. I haven't seen a single ant since. Other things I did: Unscrewed all the power outlet covers and "puffed" boric acid into the space between the walls. I even pulled out the canned lighting things and puffed boric acid into the ceiling space. Basically I put boric acid any place where neither I nor my animals would encounter it --> into the walls, under carpet, and behind the fridge. I put cinnamon under all my cupboard liners (they don't seem to want to cross cinnamon, and it's not toxic to me or my cats). I started pouring all my used coffee grounds into the flower beds around the house (don't know if this really works but it certainly didn't hurt). Other miscellaneous info: In some types of ants (odiferous, sugar ants), squashed ants release a chemical that tells other ants to send more troops. So squishing can actually attract more. Sweeping, wiping, vacuuming (into a boric acid filled vacuum) or running down sink is what I did. And yes... I occasionally squished. Some ants tastes change in the autumn to favor fats, and proteins over sweets. There is bait for that too (advantage among MANY others). ;) It took me about a month to get rid of my SEVERE ant problem. I can now leave cat food out without problems now... so I call it a success. Diatomaceous earth is supposedly really great. I found it messy and to use it well seems like it requires more attention than I have available. It is however a great alternative for folks who are averse to poison. You can eat diatomaceous earth as a digestive supplement if you're so inclined. I am not. I say: Yay poison! That said, boric acid, though I personally wouldn't want to eat, it is supposedly non-toxic. I suspect Bifentherin is manufactored in hell... which is where I want to send my ants. foodoogeek commented 10 months ago

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