Posted on 04/21/2018 9:00:54 PM PDT by SamAdams76
It's the beginning of spring and this is when ants try to get into the houses. Not sure why now and not middle of winter when it is cold.
Stepping on them and killing them when you see them makes you feel good for a minute or two but it does not solve the overall ant problem. For there are THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of ants from where they came from, all intent on servicing the QUEEN at all costs.
Normally I just tolerate the springtime ants, content to step on them when I see them and flush their dead bodies down the toilet. But this spring, I'm putting my house up for sale and do not want prospective owners seeing ants crawling across the floor. For that might make them want to offer me less money for my otherwise pristine home.
So I went out to the Home Depot and purchased some liquid ant traps (six to a carton!). You just rip off one end of it and set it down on the floor. This liquid - actually the consistency of sugary syrup - is like crack cocaine for ants!
Within an hour of setting the traps, those ants were swarming bigtime. The traps actually brought MORE ants into my home and the wife was reduced to using the guest bathroom because she was really freaked out.
As for me, I was loving it. I like to see ants swarm, especially when I know they are unwittingly committing suicide because that sweet syrup contained a poison called BORAX.
Yes, borax is fatal to ants but not right away. It eventually eats away at their digestive system but takes a couple days or so. In the meantime, they are taking that poison to the QUEEN and eventually the Queen Ant dies. Not even God can save her at this point. Like I said, that Borax is FATAL to all the ants, and especially the Queen.
So after about 3 or 4 days, the ants slowed to a trickle and even those ants were moving rather sluggishly, like they were totally drunk after having a night on the town at various dive bars.
Within a week of laying those liquid traps, there were no ants at all! All of them were dead. They done went up to ant heaven.
What I'm trying to say here was these liquid ant traps really work. That sugary syrup laced with Borax was like a holocaust for ants.
Diatomaceous earth works for me.
LOL that is a common little joke in my family!
Ant problem bump of death.
As a preventative, I've left a dusting of borax by my base boards.
And the Borax is god for cleaning and washing clothes.
Recall - Ronald Reagan used to hose a TV show in the late 50’s sponsored by 20 Mule Team Borax (same stuff)
Take a sharp flat shovel. Shave off the top inch or so of the mound (depending on the size, maybe more. Quickly spray a generous amount of automotive starting fluid (ether) down the tunnels, and quickly drop the shaved dirt back on top, tapping it down with the shovel to seal the fumes in. Seems to work for me.
I use Advion.
Fire ants are the scourge of the
earth. I and a friend were on the
back patio tipping a few (small
town in south Texas) and I was
looking for a place to snuff out
a cigarette butt. I punched it
into a nearby fire ant mound. In
typical fire ant fashion, they
attacked the butt with vigor.
The next morning while cleaning
up the back patio, I retrieved
the cigarette butt stuffed in
the mound....the ants were GONE!
I did this on every mound I
discovered in my yard. I’m
guessing they can’t stand
nicotine. (I’ve since quit
smoking, and moved where
there are no fire ants)
Yes, Terro brand ant baits work well.
Just put 2 baits out this last week, at the first sign of the little buggers.
2 days later...no ants to be seen.
BFL
#2. As Gary Bussey showed in the movie “DC Cab”, a flamethrower will do the job.
That begs the next question. Are “flaming ants” really gay or just on fire? Guess it depends on whether they are in San Francisco or not.
What about the uncles?
Kills the ants and Uncles!
Yes we already had to put some Terro out as well in the bathroom and kitchen. Knocked the invaders out and in 2 days. Even though I’ve used Terro for years I also bought some Amdro brand traps and placed them next to the Terro just as an experiment and the ants wouldn’t touch it. I know some ants are supposedly sweet ants and some are grease ants so maybe that’s why but stick with Terro!
Glad you had success with those.
Everyone else? Try grits. Not the quick-cook kind, but real grits.
Pet safe. Just sprinkle about 1/4 to 1/3 cup around red ant nests and they’re gone in about 36 hours.
Sprinkle some on sugar or carpenter ant trails.
Don’t know about those little, tiny ones though. This sure works great on ants of the Southwest though.
Kit
[[have a company come in and do a drill and treat. This is where they will drill a small hole into the walls every 13 inches and shoot a wet able powder into the wall.]]
No! Your house won’t hold water then
The ants weren’t gone- they were just all out buying cigarettes now that you got them hooked on nicotine
I have used that recipe before and it works. I poured it around a fire ant hill and it did some damage but you still need special stuff for them unless someone has a good fire ant home recipe.
Reagan Borateem ad, the baby was Erin Murphy of Bewitched.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LchXPhL56fM
Bump
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