Posted on 11/13/2016 1:48:53 PM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
How does one kill crazy ants in a do-it-yourself way? We've put down Boric Acid and flea spray, both of which kill them. But, they keep coming back by the thousands. Any ideas?
Get powdered Sevin and sprinkle it around the nest. They’ll walk through it and take it to their nest. I use it on ants, yellow jackets and ground wasps. Doesn’t have knock down power, but it will kill the nest.
You are killing ants, but not the Queen.
You can not get rid of the cause. The underground service trails to the Queen are perpetual without a poison that is carried to her and kills her.
Our house I swear was beginning to move with settling and underground ant infestation. One treatment for 125.00 and the ants have been gone ever since. Not one ant for almost a year, now.
Please quit with the goo goo bar remedies that feed the ants, are laborious and do not treat the Queen.
Terminex never solved the problem. The top two companies want to come back to you in a contract. They did not kill our Queen either. A small operator killed the Queen.
Termidor. Buy it from diypestcontrol.com It is the same stuff the pros use for ants and termites but without the insane price they will quote to treat your house or yard.
+1 on Terro. Almost every April or May we get a huge ant invasion into the house (they find cat food — and cat vomit — appetizing). In recent years it was those crazy ants. This year, with a couple of Terro ant traps strategically located we didn’t have a single invasion.
Crazy ants really appear crazy, running every which way at high speed. I called them crazy ants before I knew there was such a category. They are very well named (as are fire ants).
Different ants (SoCal) but it took about 2 months and I used only things that wouldn’t harm my baby who played in that yard. It was war. And it was ON. And I won!
First you only want to kill the hives (or whatever they are called) that directly affect your home. Study the ants, figure out roughly where they are coming from. The ones here do not build hills so you have to study them to see where, underground, they seem to have their HQ. I used water. Flood em and see where they race out, carrying their eggs, etc. Forget any hives that don’t get into your home or affecting your life.
Next, get a huge tub of diatomaceous earth off Amazon. Or anywhere. It works better dry. Powder their areas with it. Powder their trails with it. Add more daily. It can be difficult to remove from patios, but just explain that a war is going on and these are the trappings. It won’t hurt most animals but some say it can get into dogs’ respiratory system so check what you can do to keep dogs from that area, or wet it all down if a dog will be there and start over when he is not.
You will not see instant results with the DE. Still, never give up. They have to share it with the whole troops and it will slowly destroy them.
Next, get borax (sometimes in the laundry section of stores) and mix a bit into peanut butter (you can use PB with sugar as an ingredient and get both ants who like protein and those who like sugar) and put the mixture into flat saucers (I used old food can lids) and place them along their trails and near their hives. Don’t put them in your home because this will be attracting them. You can definitely sprinkle the diatomaceous earth in the corners of your home where they get in.
They will eat the borax AND have enough time to get it back to the hive, thus again securing max casualties. Replace and refresh the lids as needed.
I founght like this for two months and eliminated two very large nasty hives. When we moved in, I was watering outside and a thick mass of black ants ran up my baby’s legs!! They also came into the kitchen daily. Worse case of ants I’d ever seen. After two months, they were GONE. Sometimes later I’d see a little trail of new ants coming under the gate into our yard, and I’d do the DE on their trail or just spray with the hose and they were discouraged from choosing our yard.
In what proportions? One cup of each or what?
Gophers annihilated by vegetable garden and your idea sounds like something to try.
Amdro killed all my fire ants.
This is what killed the Carpenter Ants for me.
I don't have an ant problem any more.
Terro worked great for us.
I used to buy Terro at Target. I’ll have to check the links others have provided to figure out where to make my next purchase.
Napalm.
Check my post #37 also. Check on Terro’s website to see if it will work for the type of ant you are having trouble with.
[There is a product the ants take back to the nest that kills them at the source, but I can’t remember the name of the product this minute.]
They are little morsels of food with miniature time bombs in them.
Raw Grits. Eat & pop
GMTA. See post 13.
Grape jelly and Borax. Look it up. I use it and it destroys the entire colony queen and all
LOL
We both had interesting childhoods.
I guess it depends on what kind of ants, but Amdro really works well on fire ants.
I still have scars from fire ant stings decades old.
They are EXTREMELY nasty.
Carpenter ants eat your house. Fire ants eat YOU!
Try a home improvement store or a few local harware stores like Ace if you have those there. Is there a Menards there?
Terro and named Pic or may have another name. Most hardward and department stores have some version. Check ingredients to make sure the active ingredient is sodium tetroborate (borax).
I bought a 3-different-baits HotShot ant bait several years ago. Recommended by Lowes staffer. Rather expensive. They wouldn’t even go near it.
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