Too many ants spoil the broth.

rediguana

I had a friendly colony of ants on my patio for the past few weeks. When it was sunny, and I'd be lying out, they would swarm around on the stones, looking busy but not seeming to accomplish much. I liked them - they were quiet and they didn't sting.

But things done turned sour. They started invading the apartment. Winged ones and all. My girlfriend (who never liked them to begin with) was freaking. Reluctantly, and when they were landing on our faces and all, I went all McGyver on their industrious asses and I tried to blitz them.

At first, in an attempt to destroy their nest, I poured a kettle of boiling water down the hole in the patio they were pouring out of (I consoled myself by thinking it would be a quick end for the hapless insects). Anyway, that served only to precipitate a big charge (in panic, no doubt) into my apartment by them.

So I poured about a third of a bottle of salt (does salt come in bottles???) all over their crack-entry point, so they would literally have to dig through it to get in, and then - la piece de la resistance - I layered hot chilli powder over the salt.

The ants dwindled in number but didn't disappear. Once the water cooled, they were back with a vengeance, though mostly confined to the outside of the house. I went gunning for them with more scalding water, but this time they got Toilet Duck too (it was all I had, they surely must hate it).

Anyway, a day later and there are still some around. How can I humanely get rid of the plucky buggers? My Karma is shot to pieces by now

Yellow Snow

We have the same problem... absolute nightmare. Started off with them just hanging out at the front gate but they have gradually started to move their way closer and closer. Now we have them coming up through every crack and gap from under the house. The flying ones are the worst... came home to find the kitchen swarming with them!!

How can I humanely get rid of the plucky buggers?

The million dollar question... and we have yet to find an answer :rolleyes:

Both our neighbours have the same problem and both have tried very different approaches.

Neighbour A: has completely surrounded all sides of her house with an inch thick wall of Ant Kill powder. The clever lads just went deeper underground and continued the attack. (although she blames us for not putting the powder down in our garden!! :rolleyes: )

Neighbour B: Don't ask me how she figured this one out but she has sprayed Cillit Bang all oround the gaps on her floor and suprisingly...
BANG... And the Ants Are Gone!!

They have all retreated to my house so my numbers are up the past few days... Soon i'll have built a big army of ants to help me take over the world...

Alun

Every year we get invaded by the buggers .. and every year they find a new nook or cranny to appear from. Usually under the skirting boards or where the central heating pipes go down into the floor. The worst bit is when you get a nice warm day and the flying ants all decide to swarm out in one fell swoop.

Best stuff against them IMO is Nippon Ant Powder.

rediguana

Thanks, people. I'll be shopping today and I'll invest in some purpose-designed powder. But they live underground, so what's the point?

Ideally there would be somewhere I could rent an aardvark from (I feel a new business idea coming on).

Sonnenblumen

Ants appear to be a huge problem this year, but be very careful July/August is also when the new ones move home an dthe last thing you want to be doing is diverting the swarms indoors.

At this time you'll noitice at least 3 distinct types large wing ones (these are females), a much smaller winged one (males) and the regular 'footsoldiers' that can be seen rummaging about. Female swill take flight, mate with the males (who die shortly later) and go on to find a new home.

Ant powder is very effective for killing ants but unless you can get near the nest it's effectiveness is limited. There are sprays and various gels available but best is to position an ant 'bait station' near the entrance to the nest. The soldiers take the sweetened but toxic bait into nest thus killing all including queen.

Believe you me, you do not want ants taking up residence near or in your house/apartment. Check under all garden pots as well as compost heaps for signs of ant colonies.

They like dry,warm sheltered accomodation.

rediguana

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Ants appear to be a huge problem this year, but be very careful July/August is also when the new ones move home an dthe last thing you want to be doing is diverting the swarms indoors.

At this time you'll noitice at least 3 distinct types large wing ones (these are females), a much smaller winged one (males) and the regular 'footsoldiers' that can be seen rummaging about. Female swill take flight, mate with the males (who die shortly later) and go on to find a new home.

Ant powder is very effective for killing ants but unless you can get near the nest it's effectiveness is limited. There are sprays and various gels available but best is to position an ant 'bait station' near the entrance to the nest. The soldiers take the sweetened but toxic bait into nest thus killing all including queen.

Believe you me, you do not want ants taking up residence near or in your house/apartment. Check under all garden pots as well as compost heaps for signs of ant colonies.

They like dry,warm sheltered accomodation.

Thanks. You know a lot about ants.

Tell me, will they all die once the Autumn comes?

Annoyingly, my cat, who pounces on anything that moves within her field of vision, is strangely blind to the ants.

Ruu_Old

We have the liquid baits that work quite well. I've been told by professionals that more often than not, the powders and dusts available are not really effective and sometimes puts stress on the colonies who then break off into sub colonies.

arybvtcw0eolkf

rediguana wrote:

So I poured about a third of a bottle of salt (does salt come in bottles???) all over their crack-entry point

Mmmmm, junkie ant's!...

Drugs are a major issue with crippy-crawlies this time of year, check out this site and join the war on drugs,


http://www.filecabi.net/video/spiders-drugs.html

rediguana

Mairt wrote:

Mmmmm, junkie ant's!...

Drugs are a major issue with crippy-crawlies this time of year, check out this site and join the war on drugs,


http://www.filecabi.net/video/spiders-drugs.html

Haha. I actually thought it was a genuine experiment at first

Dyr

I was told that stuff like vaseline can create a border that ants cannot get through. This was in relation to lining the outside of critter keepers with vaseline to keep the little buggers out of your inverts home

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

rediguana wrote:

Ideally there would be somewhere I could rent an aardvark from (I feel a new business idea coming on).

try budget, rent an aardvark!

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

rediguana wrote:

So I poured about a third of a bottle of salt (does salt come in bottles???) all over their crack-entry point

kinky!!:p

iguana

Marilyn Fluffy Bedpan wrote:

try budget, rent an aardvark!

Actually I once woke up to a kitchen full of ants, which was odd as I was 4 floors up, but I just got out the hoover and hoovered them all up. As long as you dispose of your hoover waste quickly and far away from the house it gets the job done.

That's sort of like a robot aardvark.

JPA

Try the liquid ant killer. Put it on a smooth bit of plastic and they eat it up. But you'll need to put it all over the place and keep replenishing it and they'll eventually all die out.