How do I get rid of carpet ants? (1 Viewer)

[Don Black]

So I just noticed that my carpet is alive with ants. It's really quite disgusting. What's the best way to get rid of them? I read that sprinkling borax on the carpet and then vacuuming it up works. I'm looking for a non-toxic way if at all possible. Thanks!

 

[ken thompson]

Borax works great on fleas. It may work on the ants as well. It's worth a try. I'd leave the Borax on the carpet a while though. Just smash all the big chunks into the carpet and you wont even see it. I'd leave it there until you notice to ants are gone. Frankly, I've never heard of carpet ants. That is quite strange.

 

[Brian Mansure]

Don,
I believe the ants you are seeing in your house are carpenter ants.
Here is a link with some good information and pics about carpenter ants and how to get rid of them.
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entom...ruct/ef603.htm

My house was "taken over" by these things last summer, everywhere we looked a few ants would be crawling around.
I did a little research and decided to find the nest in my house which was the basement door and the frame around it.
The ants had hollowed out a fairly large section of the frame and I could actually see the wood "shavings" they left behind. I went to Home Depot bought boric acid powder and dusted the entire nest. It was pretty gross as hundreds to thousands of ants came scurrying out of the door frame after I dusted. I used a shop vac to suck up the ants and the dust.
One word of caution if you use the dust, make sure you have a few windows open for ventilation.
Also make sure that pets and other people, especially kids are not in the room or surrounding rooms when you are dusting. It's powerful stuff and I had to step away from the room a few times to catch my breath. I should have worn a protective mask. Oh yeah, wear gloves, pants and a long sleeved shirt so the dust doesn't get on your skin. After about 3 hours the shop vac was half full and most of the nest was gone.
I did also spray the perimeter of my house after getting rid of the carpenter ants that were inside.
I have only seen a few of these ants around my house lately but nothing like the numbers that were there before and most likely they are coming up from the woods behind my home. Not much I can do about that except keep spraying the outside of my house to keep em out.
Good Luck.

Brian

 

[ken thompson]

Yes. Borax contains boric acid. That's why it works on pests.

 

[dave_brogli]

I've had Carpet Ants but they werent of the carpenter ant variety, they were very very tiny and red about the size of a pencil tip.
get raid antspray, it lasts up to 4 weeks with one spraying and that should do the trick.

 

[Charles J P]

The best way to get rid of carpet ants is to get a carpet muncher

 

[Jay Heyl]

Raid makes a product called "Fumigator". It's a little container of crystals you drop in water. They create a pesticidal "smoke" that permeates everywhere in the house. It's similar to the "bug bombs", except it's not an aerosol and won't cause you house to explode if you use too much. Raid claims the smoke is better at getting into the subflooring and walls than the aerosols. Obviously, it is toxic, but I've used it before to great effect. I had an ant problem similar to yours. After one treatment with "Fumigator" I didn't see another bug in the house for over six months. You do have to leave the house for several hours while it works. It's also a good idea to have several large fans on hand for airing the place out when you return. Other than those small downsides, I was very pleased with the results.

 

[Don Black]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I vacuumed the heck out of them today and I'll head on down to the store tomorrow to see what borax/Raid solutions are available. Does anyone know the impact of those bug bombs on electronic equipment? I hate to have the ants get the last laugh on my plasma TV!

 

[Jay Heyl]

I didn't have much in the way of home theater when I last used Raid Fumigator, but I didn't notice any residue on any surfaces in the house. I steered clear of the aerosol bug bombs largely because I was concerned about where all those tiny droplets of pesticide were going to end up. If you go with an aerosol it would probably be prudent to put as much of the delicate equipment as you can in plastic bags.

 

[Cary_H]

Ants are there because they've found something in your home they want......and it's always food. They forage around and when they find something they invite all their pals to the party.
Eliminate their reason to party in your home, and they'll split. Any chance your carpet has soda stains where the sugar is has them all excited?

Carpenter ants are another thing altogether. They're more commonly know as termites. They look like big elongated ants and sport wings.

 

[nolesrule]

Carpenter ants are another thing altogether. They're more commonly know as termites.

carpenter ants and termites are not the same thing. They look nothing alike.

 

[MikeAlletto]

I my old apartment I had an ant problem one morning. Just all of a sudden there they were. I kept trying to vaccuum and squish them. Eventually I went and bought a can of raid. Sprayed where they were at and where they were going. Sprayed the doors, windows and floorboards. And also sprayed outside then vaccuumed up the dead guys. Never saw a single ant after that one day of killing. The raid stuff kills them instantly.

 

[John Watson]

Like, what happens to ants in a vacuum, is it like in 2001?

Thanks for saying termites and carpenter ants are different.

I imagine Karen carpenter had a few aunts ?

 

[Cary_H]

Sorry, I stand corrected, folks.
We had a bout once with ants of the Carpenter variety and not unlike termites, they played hell on some wood window frames in the home we lived in.

In my defense, and a very porous one at that, I'll state that I often post late at night well under the influence of one or more of any number of substances.

 

[John Watson]

Gary, that's an anti-climax

Actually, we've got a window that dusty crud keeps reappearing in one corner, and we're a bit worried too...

 

[Keith Mickunas]

John, that's how my parents found termites in their house. My mom had just cleaned the bathroom the day before, and then my dad noticed a strange collection of dust on the sill. I'd say chances are you got something that needs tending to, and the sooner the better.

 

[John Watson]

Damn! For the very first time in 2 years in this house, the window, where we have vacuumed the crud from on numerous occasions, today we saw several ants comimng out of the woood today!

Brian Mansure, thanks for posting that reference, I've saved the article.

Ya know, I blind bought the DVD The Money Pit a few months ago, and bought THEM! when it came out last spring. Just shows to go ya!

:frowning:

 

[David McGough]

Take up the Carpet!!!!
Ok ok just kiddin Id go buy CoOp and get the Ant bait.
They have all kinds