3.5 years I've been battling ants invasion of my house! (1 Viewer)

[DustinLC]

Just when you thought you have won the battle, the cycle starts again! I HATE ANTS :frowning:.

Everytime over the years there's an invasion, I always manage to find the trail that leads into the house. They get in where the concrete foundation meets the house. Over time as I find these trails, I seal the entrance and all area that appears to be possible entrance. An ongoing process.

I've removed all the plants adjacent to the house where the soil is loose and there's plenty of watering that makes a nest happy. Seem like there's a nest under each one :frowning:. Gesh!

I've put those killing pellets around the perimeter after failure of spraying the perimeter and putting out baits of all kind.

Now it's cooler, I don't need to water the lawn and plants as much so they're thirsty and coming in the bathrooms for water!

Who knows how much money I've spent on fighting this war and the time it has costed me. Lots of anger and lots of wasted time.

On the brighter side, I've always manage to find the nest or trails outside, meaning there isn't a crack in the foundation and they're coming in under the house which will make it an unwinable war.

So my next step is to deal with all the loose soil around the perimeter (from all the planting when we moved in). I was thinking of putting heavy duty weed protection cover over the soil, put volcano rocks on top. Would that help? Ah, probably not. Any idea?

I have about close to 7000 square feet of space to deal with so it's hard work. Concrete all around isn't an option right now because it's expensive.

Share your thoughts or anger :frowning:.

 

[Tim Hoover]

Call an exterminator. They do this thing where they place these doohickeys around the perimeter of your house, and bingo! no more bugs of any kind. Around here, it costs about $700 for the initial doohickey placement, and then $50 a year or so to refill them or whatever it is they do. Sorry I can't be more specific, as I have no idea what these little round things are on my foundation...but it works!

 

[DustinLC]

Hmmm. I'm aware of those canister type of thing for termites. I guess they have those for ants too? Baits, poison?

But wow $700

It's a lot to give out .

But I understand that if I would have did it initially, it wouldn't have seem so much with the time I 'd have saved. However, at this point, it seems I'm on my way to winning without having to fork out that much.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I've had quite a battle here too. That Terro seems to work the best, but you have to be patient. Some of the ants aren't too bright, either, so I've sprinkled a few granueles of sugar over the liquid when I put it down.

It does take a few weeks before they stop, but I have stopped half a dozen areas. After they quit coming in, I get my caulk gun out and fill in the cracks.

Glenn

 

[DustinLC]

Hey Glen,

I've gone all the way Terro this week: Terro spray, terro granules, and Terro liquid baits.

They're more expensive than other brand names but I love seeing those critters die so as long as I get that satisfaction, it's worth every penny .

 

[brentl]

I'm just happy you didn't start a topic like

"What is the most humane way to euthanize an ant?

Brent

 

[PeterK]

I think I remember hearing that if you mix baking soda with powdered sugar the ants eat in and then the soda reacts with the acid in the ants and that kills them. probably something along the lines of mixing baking soda with vinegar in a ziploc bag. BOOM

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

COOL!!!

Going to have to try that out some day.

 

[Tim Hoover]

They have Terro spray? Ooooooh...

Just to clarify, the little things that the exterminator installs aren't traps or foggers or anything like that. They actually drill very small holes in the foundation and install these things. I'll have to call and ask exactly what they do and how they work.

I wish I could place an ant's head on a very small pike and leave it out somewhere as a message to all the other ants

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Good one Tim!

I've always wanted to fill the anthole up with gasoline and light them up!

Glenn

 

[shaniceMW]

the exterminators drill holes and put some liquid into the holes. i believe the holes are at least 8 inches deep and they are every 2-3 feet around the foundation on the inside of the house. kills termites, ants and other little bugs. then they go around the outside of the house and do the same thing. works for at least 5 years although the gaurantee is for one year. that's how it is in maryland anyway.

also, my mother swears by those little white rocks that you place around your house. and some people do chalk lines. dont know what the chalk lines do but some people swear by it.

 

[Jim_F]

I've eradicated moderate ant infestations in two different homes using ant baits containing Sulfluramid (N-ethylperfluoro-octane-1-sulfonamide) where borates failed. I'm not sure which products currently have this as an active ingredient.

These baits also have really, really low mammalian toxicity-the plastic case is more of a choking or foreign body hazard to kids and pets than the pesticide is poisonous. Of course, teensy amounts of borates and the tiny concentrations of carbamates or organophosphates in many othere products are usually NBD, either.

At the other extreme, I understand that Terro used to work really well before they were required to take the arsenic out. Unfortunately, just one drop of that product contained enough arsenic to produce measurable levels in a young child.

 

[Tim Hoover]

Glenn, I've actually done that before...but it was to an underground bee nest. It's pretty cool watching the flaming bees fly around at dusk

Shanice, thanks for the explanation. We don't have the 5-year guarantee 'round these parts. The exterminator simply comes by once a year and, for a minimal fee, refills all the holes.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

Boric acid, it clings to the carapace eats thru the waxy lining and the ant dehydrates.

If you can get a hold of some malathion (it might be banned now, it claims to work for mostly flying insects, mostly...) and dig a small trench about 6 inches wide and deep around your home, spray, bury, and don't water for about 48 hrs gets rid of the insect problem pretty well (I did this for some of my dad's rental property about 10 years ago and it eliminated the cockroaches as well).

Of course if you strategically lined up magnifying glasses and properly position a solar reflector... naw hire an exterminator.

 

[DustinLC]

This is one of those thread that can't get locked because the suggested method is cruel to ants .

So be brutal. Be very Brutal .


Unfortunately, based on my experience, they clean up their bodies. I don't know, maybe the queen or young ones need food, or they're just tidy idiots .