HELP--Outdoor Ant Control? (1 Viewer)

[SteveLa]

After having an off year last year, it appears the ants have returned in force this summer. In years past, I used Diazinon to keep them at bay, but it's been banned by the EPA. What would be a good equivalent? I don't know what kind of ants they are--not fire ants but very tiny black ones. For now I haven't seen more than one or two in the house, so I'm just interested in trying to control them outdoors. They are all over the patio and sidewalks and I'd like to try and kill them off before my cookout on the Fourth so they aren't crawling all over my guests. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Mort Corey]

I've found the cheap bait traps that you stick in the ground work pretty well. Each season I get a different type/brand (one year the metal jobbies the next the plastic ones) as I've read that they're smart little critters and wise up to the same kind over and over.

There are replacement products for diazon, but (of course) they don't seem to work quite as well....granular and liquid forms by Ortho and others.

I nuked the yard with granules before the last good rain, put out the spike bait things and then sprayed a barrier around the foundation and haven't seen any ants yet......of course I can now barely breathe and see since using all those poisons, but it's just a trade off

Mort

 

[Bryan X]

I've used the bait traps outdoors with good results. The problem with this solution is that if you want to see results by this weekend you need to get them out now (or yesterday).

I used the Hot Shot 4 Pack MaxAttrax Ant Bait which I picked up at Lowe's. The package contains 4 traps and runs about 2 bucks. I saw a noticeable decline in the number of ants by the second day, but it takes up to two weeks to completely get rid of them.

The reason I went with the ant traps is because I hate to use the spray chemicals except as a last resort.

 

[Greg_R]

I have used the granules around my house and they work very well (entire nest gone in under 24 hours).

 

[Bryan X]

What brand granules did you use Greg?

 

[Jon_Gregory]

One word, TALSTAR. I get it at my local do-it-yourself pest control store and it works wonders for all insects including ants. I spray my lawn once a year and get no ants or any other bugs for that matter. It is expensive, but it is a concentrate and one bottle has lasted me a while.

 

[SteveLa]

Same here. I have dogs so I have to be very careful anytime I use chemicals. I bought some ant bait at the local hardware store called Terro. Amazing stuff. You put a few drops on a piece of carboard and leave it outside. Within an hour, it looked like a hundred or more ants had crowded on this tiny piece of cardboard to feast on the stuff. Hopefully they'll bring it back to their nest and take care of the others. Supposedly it is non-toxic for pets. The active ingredient is Borax, which I thought was a type of laundry detergent.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Borax is, but I think what happens is it expands, so the ants literally explode! Maybe I should buy an ant farm? That might be fun to watch.

I'll second the Terro, but I have found that some ants just ignore it. I did find a nest once and poured a glass of 409 down it. Worked well!

Glenn