ant invasion
- Thread starter Gill
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Try spraying "Ant Stop" Spray around the areas you find them - I can take a photo of the can if you like? Available for B&Q and Garden centres - Really works! Alternatively spray ant powder round outside door frames etc or use ant traps.
Red
Red
Depends where it is. I've been told that pouring boiling water on them will get rid of them but you obviously don't want to be doing this inside! I think this is more of an outside method for people who don't want to be putting powder down where there may be other wildlife.
A few years ago I had a great time listening to my Grandad and his neighbour in rural Kentucky reminisce about how they used to deal with ants and other bugs getting into their homes.
Just sprinkle a line of DDT all around the building's foundations!
They claimed it even worked for mice 
Gill, where are the ants coming from and where abouts are they a problem? There are some products that work great on nests that you can find, Nipon ant powder works great if you can get it into or around the nest, say if its under easily raised paving, or in the flower bed. There are some liquids that can be put on a bit of glass which ants take back to the nest, that works pretty well in the house. Not so sure about the ant traps, maybe I have just seen so many that were old or badly placed
Boiling water only works on contact and only really works outdoors. It is quickly cooled by contact with soil and there is nothing to stop the ants coming back to re-build the nest if you don't get them all. If the nest is among plants the hot water kills those very well!
The last thing, if the ants are getting in-doors, why are they coming in? Is there food, or are they just getting lost?
Hope you get it sorted. I had hoped it might be too early still to start worrying about ants
Just sprinkle a line of DDT all around the building's foundations!
They claimed it even worked for mice Gill, where are the ants coming from and where abouts are they a problem? There are some products that work great on nests that you can find, Nipon ant powder works great if you can get it into or around the nest, say if its under easily raised paving, or in the flower bed. There are some liquids that can be put on a bit of glass which ants take back to the nest, that works pretty well in the house. Not so sure about the ant traps, maybe I have just seen so many that were old or badly placed
Boiling water only works on contact and only really works outdoors. It is quickly cooled by contact with soil and there is nothing to stop the ants coming back to re-build the nest if you don't get them all. If the nest is among plants the hot water kills those very well!
The last thing, if the ants are getting in-doors, why are they coming in? Is there food, or are they just getting lost?
Hope you get it sorted. I had hoped it might be too early still to start worrying about ants
Borax and honey. One tablespoon of borax in half a dozen tablespoons of honey, mixed with litre of water. Put it in containers (bottle tops?) that the ants can climb up (they'll find it). Hopefully if it's not too strong the ants will live long enough to get back and feed the grubs and queen - kills the nest. Sorry ants. Effective die of in a month or so.
You can keep it in the fridge. LABEL IT.
Effective die of in a month or so. You can keep it in the fridge. LABEL IT.
gill said:
Get a iron pipe and stick it into the ant hill. (deep)
Pure turpentine into the pipe and let the pipe stay there in winter.
The cold will kill the entire ant hill. Dont use poison it doesnt help much.
cheers
Abbe
What has worked for me is Nicotine, only use outdoor's and no live stock in the area for a short while.
take Plug of tabbaco[old cigar butts] lidded glass jar's[2 liters] Put tabbaco with water in jar's let soak for a week ,then pour on the ant hill and around it.
It will soak down to the center of the nest following the tunnel's and kill all the ant's and egg's .Hose the area a few day's later and the surface residue will wash down into the ground.
take Plug of tabbaco[old cigar butts] lidded glass jar's[2 liters] Put tabbaco with water in jar's let soak for a week ,then pour on the ant hill and around it.
It will soak down to the center of the nest following the tunnel's and kill all the ant's and egg's .Hose the area a few day's later and the surface residue will wash down into the ground.
akabu said:
That to me sounds like Nicotine Sulphate, if you do a search for it you will find this;
I read many years ago both how to make and use it.
This is the page that the quote came from, I hope this helps.
The first questions should be why you want to get rid of them in the first place? If they're coming indoors then fine. But if there's just lots of them in the garden then you may as well leave them - they're good for the garden and good for the birds.
Even if they are coming indoors IIRC you don't need to just go and blast the nearest colony. Try and hide whatever they're coming in for, and I think there are various powers and concoctions to keep them away without poisoning everything in sight.
Even if they are coming indoors IIRC you don't need to just go and blast the nearest colony. Try and hide whatever they're coming in for, and I think there are various powers and concoctions to keep them away without poisoning everything in sight.
what is pennyroyal?led said:
I was reading this thread and then find a load of ants in our kitchen
To stop the ickle darlings getting into the house we use bicarbonate of soda as a barrier.
This works a treat, they don't seem to like crossing it.
Andy
This works a treat, they don't seem to like crossing it.
Andy
Friends of mine have had great results using pure lavendar oil, sprinkled round door frames etc.
HTH
HTH
If you know where the colony is, boiling water or bleach or a mixture of both poured straight down the hole will destroy them. Bleach spread around/across their entry points will stop them crossing...
ants, bees,mozzies and the like hate tar...being a derivative of pine/spruce pitch, it is a definite "no-no" for creepy crawlies...it has something to do with the chemical odors acting as a primitive warning signal...Even mice are not too keen on the smell...
Marko
Marko
When we moved in to our present house we were invaded with ants in the summer, the little blitters were all over the lamenant flooring. When we spoke to our neighbours they said they got this invasion every year and there was nothing to do but put ant poison down. Having young children we were reluctant to do this.
My solution was to dust the gaps between the floor and the skirting boards with a non perfumed talcum powder using a paint brush to get the talc right in. We did this right along the skirting in all the down stairs rooms. Within days the number of ants had dropped radically, we only spotted the odd one or two. We continued the application of the talc throughout the summer everytime the floor was vac-ed or swept. Five years on we have had no more ants inside the house, yet the neighbours are still inundated with them.
Why use talc?
My theory is that the talc is so fine that it sticks to the ants and irritates them so they try to find a different route and they communicate this irritant upon a certain route, namely my house, back to their nest thereby passing on information of this irritant to the other ants. My problem with poison is not only is it a hazard with children and pets, is that it kills the ants and a dead ant can't communicate the presence of the poison back to the nest and hence more ants come.
I feel that my solution to the problem re-educated the ants. Whatever, my solution has cured my infestion of ants in the house.
My solution was to dust the gaps between the floor and the skirting boards with a non perfumed talcum powder using a paint brush to get the talc right in. We did this right along the skirting in all the down stairs rooms. Within days the number of ants had dropped radically, we only spotted the odd one or two. We continued the application of the talc throughout the summer everytime the floor was vac-ed or swept. Five years on we have had no more ants inside the house, yet the neighbours are still inundated with them.
Why use talc?
My theory is that the talc is so fine that it sticks to the ants and irritates them so they try to find a different route and they communicate this irritant upon a certain route, namely my house, back to their nest thereby passing on information of this irritant to the other ants. My problem with poison is not only is it a hazard with children and pets, is that it kills the ants and a dead ant can't communicate the presence of the poison back to the nest and hence more ants come.
I feel that my solution to the problem re-educated the ants. Whatever, my solution has cured my infestion of ants in the house.
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