Wee little itty bitty tiny black ants on the kitchen counter.

At first, I thought that they were spilled coffee grounds, but then I saw the coffee grounds moving.

It has been very dry here for quite some time. Today’s light drizzle is the first precipitation we have had in a while. I’m guessing that the ants are seeking water, as they are heading for water sources.

What can I do to get rid of them? We do have to be careful of any poison type stuff because cat.

Partial help here. Try and follow their trail and see where they are getting into your house. Then plug up the access. You could also use your magnifying glass to eliminate the stragglers.

I have looked. There really aren't enough of them to make a trail, maybe a half dozen or so visible at any time and only near a water source.

The kitchen, which is the only place I have seen them, is an inside room. No exterior walls, so no clue how / where they are getting in. These are so tiny that it might take a lot of sealing stuff, even if I could locate the breach, which is really doubtful.

I think what I need is some sort of bait, trap, or ant killer that leaves a residual effect, but I have no idea what to use, and need to keep cat's safety in mind.

Go to Home Depot, Marvin's, TSC or Lowes and look in the pest control section for ant spray. There are dozens of ant and bug sprays available so look for one that is pet friendly and has a residual effect. Go outside and spray liberally around your foundation, walls, windows and in any cracks you find and any place that looks like ants can get in. Go into your kitchen and spray around pipes, baseboards, windows and any place that looks like ants might use. Repeat as often as recommended and especially after rain. The few you see now are only the tip of the iceberg. Left alone the colony will swarm and satellites will move inside. The other alternative is pay a pest control specialist big buck$ to do what I just described. We go through this every three or four years. Have literally dug into walls and remove baseboards to destroy colonies that took up residence with us. Good luck. You are fighting a determined foe.

https://www.terro.com/store/ants

Used this stuff with good success. They make products for use indoors and out.

quote:

Originally posted by topherh:
https://www.terro.com/store/ants

Used this stuff with good success. They make products for use indoors and out.

This. Get the liquid bait available at Home Depot and elsewhere. Ants will feed on it and carry it back to their nest. After a few days, no more ants.

Two things;

Ants won't cross over coffee grounds (like a 1/4" line/barrier around your house) but;

They will walk through boric acid and track it back to their nest where it'll kill all others which come into contact with it (btw - boric acid is harmless to mammals like children and pets)

Eucalyptus oil. They won’t mess with it. Find where they are coming in, and spray a little in their path.

Sounds like sugar ants to me. Mix Borax and powdered sugar together and leave some on the counters. The Borax kills them and they'll track it into the nest. Worked for us a number of years ago.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
Sounds like sugar ants to me. Mix Borax and powdered sugar together and leave some on the counters. The Borax kills them and they'll track it into the nest. Worked for us a number of years ago.

Jim

Worked when I was living pre-WWII housing on Ford Island (next to USS Utah) for ants and roaches.

Geckos weren't happy and all left.

Found out later they're considered good luck.

Then found out my (now ex) wife was pregnant with another man's baby.

Unintended consequences?

Fun fact; when living in Hawaii, found out mangos grow in brown paper bags. This is truth because, when living in the community, I told a few locals type neighbors about my love for mangos. Soon after, every morning (it seemed) bags full of mangoes were showing up on my porch and lanai.

Also learned mango daquaries are AWESOME!!!

Clean your floors and counter surfaces with bleach.

Did that. They seem to thrive on bleach.

I had the little bastards in my apartment a few years ago. They formed an organized line from behind the stove to atop the refrigerator where I had boxed food stored.

And, they ate well.

I tried commercial ant/roach sprays but finally had to get professional pest control to get them.

Another vote for the liquid Terro bait. Worked well at our old house when we had similar ant intrusion.

At the last apartment I had ants appear from a small hole in the caulking under the bathtub. I assumed that the ants were travelling on a water pipe or through a gap for same. I was on the second floor so it was a surprise. The bait that I used was a plastic black square with food-poison in the middle. I think that it was Combat brand and sold in a six pack box. The ants went crazy for the bait and were killed off in days.

To search for the ants' entry I suggest emptying out all of floor level cabinets, especially under the sink, the pantry and so on. Just read a book or SF until the ants appear.

Terro IS just borax... with sugar or other sweet bait for an attractant. You can make your own. Many YouTube videos.

Either way, once they find the bait you will see many many more coming to feed, thats when you have the best chance to follow the trail to wherever they are getting in and you may then be able to fix that... after they die out.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Another vote for the liquid Terro bait. Worked well at our old house when we had similar ant intrusion.

Yep. If you watch closely, you'll probably be able to figure out where they're getting in.
Check around the perimeter walls, doors, etc.

Then, put liquid Terro bait near their entry point and leave 'em alone. They will stay pretty much right there eating the bait and not roam around the kitchen. They'll eat the bait and return to their nest. Eventually you'll kill all of them. That was the only way I was able to get rid of them. Spraying around the house outside had no effect. It took several days before they completely disappeared. Be patient, it will work.

We get ants in the kitchen and bathroom every few years. This last year has been the most persistent colony. Terro baits have been out for the past 6 months. The are pretty much gone for the most part, except for the lone scout wandering around every now and then.

I too live in Florida . My house backs up to a 25,000 acre wildlife preserve and we get every critter imaginable. Huge ant problem. I have to spray the yard every month to keep them out. Sounds like you have a ghost ant problem.

I highly recommend a bait. They eat the stuff, not knowing it’s poison, then take it back to the hive, regurgitate it , and feed the other ants and queen the bait. Which kills the entire hive. If you just use an ant killer spray you kill 50 ants, and you still have a problem.

I use this professional grade stuff and it flat out works amazing. I can’t say enough good about this stuff. It kills the entire ant colony in about 12-24 hours. Let them swarm the bait by the hundreds, then they crawl off and die.

https://www.domyown.com/optiga...-gel-bait-p-424.html

What you might need to know about ant baits is that ants eat cyclical. They eat sugars for one month , then they eat proteins for one month, and then switch again. So certain baits are designed to be protein based, some are sugar based. Most pros will put down a sugar based bait, and a protein based bait, and see which one the ants prefer...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This looks like the real deal. Let us know how it works out. I just wish they had something effective with fire ants. Mirex worked well but they took it off the market.