Over the past six months I have been having an ant problem in my kitchen. I have tried ant traps but they don't seam to like the bait. I do not want to spray chemicals around the kitchens.
Does any one have any ideas of a different approach. The ants are tiny and I have been told they are sugar ants but I am not sure.
I have used a liquid bait called Terro And have had limited success. They are coming through a crack in the floor under my refrigerator so I don't want to spray chemicals. I cant seal the crack because I cant remove the refrigerator with out taking the doors off I have a small tight kitchen.

I have used boric acid with good effect:

http://www.ehow.com/how_507783...ants-boric-acid.html

I have had black ants in our kitchen from time to time. I typically spray around the foundation and up to where the siding starts. This seems to do a fairly good job of putting up a barrier to keep them out. When they are in the house already I have used a spray in areas away from the food.

We had a similar problem and our exterminator put out some bait that they take back to the nest. It worked!! I don't know the name of it, maybe a local pest control business can give you some. I didn't take much.

quote:

to spray chemicals. I cant seal the crack because I cant remove the refrigerator with out taking the doors off I have a small tight kitchen.

I've got the same problem as you right now. I am thinking of spraying permethrin or similar around the foundation outside and inside. Will look into the bait to take back to the nest.

Only way I could control ants in my Glades county fish camp was with termidor termite poison mixed weak and sprayed on the house perimeter, up 3 ft and out 3 ft. Spray good, do again in 2 weeks and monthly thereafter. I buy mine here:

http://store.doyourownpestcont...aurus-sc-insecticide

This has been the best for me. Mix equals parts borax and sugar in a little water. Soak cotton balls with this and put them where the ants are. They carry the borax back and kill the nest. I have to do this 1-2 times a year and works every time.

Down south of you here in Florida, we just put a lock on the refrigerator door

I had problems with ants getting into bee hives.I used johnsons baby powder with sucess.
These were the really small ants that I call sugar ants.
Non toxic to the bees.

I've had good luck with Terro which is basically the borax.
Key is keeping fresh "bait" down. They seem to come in waves for a week or so. If its not in a kitchen I'll run it for 4-5 days and then douse down the entry point with a spray.
Good success with this method.
Kind of wild to watch them go nuts on the Terro.
The wife will also make an appearance or two and sing her rendition of "Alien Ant Farm" but I'm convinced that has not impact on the overall outcome.

Ortho Home Defense. Safe indoors or out. Spray around the perimeter of house and inside where problems are. Family/pet safe once it dries (read and follow directions).

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
This has been the best for me. Mix equals parts borax and sugar in a little water. Soak cotton balls with this and put them where the ants are. They carry the borax back and kill the nest. I have to do this 1-2 times a year and works every time.

We have done this and it seems to work. We also keep a spray bottle filled with white vinegar (we use it as our multisurfacd cleaner) and it will kill the ants you see, but that's all.

Bait them with borax and sugar.

search 'diatomaceous earth', non-toxic, but wear a dust mask when applying. A fine powder that cuts the exoskeleton of crawling insects, and they die soon after contact. Can be applied around baseboards around entire house.

my mom uses cinnamon, she swears it works.

There are Do-It-Yourself Pest Control stores around here.

We had a similar problem, they told me to bring in an ant so they could identify it, as different baits work for different types of ants.

I captured a couple, but them in a jar, took them to the store. They gave me, I mean sold me, some adhesive-backed little trap thingies with the correct bait for that type of ant.

Problem was solved very quickly! Ants took the bait, carried it back to their mother ship where evidently they all feasted on it, and in short order we had no more kitchen ants.

Bifen

spray it around everywhere-inside and out, then wipe down the counters and you won't get dosed..

Humor aside...in the many years of living here in South Florida, Terro works for a limited period but they will come back in time. Some years they seem to thin out but return in a vengeance if we have a long wet rainy season. The only time we were rid of them for several years I had hired a spray service to rid my yard of fleas and/or ticks when I had dogs and with neighbors adjacent that wouldn't spray or bathe their outdoor dogs in yards, they too would eventually come back. I eventually gave up. But the service did keep the ants away while they were spraying. Other than that, just the Terro from time to time.

Amdro ant stakes.

Put a drop of water in the hole, stir with a toothpick, discard toothpick in a safe place, set the stake along the ants path, watch the fun.

Be quick about the observation, it will only last a couple days until all the ants are gone.

Grants ant stakes are the same thing and work well too.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
I've had good luck with Terro...

I'll second this recommendation.
I had sugar ants coming into my kitchen in my brand new house, and I didn't know what to do. No amount of treating the foundation had any effect.

Out of desperation I bought some Terro ant bait (the liquid type) and put several drops on an upside down plastic coffee cup lid (disposable type), modified to make it easy for the ants to get to the bait.

They found it in short order, and stopped going all over the kitchen. They were going directly to the bait. I even found the point of entry to the house, but didn't seal it, as I wanted to kill the nest.

It took a while, but eventually it killed all of them. It's been 3 or 4 years since I've seen them.

You need to try various bait traps or granules until you find what they like which will become readily apparent once you see them crowding to the bait traps/gel. My understanding is there are ants the like grease or sugar and it may depend on the time of season. Best to treat around the house and inside if possible. Home Depot and Lowes have a whole bunch of ant control stuff. They have bait traps. gels, and the granules that you sprinkle around the perimeter of the house. The gel that comes in a syringe is nice in that you can easily put bait in specific areas. Always read warnings about anything you use inside due to dangers to children and pets.