Too much Borax in the mix can put them off.

Recipe I found...
Use 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of Borax and 1 1/2 cups.

When I make it I add sugar till thickened about like vegetable oil.

Also you have to keep at it what ever you use.

If the Queen ant detects that the colony is in danger of a large kill off, she will send out new queens to start new colonies... Actually making your problem spread!

I read it on the interwebs, has to be true!

I've been using Max Force Granules bait for years when we get an ant outbreak and it works every time. They take it back to the nest, kill the queen, and they colony is done.

I buy it at DIY pest control shops here in AZ, but it's available on Amazon and other places online too.

We had a stint with these little buggers in the last 6 months. New house, built in 2016.

I sprayed the shit outta the kitchen, in the cracks here and there between the flooring and molding. Especially behind the oven/range (where I suspected they were coming in from).

Haven't seen any since and it's been about 3 months now.

Fingers crossed.

quote:

Originally posted by tact870:
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.

This is what we use. Apply in areas that won't get wet.

We use Transport, get it at the local weednfeed store, its odorless, colorless, you have to have a dedicated sprayer as you don't want odor from other pesticides mixing in it.

Pests can't smell it or sense it, walk into it and die. Spray perimeter of the house and around food storage, disposal areas.

Windex kills them on contact and it's safe to use inside.

I get them every so often and the Grant's Ant stakes seem to work ok

But then that one time I spilled some artificial sweetener and got invaded by tiny robotic ants...

Almost everyone on our street gets them come
March or April. I have tried every DIY method I could find none worked. I pay the pest control folks $125 and the are gone till the following year.
They bait the interior spray outside if they can locate the main entrance to the colony they do something to it.
It becomes so bad if not treated here I have no qualms paying for a yearly visit.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
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 is probably the best product to use for ant control. It is good early spring through late July before ant foraging behavior changes. Then it is best to use a repellent, like deltramethrin, in combination with a good bait. Terro IMO is garbage but may be the best OTC ant bait. Maxforce Quantum is the best but may not be available OTC depending on your state. Regardless of what you are using, it is best to scout your property and try to determine exactly how the ants are getting in. If you can locate a "trail" then control becomes much easier.

Plain ol' soapy water (I use dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle) will kill the ones you can see on contact, no chem residue plus as a bonus you get a clean floor. You'll have to use one of the other methods for interdiction at the source.

Spray the ants and their area with Spic Span cleaner. Use the spray bottler from stores such as Dollar Tree. I assume they carry the cleaner back to the den and it must do in the others.

41

Used to be a product named Terro that would devastate ants. I don't know if it is still available.

Still around but don't know if it has the same stopping power it had 30 years ago.

http://www.terro.com/terro-liquid-ant-killer

Thanks everyone. I have used 3 different types of Terro. Traps or liquid mixed in some sort of food bait.
They are ignoring the traps all together. The food mixed with the liquid Terro is having little success they are walking around it.
I have tried peanut butter on one and a small piece of cooked chicken on another. I am going to look for borax powder to spread on the trail and see how that works.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
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).

This... Had some ants, followed directions, no more ants.

Lots of good tips in this thread; I have to ask though. Is there some other kind of ant other than "the insect kind?"

There's "aunts".

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
There's "aunts".

Well yeah but...

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I have used boric acid with good effect:

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

+1
It's sold at hardware stores as "roach powder." Just make sure what you buy is boric acid powder. It's safe, very effective,and the bugs can't develop any resistance to it.

Never had an issue in our house for the past 3.5 years till a few months ago, then all the sudden you would see a few coming over the granite counters. For the life of me I couldn't find the source, so put out generic ant traps with no luck. Sprayed down my baseboards, cabinet bottoms, around the cabinet garbage can with my usual Bayer Suspend Polyzone (great stuff btw) but still no luck. Finally bought some Amdro ant traps and about 7-10 days later no ants. Haven't seen them in a couple months now.