child and pet safe ant killer for garden

nilrs

hi

i have a lot of ants in my garden in various areas at the moment, but i also have a dog and 3 children (one who is 3), can anyone suggest a pet and child friendly ant killer, are bait stations safe?

thanks
kim

missimaxo

Hi Kim

When I was growing up my parents lived on sandy soil and had problems with ants - they used to pour boiling water on the area they appeared from eg. cracks in paving/ joins between walls. They had to persevere and do it every time any ants appeared but this did seem to keep them under control and would be pet/ child safe as long as they are not around when you pour it.

I also bought a spray from Wilkos but TBH did not think to check if it was pet/ child safe (and I have 4 cats and 2 children, 6 and 4). Think I will have to check when I get home :eek:

HTH

elsien

Have a look at this - you can buy it in local shops as well as online. We use it at work (people with learning disabilities) as it is safe once it is dry. Not sure about how much use it is outside, I use it when they start coming into the house.

http://www.signsealedelivered.co.uk/2x-dethlac-insect-lacquer-kills-ants-woodlice-cockroaches-250ml-aerosol-cfc-free-148-p.asp

MrsBartolozzi

I would second the boiling water trick! I did it last year when the flying ants were flying about in great clouds and didn't see many ants after that.

xx_Jo_xx

Thanks for this..... Ive been in the process of cutting back a very very overgrown garden and have discovered several patches where there are ants!

One is a massive mound - i mean literally, it must be about a foot tall! Will the boiling water work on this too?

Thanks in advance xx

Le-y

we have the very same problem - i have a 1 year old, baby on the way and 2 cats and my house seems to be built on nothing but ant hills!! - even my new veg patch is crawling with them

i did put a bit of ant powder down yesterday whilst baby was away for 24 hours and kept the cats in (and its raining today so hoping that will help wash it away).

However i am going to invest in some bait stations - my stepsister used one and said they are fab. i am sticking one in each corner of the garden and going to put something in front of it so the little ones cant get to it.

Le-y

Also i am getting some tansy plants to plant around my veg apparently the strong smell deters the ants.

EDIT: and i've just read that ants hate bonemeal, seen someone mention putting bonemeal down an ant hole?

guess what i am going to be doing tomorrow

Lotus-eater

Semolina is supposed to work very well, you put some down, maybe mixed with a little sugar, the ants take it back to the nest, the queen eats it, explodes, end of nest, although slowly.
Last year I used borax, although it worked very well, I found out that it is not very good for us either, so I won't be using that again.