Ants!!!!

shalaidah

My Ants are back!!!

I got rid a few weeks ago by every night spraying the floors downstairs and the kitchen units with a mist of white vinegar (as i'm told this stops them finding scents) and it worked!! I also added drops of tea tree oil at the entrance (or at least where I think they are coming from).

Now they are back!!!GRRR. Tried looking for a highstreet shop that sells borax as apparently the lil mites take this back to their queen and it kills the nest. Having problems finding any as apparently it's been used for making bad things (bombs so I've read) and hard to get from high street shops. Currently in process of switching bank accounts so cannot buy online at the mo.

Just read the above post about Nippon insect spray, so shall try that as we have some to kill flies with. Open to other suggestions

dandy-candy

We get invaded every summer and this year I finally found something that works.
I have a juicer and found this use for the orange skins after squeezing the juice out. Put the skins in a blender with enough water to cover them and blitz to a watery mush. Strain it and put the water in a spray bottle to use indoors and put the bits of orange mush from the sieve around the ants entry holes outside.
I have not had a single ant since!

silvergirl

short_bird wrote: »

My mum recommends salt, after removing whatever it is that's attracting them.
And then use a spray called Dethlac if they don't take the hint:D

That's a good idea about the salt, I use white vinegar too to wipe out kitchen cabinets. Deal with the blighters quickly or they'll be back next year. But it IS the ant season. Lots of really tiny ones this year.

(Regarding the gransnet quote. Spelling and syntax both matter for clear communication. That's why job applications get binned.)

ammonite

We had them behind a skirting board once, powder wasn't working as we couldn't see all of them, we put pepper down and oh my goodness....those ants didn't half scurry out of the skirting board. We did a mixture of powdering them and hoovering them as they ran out. Solved the problem!

lilly1_2

spray with viniger them once gone spray viniger round doors window the wont pass works every time:j good luck

madmoneysavingmum

We have the same problem every year. What works for us is a good spray of Ant Stop around all the outside doors and windows as soon as I see the first ant, then a re-application a week later, plus putting down 2 ant traps. Within a week, not more ants at all, but numbers vastly reduced after about 4 hours. Not very environmentally friendly, but works a charm. And the Ant Stop lasts us about 3-4 years per bottle, so not too expensive.

pageshome

Hi.. If you buy a pot of growing mint ants don't like the smell and fly's don't like basil....

suzpoppy

I found that cinnamon really works - normally got this in and it smells nice. Also tracked the trail to the start and used Blu tac.

Nergal

Ant powder is very dangerous. It will get airborn and damage your health. It's not really possible to use this pesticide safely.Use the gell version in ant traps. Ants are ok to eat in large quantities, I'm not saying you should, but they are safe. Use boiling water on nests.

Maat

There are some horribly cruel suggestions on here. The ants are just trying to make a living, the same as we are, and they really don't deserve to be killed. There are other options, though.

Things like cinnamon work because it's strong smelling. Ants have very sensitive noses so if you overload them it puts them off. It's like a polite way of saying 'ants not welcome here'.

Good options are garlic, mint oil and lavendar oil (not all at once, although I suppose you could try it). I've used all these at different times and in the last couple of years the ants have simply not even bothered trying. You don't necessarily have to put them where the ants are getting in (although it helps), simply where they're getting onto your worktops or wherever else will do. I used to have what I called a 'ring of fire' of, say, mint oil where I knew they were likely to be. You could actually see the spy ants recoiling from it and it would put the colony off invading.

Good luck with sending them away.

Sue