Ants - anything I can do?

Jonathan_Powell

They are becoming a problem. Have them in the kitchen and notices they were coming through an a gap (which you can't even see) near the window. Sealed it and problem solved for about a couple days. Then noticed they were coming through the washing machine pipe which wasn't sealed properly. Sealed it and no ants for a couple of weeks.

I come downstairs this morning and the kitchen is covered with them. Spent the past hour vacuuming them up but when I go in there are still odd groups everywhere. Looks like they are coming from underneath the kitchen doors, somehow between the tiles and the door.

Any tips? I already have insect powder along the door, both inside and out, but hate using it as the kids go there. 

ka7e

You can use diatomaceous earth to deter most creepy-crawlies. It dehydrates them on contact, but can take up to 48 hours to work. Totally non-toxic to children and pets. A lemon-juice or vinegar solution should destroy the scent tracks they use to find their way in.

YellowCarBlueCar

I find the granular (looks like sugar) killer like Ant Stop a lot more effective than the powder.  The powder will kill the ants that come into contact with it, whereas the ants take the granules back to the nest and kills off the whole colony.

You can get granules in bait stations which should keep it safe, but I've never tried this - just sprinkled the granules where I've seen ant activity.

I doubt that blocking the access holes will be successful as long-term approach - as you've found they just end up discovering the next weak point.

Doozergirl

I used to create a protective ring of powder against the walls around the entire house.   It worked! 

neilmcl

Get a couple Ant Stop bait stations and place them where you see the most activity. This stuff really works well, the ants take the bait back to their nests and it will kill it off. As also mentioned above, the granules are also pretty good.

twopenny

I'll second the bait stations.

I got some cheap ones and then bought some Nippon gel to drip into the bait sttations as they need topping up regularly. Get the children to draw skull and crossbones to cut out and stick on them so they learn not to touch them.

The formula in the bait stations attracts like food. They take it to the nest and Queen and it's the queen that gets killed so destroying the colony.

Then find where from outside their runs are. You can see trails of them as they follow a scent of previous ants. Clean that area with bleach or Jeyes Fluid to kill the scent then leave the bait stations at regular intervals by the external kitchen walls to do their job. If you're worried about either of those a scented disinfectent would work probably.

A drizzle of the powder around the external kitchen walls wouldn't hurt either.

I'd also clean the areas where they have been in with bleach - this is to remove the smell of the trail they leave so they don't follow it again.

I had a similar problem when I moved into this house. It had been empty for years and the ants had used the air bricks as a nesting site and eaten through the concrete floor and were trailing around the living room.

I persevered over 1 yr and now they stay outside. I also have a spray of diluted bleach to have a quick spray of the brickwork when they explore in the spring.

We are rapidly heading for the day when the ants fly off and this is probably what is making them more active.

But no harm in practising for the future. Keep the bait stations somewhere out of the childrens way and the Nippon Ant Killer liquid.