Ants!

[Pvt_Ryan]

Last year ants invaded my house but I found the hole under my front door that they were getting in through and plugged it. This year it's voodoo ants!! They are swarming in my living room near my hall door but there are none in the hall and I can't figure out how the hell they are getting in. I remove them by hand to avoid killing them (dont want their friends to attend the funeral) and afterwards I generally get about a weeks grace before they appear back.

Anyone know how to get rid of the wee *$£#!@! for good?

Ryan

 

[barkwindjammer]

'Nippon' ant powder from the garden centre worked for me, we had ants coming into the kitchen 2 years ago-they've not been back :!:

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

Is it ok to put that on a carpet floor? (I have 2 kids).

 

[barkwindjammer]

I spread the stuff outside, thinly at the back door Ryan, I cant remember if it said it was harmfull to humans on the wee bottle, apparently the ants carry the powder back to the nest and distribute it there, as ants are highly mobile I think the safest bet would be to use it outside near to where they are, and tell the kids they will turn into Susan Boyle if they touch the stuff :shock:

 

[Harbo]

I've had that problem in the past and Nippon powder and spray do work.
I spent ages trying to locate the entry point - putting some food down like chocolate crumbs and following their return path can help?
My garden is full of them but I tend to leave them alone until life outside becomes unbearable when they are swarming.

Rod

 

[RogerS]

Semolina...ants take it back to the nest as a food source for the queen. Queen eats it. Water in the stomach makes it swell up. Queen goes pop. Next queen comes along. Repeat.

 

[cambournepete]

After 11 years of freedom they've finally made their way to our house as well.
We used to use Nippon liquid, placed in strategic places, which worked very well.

 

[Steve Jones]

We had the same problem a few years ago, couldn't work out where they were in the house until one day I pulled the refrigerator out in the kitchen. To our horror they were behind the skirting board and in the breeze block wall , I pulled off the short piece of skirting board to reveal a nest :shock: . Soon rectified the problem with a blow lamp :mrgreen: , needless to say I think they go the message as we haven't seen them since.

Granted it was a bit extreme but it worked

Steve

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

Thanks for the tips. couldnt find nippon in homebase (i happened to be there) so grabbed ant-stop (bait & powder) went to asda later and to my horror found nippon £3 less than I paid for ant-stop.. Anyhow powdered all round the outside of the house and placed a trap in the living room under a bookshelf. After watching them for a while I am convinced they are living somewhere under the carpet, as I rent I am reluctant to lift the carpet and take a blow torch to them (as so very tempting as that is). Now I guess I just have to wait the 3-6 days for the damn stuff to work.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I find that whatever method you use to kill them off, they always come back in exactly the same place. I reckon they're just gluttons for punishment.......

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[misterfish]

We've always found the Nippon liquid to be the most effective, though it may take a few attempts to get rid of the ants. It's supposed to be more effective as the liquid is sweet and they gorge on it, return to the nest (which can be quite a way away) and die. the other ants in the nest then 'recyle' the dead remains by eating them and they then die; this continues until the nest is wiped outl. We bought a 'liquid with two bait station' kit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nippon-Control- ... d_sim_lp_6 which allows safe use of the stuff anywhere with no damage to persons or home.

Misterfish

 

[Benchwayze]

Semolina...ants take it back to the nest as a food source for the queen. Queen eats it. Water in the stomach makes it swell up. Queen goes pop. Next queen comes along. Repeat.

Hey Roger,

I think I'll get some Semolina then. We've had an ant problem for 35 years. Now they are in my front porch, so that when they fly, they can't get out, and we are sweeping up dead 'queens' for days!

Thanks Roger..

Just thought... What I don't use against the ants, I can eat! Or make glue...

John

 

[Racers]

Hi,

I sealed up some gaps round my back door in the last house with silicone and the ants san from it, I think is must be the acetic acid in it it like there formic acid they use for defense, so maybe some vinegar would repell them.

Pete

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

Well so far so good (touch wood).. I actually think it was the powder round the whole of the outside that has kept them busy as I only saw ~4 ants near the bait trap though I haven't seen any more since yesterday..

Of course it could just be the calm before the storm and they are actually gathering their forces for an all out invasion.

 

[Benchwayze]

I should get ready PR!

:lol:

John (hammer) Might be the best answer

 

[miles_hot]

Two methods have been sure fire successes for me:
1) Ant Stop - red spary bottle which you can safely us inside / on carpets etc - just spray around the interior of the house (all external wall/floor junctions and on any known runs. Absolutly brilliant and works every time + easy
2) Kill every one you find and pile the bodies up where they are entering the room / house as they always recover their dead back the the nest and remember where bad stuff happens. I did this as a student (one room only and a boring day) and I was ant free all summer when everyone else in the building was infested with the things

Of the two I would recomment Ant Stop

Miles

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

Lol..

Option 2 sounds the most fun / best way of getting revenge. But I think option 1 is less time consuming and probably easier.

 

[chunkolini]

Ants? well dodgy.
Almost unkillable.
They out weigh the human population by about 500%
In the 60's in America a particle accelerator was abandoned after ants got in and started eating the insulation on the wires. They spent millions trying to kill them and gave up.
Try the film the Monster from Green Hell or Them. You are messing with forces beyond your control.
I had an ant infestation once. See link. http://www.artinsteel.co.uk/page15.htm
Try the book The Earth Dwellers by Eric Hoyt for an inside view of the antworld.

Good luck. Chunko'.