We have discovered we have a small ant problem in our house. We bought some ant poison (in the little packs / traps) as well as spray that I guess kills on contact. Does anyone know of any other ways to get rid of them?
Agree with PPs that Terro ant baits are the absolute best.
We live in an old house with lots of little places for ants to get in. Try to figure out where they are coming in, and seal up any little cracks/holes if possible. Also, it's messy, but you can sprinkle a line of cinnamon at entry points and they WILL NOT cross it. It's weird, but they really hate cinnamon. (I haven't found cinnamon sticks to be effective, but ground cinnamon does the trick.)
Agree with PPs that Terro ant baits are the absolute best.
We live in an old house with lots of little places for ants to get in. Try to figure out where they are coming in, and seal up any little cracks/holes if possible. Also, it's messy, but you can sprinkle a line of cinnamon at entry points and they WILL NOT cross it. It's weird, but they really hate cinnamon. (I haven't found cinnamon sticks to be effective, but ground cinnamon does the trick.)
We used to do the same thing with baby powder. Also messy, but works pretty well.
Chalk, preferably the powder kind from sporting foods stores, around any entry ways. Also if you have pets, windex kills them as good as any spray without such toxic chemicals.
Make sure you've gotten rid of any food source they may have been attracted to - a dropped piece of candy, and unsealed bag of pet food, etc. Vinegar and peppermint oil will also keep them away without all the chemicals, if you swipe it around the perimeter of each door and window. You could also put a cotton ball soaked in peppermint oil between the window and the screen. If you see a "scout ant" or a trail of ants, clean up the path they took really well because they leave scent behind for the others to follow.
Borax is supposed to work well for protecting the house so that they don't get in, too. Haven't used it but I've heard good things.
Borax is the shit. That's how I got rid of the fleas in my carpet without dropping big bucks for Terminex or something like that.
Try a shallow dish of apple cider vinegar. Warning: don't put it in a paper plate (unless you buy the expensive heavy-duty kind). It will seep through.
ETF: Spelling is hard.
I wipe my counters and floor baseboards with vinegar. It works very well.
Re: NWR: Ants
I'm the fuck out.
My boss has had horrible ant issues this year and has been sharing her progress with fixes!
I'm the fuck out.