NWR: Ants

hlvonb

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?

beethery

Those terro ant bait things work the absolute best. All I have to do is put one out and within a day, no more ants.

mrsmorales2be

Coffee.  Seriously.  Leave a small pile of coffee grounds where you notice them coming in at.  It works.

hlvonb

beethery said:

Those terro ant bait things work the absolute best. All I have to do is put one out and within a day, no more ants.

@beethery

That's the brand I got. Keeping fingers crossed

hlvonb

mrsmorales2be said:

Coffee.  Seriously.  Leave a small pile of coffee grounds where you notice them coming in at.  It works.

@mrsmorales2be

I would think that would attract them??

mrsmorales2be

Nope. Google it.

jules3964

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.)

KytchynWitche

jules3964 said:

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.

afox007

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.

AddieCake

Terro hands down. It's freaky while it's happening, but ride it out, and it works.

wandajune6

Lime (the ground stuff, not the fruit) around the house with the same method as chalk or cinnamon. It's also cheaper.

My boss has had horrible ant issues this year and has been sharing her progress with fixes!

beethery

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.

theartistformerlyknownas

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.

kbsmom1

Cornmeal will also do the trick.... They bring it back for the colony to eat but are unable to digest so they die...

MobKaz

smichek said:

beethery said:

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.