Damn ants.

Narwhal

So around where I live, everyone has a big problem with little sugar ants (we call them piss ants) getting into the gouse and ruining everything and just being nasty.  Ant poison works, but they always end up coming back and it isn't safe for pets to be around it.

So here's what I found out.  Ants hate cinnamon. ("Tigers love pepper, they hate cinnamon." ..anyone?)  It won't kill them but they won't go near it.  So what I did, was I put cinnamon on the window sills, everywhere I've seen them and don't want them.  I also put it around the sink because they like to hang out around there.

Lucy won't eat it, but it also won't kill her if she does.

Thought I'd share.

I also think that pepper works too, but I haven't tried it.

paintgirl

Ooooo good to know! Will it keep the darned dear out of my garden? The doe living in our backyard isn't even afraid of the lawn mower.

I'm not thrilled with her eating my garden but I just sprayed Miracle Grow this morning. I hope it won't hurt her. It's probably high concentration at this point.

PhilliesPhan23

My cousin did this about 2 months ago and it worked!! The ants really stopped coming around.

I have heard the same about baby powder, but if I have ants again (I do get them every spring/summer, but I have an exterminator come and spray) I am going to try the cinnamon. We tried the baby powder at my office once and it didn't seem to work well enough.

Good luck!

Narwhal

I don't think it will keep the deer out, paint, but I'm sure BF would love to come take care of that for you.  it kind of makes me sad.

[Deleted User]

Oh I hate those damn piss ants (you're actually the first person I've ever known, other than my mother, to call them that LOL).  We had a problem with the a couple weeks ago.  I sprayed Raid and cleaned everything down and haven't had a problem since.  But cinnamon seems like a much better alternative - I'll remember that one! 

Narwhal

Haha where's your mom from?  I call them that because my dad calls them that.. he's from Kentucky.

Button5807

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_damn-ants?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:c669772a-7909-481a-9717-179e11de7eaePost:41645929-ba56-448b-a544-c7684de36593">Damn ants.</a>:
[QUOTE]"Tigers love pepper, they hate cinnamon."
Posted by Narwhal[/QUOTE]

<3

hetshup

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_damn-ants?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:c669772a-7909-481a-9717-179e11de7eaePost:41645929-ba56-448b-a544-c7684de36593">Damn ants.</a>:
[QUOTE]So around where I live, everyone has a big problem with little sugar ants (we call them piss ants) Posted by Narwhal[/QUOTE]


Oh random trivia! They are called both! They used to be used to diagnose diabetes before all the modern tests. B\c diabetics would have sugar in their urine. So that's where the name came from.

PS-- I just clean the countertops and make sure there's no food and they go away.

[Deleted User]

Hah.. My mother is from southern Missouri - must be a midwest thing.  I actually always thought she made it up and said it because she was made at "those damn piss ants". 

Narwhal

The problem with them is that even when we don't keep stuff on the counter, they're so small that they get into the pantry and boxes and stuff like that.

Button5807

Hetshup that is an amazing bit of trivia.

dwest2201

White vinegar half and half with water... spray in door ways and in area where they are common.  We tend to get them coming in the door the leads to the garage and making their way to the dogs bowl.  Also, I've heard that coffe grounds will keep them away if you line the perimeter of entrances with them because ants won't crawl over the grounds... haven't tried that one though.

PaigeMcC

Keep counters clean and food free.  Anyplace you see them you can also put some dry Borax soap crystals mixed with sugar.  (DONT PUT IT WHERE LUCY CAN GET IT!!!) The ants will take the sugar and borax back to the nest..then they eat it...then they EXPLODE!!

*evil laugh*

Narwhal

Haha that's another thing I hate about any poison.  Lucy can get ANYWHERE.  She's a master climber and won't listen to any reason.  She just meows and does it anyway when you tell her no.  And I really hate that the ants die.  I don't really want to kill them, but I especially don't want there to be carcasses all over the place. 

That brings more ants too (usually) because they can smell their dead comrades and come to steal the body for a proper burial.

nefariousmango

Paint- There's a spray we used to use to keep the deer away, we only had to use it a couple years and they learned to avoid our garden.  That, and the two big loud dogs.  We had a bull elk sleep in the back for four days last fall (while in rut) and the dogs would not go outside, so they'd be useless if elk ever became a problem!

More diabetes trivia:  Diabetes was classified by ancient Greeks, Indians, Persians, and Chinese.  Sushruta, a 6th cent. physician in India, linked "sweet urine disease" to obesity and sedentary lifestyle.  And yet, just this past February a new article was published on how we think diabetes works- they're still arguing over the mechanism for a disease that's been studied for thousands of years!  

ekathleen684

That is good to know. Usually we use Toro (?) on the ants and our dogs have stayed away from it but with the pup I think we'll need to try something different.

Thanks Narwhal

MizLynn

It's sort of true about the coffee grounds, my mom uses them for an okay effect. They will find a way around it though, and it actually makes them harder to see! 

But I know for a fact that they hate Bay leaves. The smell is too strong I think. And they also hate pine-scented household cleaners like Pine-Sol (though I've often used a discount, knock off version). That's the one that works best for me, so I suggest it to everyone I know.