Getting rid of ants?

Sweetjadedtears

Hi everyone, totally random question. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of ants?

I just went upstairs to the loft in our apartment (H's Man Cave) because the cats were going crazy up there. That space has always been H's and he's in charge of keeping it clean since I rarely go up there and I'm the one who keeps the rest of the house clean. Anyways, come to find out that he left some potato chip bags and half empty cups of coffee and lemonade up there and there were ants all over! I swear the carpet was moving in certain places--gross!

Ants are the one bug that seriously freak me out, and I have no idea what to do to get rid of them. They're starting to make their way down the wall to our kitchen area now too. I vaccuumed up a bunch of them and sprayed Raid where they were, but is that enough? I hate using chemicals in the house (especially with the kids here) but any suggestions are appreciated.

I'm so pissed at H for leaving that stuff up there since I've told him he can't leave food lying around anymore (he's never lived in a place where ants and roaches are a problem so he doesn't think it's a big deal to leave stuff out)  and especially since he just found a bunch of ants in his car last week. OK, end rant. lol. How's everyone else's day going?

StefffiC

There are ant traps you can get that work really well, they kill the queen and we don't see many ants once I get those for the season.

My mom uses borax, grits, and sugar. She doesn't have an ant problem either, but her method requires thought and planning.

Sweetjadedtears

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll run to the store and pick some up. Hopefully that will take care of the problem.

TheSlowskys

Yes, just stick with traps. I've also heard bay leaves work and sometimes sprinkle them on my kitchen counter.

Raid makes a natural product which I use b/c of my dog, and it smells like fruity licorice. It actually smells really gross and the odor doesn't go away (it's worse than the chemical stuff).

Couple other tips: http://frugalliving.about.com/od/doityourself/tp/Get_Rid_of_Ants_Cheaply.htm

It won't work for you in an apt, but I have found the spray that goes around the exterior of your house does the trick.

andrea2473

Ant traps definitely.  When we moved into our new apartment, there were always ants on the window sills.   I asked our property mgr what she suggested and she brought us some traps.  Beware though:  They will attract a lot more ants than you have probably seen before they repel them.  It was super creepy the first day that we had them out.  After that, no issues whatsoever. 

DramaGeek

Assuming they're sugar ants, Terro is fantastic.

ootmother2

RAID and and roach killer

It doesn't smell bad and works very well.

runpipparun

In our college dorm, facilities told us to use rubbing alcohol. I can attest to the fact that it did NOT work. My poor roommate had them all up in her laundry. I can still hear her yelling about it. Gross.

willywally5

ICK! Terro is great. My mom used it and they'd swarm to that stuff.

Sweetjadedtears

Awesome, thanks so much ladies! I'm off to buy Terro and more bug spray. I appreciate all the help!

aurianna

Another vote for Terro.

We had ants really bad this spring (in our kitchen. Ewww!)... they were gone within a week. It killed TONS of them inside the trap, and we know that it most likely killed a lot of them back at the nest because we haven't seen one in over a month.

TaraKeeley

We live in the tropics and get infested with ants, especially in rainy season. Cutting open a piece of garlic and rubbing it over the windows and wherever you generally finds ants works WONDERS, without chemicals. Also my sixth graders made a natural pesticide last year for science fair our of some combination of water, garlic, hot chiles, and lemon. They made it into spray and it worked very well.

coraloc

I read something the other day that suggested Bounce or dryer sheets will repel ants and mosquitos if you rub your baseboards and around the window sills.  I have no idea how true that is, but it's worth a shot.

I had my husband spray around the doorway and window sills outside the house last week and it seemed to work nicely.

JanoBean75

I've always used cinnamon. We had a problem with them coming in the windows and doors, so put cinnamon in the tracks of the doors and windows. Haven't seen one since.

Cuss10

I use cheap baby powder. The Talc in it repels them.