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9:05 am
November 9, 2010
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I have had an invasion of really tiny kitchen ants. Mostly around my sink. I have tried the ant "hotels", but they have not worked. I really don't want to resort to spraying some toxic chemical, especially in my kitchen. Is there some old/natural remedy for this? I have never had this problem before, and it is driving me crazy. Grandma must have had a way.
9:18 am
May 7, 2011
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Ruby I have had/have that same issue. I found that spraying the area with white vinegar(straight) helps. I have them for a while and then they disappear and then reappear. It is definitely frustrating.
9:25 am
February 10, 2009
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If they're the ones I have off and on, they're attracted to moisture. They don't like vinegar as mamajhk said and vinegar is what my mother used too, as do I, but I also sprinkled some piles of food grade diatomaceous earth in the corners where they come out of, and in the corners of anywhere that isn't obvious.
Don't get the pool grade, search for Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Often feed mills will order it for you, or there are sources on the internet. Totally safe for animals including pets and children, deadly to insects, but not a poison. It dries up and scratches their carapace and gets embedded in their joints etc.
10:52 am
December 28, 2008
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Diatomaceous earth is working well for us here. It doesn't completely solve the issue for the now very occasional single ant (that probably gets carried in on someone's foot or something) but keeps the trails of ants at bay.
Borax has worked for me in the past, but not here. So, what works for one breed of ant in one part of the country may or may not work for someone else. But, after finding the best spots to hide the bait or deterent, one of these things should work for you.
11:11 am
February 3, 2010
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Tiny ants in my neck of the woods like grease. So I use hot water and detergent and scrub cupboards, broadshelves (countertops to you modern folk ;) and floors. Then, when I'm having an invasion, I put all my cooking oils and anything that might be a greasy treat in plastic bags or other sealed containers or in the fridge. I spray or wipe with white vinegar, sprinkle hot red pepper around where the pets can't get in it and throw a few bunches of tansy about, if I have it.
The same goes for the larger sweet eating ants except in that case it is syrup and honey jars, candy and cookies that get bagged and refrigerated. Ask me how I know these things. Also borax along the foundations of your house and if you should find the ant hill, borax and boiling hot water on it helps. Give it a stir with a stick first, sprinkle on the borax and dump that teakettle over all. They are relentless little buggers, you must be, too.
11:22 am
February 3, 2010
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Oh, and Pete and BEG, where do you get your diatomaceous earth from? I tried the local feed mill and all they had was the pool stuff. The places I've looked on line seem to cost and arm and a leg. I found two fleas on me yesterday and know that there must be thousand more lurking.
12:08 pm
November 21, 2009
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I have sidewalk chalk on hand for the little ones. I took one and drew a line where the foundation meets with the house. Ants will not cross a chalk line. I get them in my kitchen so the line is located under the kitchen window. They must have a memory cause that one line kept them out for two years.
12:50 pm
December 28, 2008
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Wow, Darlene! That is terrific.
lb, I got mine at the feed store, but got a 100# sack of it. (Maybe it was only 50#, but it was enough to fill one huge and one smaller galvanized trash cans!) Yes, explored ordering on line, but by the time shipping was added, I got more than twice as much for about the same price.
If your local feed store cannot get what you want, try the neighborhood hardware. If they don't have it, surely they will know who does. Even pool supply places can get it but you need to make sure that they know exactly what you want.
My sack was VERY clearly labeled that it was food grade.
If all else fails, Ace has this, and will ship free to your local Ace Hardware: http://www.acehardware.com/pro…..2599175264
1:55 pm
February 10, 2009
Online
Here are two sites, not sure which or if one is better than the other. Possibly if you ask at a hardware or feed store, give them the link to one of these sites and request it, maybe they will order some. Might be better with the first one? Dunno for sure really.
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/
this one doesn't seem so friendly on a wholesale level… but it's been around for a while but have a lot of other products they sell.
http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod……rth.html
I just had to lobby my feed mill about it and they looked into it and ordered it. It's a small place that is eager to keep their customers happy though.
4:51 pm
May 6, 2010
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I have gotten DE at Walmart in the plant section. Look carefully, it's usually pushed back in a corner. Also, try feed stores. DE can be given to livestock in their feed to help control flies.
4:57 pm
November 9, 2010
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Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I knew my friends at CITR would come through for me. My only question is… 100# of the earth stuff? I only have a few ants? What else would I use it for? I probably just want a few tablespoons?
6:48 pm
February 10, 2009
Online
That first link I gave sells it in 2.5 lb plastic containers, or various other sizes, but I'd search around in other places first if you don't want even that much.
It keeps any insects in check, inside or out, so don't use it on or too near plants where you want beneficial insects to come. I use it for my chickens, in their bedding to keep down odor and bugs, and in the areas they dust bathe in too… I've heard of people dusting their pets with it to keep fleas in check, it doesn't hurt to ingest it if they lick it, but it is drying so if your pet has dry skin problems too much isn't good.
8:21 pm
February 22, 2010
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With some experimenting I mixed up some "stuff" that friends and family use.
I put vinegar in a jar with cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and oil of spearment…let it sit for 3 or 4 days..shake each day…strain…put in a spray bottle.
When you see an ant…spray the area…don't wipe it off for a few hours. If you find the trail spray that area too.
I had an invasion last year and had several suggestions…this is the only one that worked. This year we saw ants one day…just one time…I sprayed the mix…no more ants so far.
Different kinds of ants respond differently to each home made remedy.
Good luck!
9:51 pm
November 15, 2010
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I had the same problem with kitchen ants in my office.
After scouring online, I laid a thick line of baby powder at the base of my outside walls, and I laid a thin line of cinnamon across the lintel of my office leading to the rest of my house.
Both solutions worked like a charm, and are safe to my young cat.
No more ants, and it has been over three months since I laid down the lines. And as a bonus, it made my office smell great!
10:55 pm
September 20, 2010
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I have used vinegar to get rid of them, but I will have to try the baby powder, we get them in late winter and early spring.
7:32 am
November 23, 2009
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This is from a great little book. Make Your Place She suggests dried peppermint 2 handfuls a healthy pinch each garlic powder, cayenne, lavender flowers, lemon peel and dried basil all ground up fine and placed where needed.
I love Borax another one. Peppermint castile soap. According to above the soap will kill the ants and erase the pheromone trail so other ants wont be able to follow. I had them by my laundry room window. Terrible little buggers.
Best of luck!
9:47 am
August 6, 2010
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Terro ant control is borax and corn syrup–it works great. I suppose you could mix up your own, but I just buy Terro. The ants swarm the bait, and carry the borax back to the nest, where it kills the queen and all her brood.
Cats wouldn't be attracted to it, but dogs would, so you would have to put it out of their way.
6:05 pm
August 24, 2011
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Ruby, I have some for fleas but not sure if it's food grade. I could send a small amount but would that be a good idea? I mean, powder in the postal mail??
I've heard of borax and I have some kind of ant powder stuff to put down around the outside of my house. I haven't done it this year because the ant motels worked…. until this weekend.
I was in the living room when my 7yr old came running into the room screaming about bed bugs. I just about freaked out because I've read about how impossible it is to get rid of bed bugs. I went in the girls' bedroom and found ants crawling all over the bed (hence "bed" bugs). The girls had hidden a stash of dog food in their room for their "foster puppies" (stuffed dogs). I need to find some play dog food. I wonder if anyone sells that. Anyway, the ants were all around the bed because the food was under it.
I love my children.
9:28 pm
January 26, 2010
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Borax dissolved in sugar syrup (aka homemade Terro) for sugar-loving ants – I use about a tablespoon borax per cup of syrup (2 parts water, 1 part sugar) – put it out in dabs on saucers or shallow lids and let them enjoy the buffet. If you put up with the trails of ants for a couple of days, they'll take enough back to kill the nest. This makes lots more than you'll probably need, but it lasts well and is handy to have on hand (assuming you're better than me at remembering where you stashed it.) And it costs me next to nothing since I keep the ingredients on hand for other uses.
When the sugar mixture doesn't work, I switch to borax mixed with Velveeta – grease-loving ants gobble this up. I just let a hunk of cheese warm to room temperature, sprinkle on the borax, then smoosh it together to blend and shape into balls. Leave the balls along the ant trails and again – let them enjoy the buffet until they stop coming.
One or the other has always worked for me on everything from tiny ants to big ugly carpenter ants.
10:15 pm
January 31, 2011
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I made up my own terro this summer for the sugar ants. We have a very old house, and i'm sure they come up from the pipes in the basement…and then what a feast they encounter by the toaster and coffee mill and dirty dishes that are always in the sink !!!
It worked great…but in my enthusiasm i let some drip behind the counter and the wall…and under some of the radiator covers.
OMYgosh, the fruit flies that I have now are nervewracking. I actually had to put up fly strips in one corner… and fruit flies LOVE vinegar !!!
My boys are constantly seeking something to blame for this…and compost is whisked out of the house as soon as it is peeled off a carrot or hulled out of a strawberry, and coffee grounds are scorned. They seek dead mice, or vinegar w/o a lid…or just curse anything organic. I keep telling them it's just September in MO…but their eyes narrow and the mutter 'un hunh…' under their teenage stubble. ( It was actually worse in July)
So, next year i will try to contain the stuff, use the awesome LauraP cheese ball idea !!! …I have diac earth all around the foundation and the inside of the porches…and that seemed to scare away the black ones…but I know they're just driven a little deeper, or in a neighbors yard just waiting for the thumbs up from my mouse population to recamp over here…
I do have a squirrel and mouse issue right now and I am goggled up and handing down the guns to the fam.
Rat Zapper Ultra.
An electric chair for the biguns. Joe only let me buy one…but I love when my light goes on… Makes my day…
Mwhahahahah
laur
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