Ants. Millions of 'em

[pmrid]

It's dry and hot. Not the kind of " rain's- a'comin' " weather you normally associate with and explosion if ants. But wow! A short while ago, I switched on two power boards off which much of my obs equipment runs and they literally crackled. And shortly after, ants poured out of any vacant sockets.
I had a similar experience last year when I discovered a colony happily
Doing its thing in the keyboard of a laptop that had to be replaced. Now I fear it's happening again.
How do you guys and ladies deal with them?
Peter

[Steffen]

Ants can't stand the smell of cinnamon. A bit of powder or a stick here and there should keep them away from places you don't want them to go.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Allan_L]

Ant Rid.
A bit in a few plastic caps (milk carton caps etc) spread over their paths usually has quick effect.

[eddiedunlop]

If you want something that actually works, try a registered pesticide. Fipronil is the most efficacious chemical available for controlling ants. I don't think it's available as a consumer product but there are a multitude of professional pest control products with this active ingredient, including sprays, dusts and baits.
You probably need to employ a pest manager to assess your situation. As in most situations it's cost effective in the long run to employ a professional.

[N1]

I like the cinnamon idea. Must give that a try some time. We have them around the kitchen so pesticides are out of the question.
I wonder if ants are good for something. Maybe they could be squeezed out to make lemon juice substitite :P

[acropolite]

We have the same problem with ants at out holiday house, they love light switches and power points for some reason, once inside they basically stuff the mechanisms. For some reason our breed of ants won't take Ant Rid nor will they eat from the commercially available baits.

[Ric]

I've never heard of that one before.

Thanks for the tip Steffen. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[tlgerdes]

Just remember, ants and termites don't get along. If you have ants in your house, it "usually" means no termites.

[jenchris]

One of the reasons I don't terminate ants on sight in the house is their propensity for termite destruction.
But in the Obsy I use a surface spray round the edge of the bench and a sticky strip with the sticky outwards on the pier

[brian nordstrom]

:)The little brown ants that like electrical equipment are 'Ginger ants' they are attracted to the hum of the 50-60 hertz vibration , these are a real pest in the NT as they get into every thing electric to nest , on that if anyone is interested ,,,

There has been a study done in the NT and some smart cookie worked out that there is 20 TONNS! of ants in every sq kilometre of the NT ! ,,:eyepop: that's a lot of ants .

Brian.

[Baddad]

Hi Peter,:)

A brief puff of "Coopex Dust" onto and into the power boards will get rid of the ants for a long time. It is designed to be used for such issues.
I am not far from you geographically. I have some and the puffer dispenser. PM me.

Cheers:)

[pmrid]

Thanks Marty. WIll do.
Peter

[louie_the_fly]

I had ants one morning. Followed the trail to my laptop. There were thousands of the little buggers I'm there. I think they ultimately led to its demise.

[lazjen]

Surely Stewart with your username, you'd be recommending Mortien? :D ;)

[louie_the_fly]

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I just find it a little hazardous to use.

[ross-boughen]

Borax and water works a treat gets the whole nest put it in a coke lid in their path of travel and they will take it to the nest

[Baddad]

That does work Ross but not every time.
Borax and water works a treat
Laced with icing sugar or other foods that the ants want is more effective. Try with and without water.

However if it was effective 100% of the time professionals would be using it instead of Coopex dust. I have used it and it sometimes fails.

Cheers:)

[sharpiel]

Shame to loose all those magical little lives for our convenience...their lives, like our own, are their most precious things, and once gone can never be regained. Shame we often work at odds with nature rather than in symphony.

[pmrid]

Can you still buy Borax. I had the impression it had gone the way of the dodo.
Peter

[Steffen]

"AntRid" uses execution by Borax. It's readily available, if you really want to kill the whole colony.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Baddad]

You don't need to kill out the entire nest.
All you want is to stop the little black buggers from residing in specific places.

Antrid is not 100% effective anyway. Ants are difficult to get rid of.
Coopex dust repels the ants. They hate it. anywhere there is just a trace of it the ants avoid. Problem solved and it lasts for a long time.

Cheers:)

[peeb61]

Good old Spray and Wipe! Couple of blasts along the ant path and watch em' go!

[ross-boughen]

Yeah u can get it at coles and woolies in the cleaning section

Baddad i use a mix of borax water and glucose syrup but VERY RARELY i dont like what it does but sometimes they give u no choice and coopex is a no go for me we have a dog that loves to lick everything exp the glass and sliding door tracks for some reason

[Baddad]

Hi Ross,:)
Coopex dust
Toxicity to dogs and other mammals is very low. It is however quite high to insects and fish, like most insecticides.
It is 1 - 2% permethrin and the remainder is just talc.
For the dust to be dangerous to the dog (10Kg dog) it would have to ingest 15gms in a short time. Dogs hate the stuff.
One puff of the dust weighs about 50milligms. It can be placed into electrical sockets and places that the dog is not able to lick.
It was designed for control of crawling insects where sprays were not able to be used. Like electrical hazards.
I have never found any records of accidental poisoning from Coopex dust.
If you ever used Mortein or like sprays you would have ingested more permethrin from inhalation than there would be available from a couple of dustings.

If you know what LD50 means then these figures will mean something to you. The higher the value the less toxic.

Coopex dust rat.. ....1479mg/Kg
rabbit... 2000

asprin rat..... 1200
sugar rat........... 29700
table salt rat...... 3000
cadmium oxide..rat.. 72
strychnine human.... 1-2 estimated
all above values are in mgs/Kg

Taipan venom .... 25ugm/Kgm (micro grams/Kg highly toxic)
Botox (botulinum toxin) 1ngm/Kg (one nanogram /Kg)

25 ugm is an invisible dust particle or droplet. One and a half milligrams is deadly to a human. Stay clear of Taipans.

Note that asprin is more toxic than Coopex dust
To humans a 200 gm dose of asprin is often deadly.

Material Safety Data Sheet for Coopex is below.

http://garrards.com.au/images/stories/zone_files/msds/coopex_dust_msds_0908.pdf

I hope that clears up a few misconceptions. (toxicity to ants of Coopex is in the nanogram range)

Cheers:)

[adman]

Peter - Google diatomaceous earth

Adam