ant problem

[graham.hobart]

Hi folks
Last two days in quite hot and humid weather my house has been invaded by the so called Piss ants the smelly ones that when you squash they release? formic acid
Since I have small children I don't want to put poison out so what is suggested?
I cannot ant proof my house as it is wooden and has lots of nooks and knots that ants can get into
cheers
Graz

[gary]

Tachyglossus aculeatus setosus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSwyZbn3rFs):thumbsup:

[pmrid]

Graham,
we have had a few ant invasions in recent months. The most effective solution so far has been ant-baits called ANT-RID. They are sold in packs of 4 and each is placed near the path the ants are taking. They find it quickly and in every case so far, the ants have disappeared after about 24 hours. I was impressed. My wife buys them from Woolworths.

Peter

[Larryp]

+1 for that! They work very well

[Sconesbie]

Believe it or not, the humble talcum powder stops them. Sprinkle it around where they're getting in and bingo!

[graham.hobart]

Cheers folks- I think I will try ant rid as I don't know where they are getting in- could be a dozen different places!:thumbsup:

[OzEclipse]

I had an invasion some years ago. They were looking for sugar. I gathered up everything that contained sugar and placed it in a plastic tub. I placed this tub inside a bigger tub with some water creating a moat. Then I left them alone. They worked through my kitchen and I guess that they laid down chemical markers to say "no food here." I've not seen one since, 6 years and counting. I didn't need to use any poison.

Regards

Joe

[Sundog]

Ant Rid is non toxic to humans. We had put some down in a lid and a small child drank from it. Phoned poisons hotline and we were told it is harmless to children - apparently it has sweet taste.

[graham.hobart]

trying to isolate any sugar in the house would be a nightmare- I have two little girls that quite happily drop food off everywhere- icey poles down the back of the sofa, cheese and crackers under the TV, you get the picture. We try and keep it clean but its an uphill battle.

[louie_the_fly]

Try a bit of perfumed talc powder. sprinkle it in their path. they hate it. Gets between their toes...

[PCH]

Are we still talking about Graham's kids, or back on the ants now ?.

[cometcatcher]

The ants are driving me mad here too. This ant RID stuff, is it toxic to cats? I have two indoor cats I don't want poisoned.

[ZeroID]

Ant Rid is Sugar and Borax, the sugar is probably the more toxic component. You can buy Borax over the counter and mix your own 50/50 in some water. The sugar attracts them, the Borax kills them. They take it back to the nest and it seems to work by dehydrating them including the nest and larvae.
Any amount a child would have access to is so small the digestive system would not even notice it.

Cats won't go near it, sugar !! They are far more discerning.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Brent.

[acropolite]

Ant Rid doesn't seem to work on any of the small ants I've encountered here in Tas. I've found that the nests are usually outside and it's best to try and track the source and interrupt them there. Inside the house, we've found that wiping surfaces with eucalyptus oil is a good deterrent.

[Eden]

Diatomaceous Earth. Ants hate the stuff and it's totally non-toxic. You can actually eat it (the food grade variety anyway).

Everyone should have a bag of it, can be used for many things, including treating certain kinds of worms in pets, dusted onto the coat it deals with fleas and is highly absorbent so can be used to absorb spilled oil/liquid.

These people sell it, I've heard that apparently some Bunnings outlets stock it also.

http://diatomaceousearthonline.com.au/

[Rob_K]

Ever since we stopped wiping surfaces with raw chicken meat (thank you TV advertising, how could we have been so stupid?), the ant problem doesn't seem nearly as bad. :shrug:

Cheers -

[clive milne]

We have legions of small, black, highly aggressive, carnivorous ants up at our dark sky site. They are just big enough to break your skin when they latch on. If you stand still, they will swarm towards you.... little buggers.

When camping up there a year ago, I used the best part of a large can of fast knockdown fly spray over the space of an hour trying to discourage them from invading our space. It didn't work at all. What it did do is trigger an even more hostile response from the larger colony. Basically the nests from as far as 20m away emptied out in an attempt to repel the invaders. The ground was literally covered like an ant battleground the which you might see in a Tolkien movie.

I have since found a much easier and less toxic way to discourage them.

Simply sweep the ground with the broom strokes radiating away from you.
This disrupts the pheromone markers they lay down. Without their scent on the ground, they no longer seem to consider it to be their territory and (mostly) stay away. Even the ants in the holes in that area prefer to either stay underground or surface outside the perimeter.

Incidentally, oil seems to be just as effective, if not more so than fly spray. It gets in their spiracles and suffocates them. CRC is better than Mortien.

[blindman]

How can I get one?

[Suzy]

I've had an on-going ant problem for a long time. When I had my new kitchen installed, every ant within coo-eee came to feast on all the silicon sealing - chewed marks everywhere :mad2:

Nothing works. I even tried those ant rid bates. They'd scoot right past them and head for the cat food. Kev- it's quite safe, tucked inside the plastic container and the cats don't go after it.

Ajax Spray and Wipe helps (it actually kills them if sprayed directly on them), but then there back after a couple of days. The most effective thing for me is talc powder (as Louie suggested) as they find it difficult to walk on. That worked well when they were coming thru under the edge of the door. Then they got smart and now come up from under the wooden floor boards further down from the door :mad2: so I can't have talc on my kitchen floor, it'd be messy. I've given up. :shrug:

[ianB]

I used to do Pest Control and PPI's ( pre purchase inspections for Termites )

There have been many good suggestions here but its very difficult to get rid of ants, usually they become a problem when the weather turns, you can also try putting down a little salt along the tracks they usually use, also try to find their entry point to your home and spray ( or whatever you use ) that area, sometimes they enter from the ground up the brickwork and into the ventilation / weep hole.
Often they may enter the home from the roof area due to over hanging branches etc coming into contact with your roof, if this is the case trim it back.

[eddiedunlop]

For persistent ant infestations you are better off hiring a professional pest manager and using a modern pesticide such as fipronil (sold under a variety of trade names). Finding the source of an infestation can be difficult and call-backs may be necessary. Make sure these are included in the initial fee.

[graham.hobart]

I think they all drowned in this deluge!!:cloudy::cloudy::cloudy::wi ndy:
Graz

[JethroB76]

I've made my own borax/sugar brew before for a particularly annoying batch of ants - victory was mine!

[jayeson]

Martin,

Was your suggestion to tell the pest control person to use fipronil, or purchase fipronil and apply oneself? I ask, because I sure would like to know where non-professionals might purchase that stuff in Australia.

- Jayeson

[acropolite]

We have the same persistant Ant problems here ATM, disruption of their trail holds them at bay for a few days but they just keep coming. Tonight they had found their way in to the microwave.

I always have a bedtime hot chocolate drink, why not cook the little suckers at the same time.... :evil:

1 minute in the microwave at full power while my HC heats up should cook the buggers.

You wouldn't believe it, after a minute on high, the little mongrels were still strolling around inside as though nothing had happened, I suspect these little suckers could withstand a nuclear blast....

[eddiedunlop]

I meant the former. You could ask a supplier such as Garrards or David Gray but I think fipronil spray products are only available to professionals. Spray concentrates can be quite expensive and you would only use a fraction of a container to treat a house.