Ants Grrrrrrrrrr
Discussion
First find where they are infiltrating your kitchen from (assuming they're coming from outside...) It should be easy enough to spot their line tracing back and forth.
Follow them to a good spot away from the house (again assuming their nest is in the garden) Then place a small bowl/container of sweet cordial (I used Ribena - other sugary blackcurrant juices are available).
A sugary food source will distract them from invading your kitchen for similar rewards. Plus, it seems to really screw with them, some kind of sugar overload.
Follow them to a good spot away from the house (again assuming their nest is in the garden) Then place a small bowl/container of sweet cordial (I used Ribena - other sugary blackcurrant juices are available).
A sugary food source will distract them from invading your kitchen for similar rewards. Plus, it seems to really screw with them, some kind of sugar overload.
You get this sort of thing
http://www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk/acatalog/Maxfor...
Then only the ants can get at the poison you put down.
http://www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk/acatalog/Maxfor...
Then only the ants can get at the poison you put down.
Who me said:
Simple- and the remedy comes from a Government department - the FCO ,in advice to staff overseas. TALC, -it contains Borax, which ants detest. Cheaper the better ,as it has more borax. Find entry point and apply. Bonus -it freshens up the area.
Are you telling me that I've been buying Nippon powder to exterminate all the ants digging up my grass and I could just be using cheap talc?I need to google this one!
Have googled, result is that you're talking b
ks! Have you not yet learned not to listen anything the government tell you? Although both are a white ground powder and Talc is used a base for many things, Borax is an active chemical NOT found in TALC (or talcum powder, or indeed Nippon which uses another chemical to kill ants).
Section below summarises the actual truth and reflects what I read on various googled websites:
Chalk/ Baby Powder
Draw a line of chalk or sprinkle baby powder across the spot where the ants are entering your home.
Why This Works: Talcum powder, an ingredient in both chalk and baby powder, is a natural ant repellent. Just be careful if you decide to use it: some studies have linked talc to cancer.
Borax
Mix together equal parts Borax and either syrup or jelly. Then, place where the ants will find it.
Why This Works: Once consumed, Borax damages both the ants' digestive systems and their outer skeletons, resulting in death.
I need to get a life.
Edited by Piersman2 on Sunday 3rd June 22:26
Piersman2 said:
Are you telling me that I've been buying Nippon powder to exterminate all the ants digging up my grass and I could just be using cheap talc?
I need to google this one!
Ants don;t like cheap talc. FACT. It contains more borax than the more expensive stuff. But that's for indoor ( in the dry ) applications. Talc round all the ingress points will keep them out of a building. FACT as per FCO help sheet to employees going overseas(it even works indoors in this country) . Outside in yer lawn - I've not found a solution. In a hot country, with dry ground , I'd put a cup of petrol down the holes, wait a minute and add match. In the UK -it don't work. So perhaps you need to look at using oil ( cooking etc). Don't discount the FCO help sheets, they've been prepared over many years by observations of staff in many more countries than you will ever visit. This info has been made available for the British visitor to those countries as a goodwill gesture, not as something for some one taking it out of context to ridicule. I need to google this one!
Edited by Piersman2 on Sunday 3rd June 22:26
james_tigerwoods said:
Slight hijack - but I had the same problem and, about a hundredweight of ant powder later - they're all gone... In to my lawn - How do I get rid of them there???
Again you need to use the poison they take back to the nest. That should kill off the lot of them in the nest. I think some bait stations can be used outside/wildlife safe.Munter said:
james_tigerwoods said:
Slight hijack - but I had the same problem and, about a hundredweight of ant powder later - they're all gone... In to my lawn - How do I get rid of them there???
Again you need to use the poison they take back to the nest. That should kill off the lot of them in the nest. I think some bait stations can be used outside/wildlife safe.Munter said:
james_tigerwoods said:
They're mostly in the grass and I can't follow them there...
I don't follow?You put nippon type poison in bait station.
You put bait station where you have seen the most ants.
Ants collect poison and carry it to the nest.
Ants in nest eat the poison and die.
'Diatomaceous earth' is the stuff. It's fossilised algae and entirely harmless to mammals (although you don't want to breathe it in).
It kills insects, slugs etc by drying them out on contact. Scatter it liberally wherever there are ants, and watch them shrivel.
Buy it from garden centres, or horse feed type places.
It kills insects, slugs etc by drying them out on contact. Scatter it liberally wherever there are ants, and watch them shrivel.
Buy it from garden centres, or horse feed type places.
Well ive not seen any since late on Sat now.
So this is what i did for anyone who has the same trouble.
I wasnt sure where they were coming in from i watched for ages still dont know for sure. It was either under the garage door or a gap in the floor tile next to it.
In the garage i put cordial in a bowl which caught some. Also a small ammount of ant powder behind the dryer. In the cupboard the ants were in another bowl of cordial and also sprinckled a line of cinnamon accros the front of the cupboard ( they wouldnt walk over it ) On the crack in the floor tile poored some more cinnamon in the crack.
Job done no more ants.
So this is what i did for anyone who has the same trouble.
I wasnt sure where they were coming in from i watched for ages still dont know for sure. It was either under the garage door or a gap in the floor tile next to it.
In the garage i put cordial in a bowl which caught some. Also a small ammount of ant powder behind the dryer. In the cupboard the ants were in another bowl of cordial and also sprinckled a line of cinnamon accros the front of the cupboard ( they wouldnt walk over it ) On the crack in the floor tile poored some more cinnamon in the crack.
Job done no more ants.
james_tigerwoods said:
Sorry - the Ants are in the middle of the lawn and they're not coming in to the house, so I can't easily work out where best to put the poison.
Why the hell are ants in your lawn (and not coming into your house) a problem? Do you routinely spray the entire garden with agricultural insecticides to make sure nothing with more than 2 legs can survive there?You realise there are ants everywhere right? Killing a few in your lawn isn't going to save you....
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