I'm going crazy for the past 2 weeks because ants are invading our home. I have this chemical spray that I use all over the house, except the kitchen. I'm not sure if I should be using it on the counters. I threw out all our food, cleaned the counters with chlorine and vinegar solutions, deligent with killing ants. I am short of creating a borax/sugar solution and leaving it out. I heard not to do that since swarms of ants will appear. Anybody have a good solutions to rid the ants?
I've had good success with the gel ant bait products like this one. You put it around where they're coming in at. Seemed to solve my problem.
I have had good luck w/ using the generic $10/gallon sprayer at Home Depot and spray the perimeter of the house/property whenever they seem to get more active. Usually when it gets hot (like last week) or after a rain. I never spray inside the house. If I see one in the house, I spray the perimeter again. Gallon lasts me about 3 years so it's just preventive and to encourage them to go to the neighbors instead . if they're in the house, Windex or very diluted mix of Simple Green works well and doesn't smell toxic. I understand it's good to leave some dead ones near where they might enter don't know if that works but seems like a good idea...
A quick but temporary method is to sprinkle talcum powder near where they are coming into the house. They absolutely hate the stuff.
I used to have ant issues.... it stopped when I started keeping everything -I mean everything, either in the refrigerator or air tight containers. Leave no food out, dishes cleaned and put away every night, stove cleaned daily... alot of work but its foolproof.
Unless you are a total pig, not saying you are, ants more often are driven from their colony by weather factors over looking for crumbs on your counter. Heat and lack of water like we are experiencing now. As others said treat the area they are entering and create a perimeter around your house. Windex is great for indoor eradication if you do not like pesticides.
There are pet/kid safe ant sprays out there. Check at Sprouts I'm pretty sure they sell the one I'm thinking of. It basically has a super strong plant oils. I had success with Grants ant baits, though I've noticed a colony that likes my bathroom and they don't seem to be affected by the bait so I don't know if my ants have evolved or what. linky attached: http://www.ecosmart.com/about/
soapy water or diluted vinagar also works as non toxic spray. I haven't had to try it for ants but thought about it as a barrier for fleas and those disgusting silverfish: http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp but you have to be careful and not breath in that stuff
I buy this stuff at Stater Bros. and have been using it for years. I spray it only at the point where the ants are entering the house. In a short while they are completely gone. They're not dead so I assume they just leave. They will come in at another spot later but they never seem to return through any entrance that has been sprayed. And it's not poisonous.
Try Terro. $4 at the home depot. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Terro-2-oz-Liquid-Ant-Killer-II-200/202534317 I remove whatever they're going for (usually my waste bin), clean that area they were digging in at, and vacuum up all the ants I see following them to their entry point. I lay the Terro bait by the entry point, then I "deodorize" the ant scent/pheromone trail with baking soda, mixed with water, all the way back to where they were foraging. In my case, I give my waste bin a complete cleaning. Remove the bait clear from the area when they dwindle, and then address the entry point. In my case, they make it through the openings around the many cabinets. My place is so vulnerable that it's hopeless to make it pest-free, so I wind up battling the ants every summer (was lucky the last 2 winters and didn't get any mouse visits). I just try and make my process as quick and efficient as possible. I don't like the spray kill method, since it's messy and it's not very effective at keeping them away; they seem to multiply and come back as strong as ever if you try and kill them. I go with the bait since they die from the poison outside of sight; supposedly it kills slow enough that they have time to share it with the queen which also falls victim, ending the ant invasion until another queen comes. I tried home-made Borax poison, but it's hard to get the consistency and concentration right. I poured syrup from canned fruit into a plastic peanut butter container, shook it up, added a small "eyed" amount of borax, and shook it up some more, and left a small amount out for bait, but I can see that they die from the bait right away, rather than carry it back to share with the queen. Terro is cheap, effective, convenient, and fool-proof.
