ANTS HElP!

[LivingFate]

I have an acre of land and it is INFESTED with ants! There are ant hills EVERYWHERE!!!!! Ants in the house ... How do I get rid of them????? I have kids, dogs, cats, chickens, so MUST be non toxic! Or minimal toxicity...

 

[chikkinlittlesc]

I use Dawn Dish Detergent. I buy the big Non-Ultra bottles at Dollar General for $2.00. I squeeze a generous amount over the ant hill and spray with the water hose to make a foam. The next day, all you see is a big pile of dead ants. If I cannot reach them with a waterhose, I put the detergent in a bucket and add enough water to foam it up. I pour the foam over the ant hill and the next day........dead ants. You may have to treat the hills a couple of times, but it works. I am not sure exactly how it works. I have been told that it removes the oils from their bodies and therefore they have no body protection. Ants use scent to communicate and the detergent takes that away as well. Also, you can use it around your chickens and not have to worry. It is also inexpensive. It also works on aphids on rose bushes. Just mix it up in a spray bottle. Just don't spray the bushes during the heat of the day.

 

[bluedog]

chikkinlittlesc...... i am going to try that one

 

[JennsPeeps]

It might just suffocate them, too. Ants "breathe" through their shells. Cover them with foam & they suffocate.

Or so goes my theory!

 

[ibpboo]

I put grant's ant stakes around my house. I push the stake part into the ground and have the hole facing towards the house so no animals can accidentally get to it, but I haven't had any problems with the chickens trying to eat it or anything.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

We are new to chickens but have been raising parrots for ages. Bug sprays will kill our birds so we were desperate to find something safe around our feathered kids. We found a spray called Camicide. We can sometimes purchase it at feed stores, but it can be found online, it is also available at our local bird store.

It is safe around birds, apparently it can even be sprayed on birds without any harm. It is not safe around snakes though. Once applied across a threshold, ants don't cross for a good week. It is expensive, but does wonders for the ant problem.

The Delightful Dozen's run and coop are ant free and they have just eradicated the ants nearest their coop - love it! No spray needed around my DDozen! They are the bomb!

 

[Half-a-dozen]

Quote:
Is it only Dawn you can use or any dish soap?

 

[chikkinlittlesc]

I am sure you could probably use any kind. I use Dawn because it really good on grease and oil. Also, I get the Non-Ultra because it it inexpensive. Most ant killer costs a fortune and most of the time, it just makes the ants move to another spot. I use it on my clothes too if I happen to be cooking and get grease splattered on me. I just treat the spot with Dawn and throw it in the washer.

 

[kees]

I've tried to dish detergent thing also and it does work.

I've tried DE but really don't know if that worked or not.

I know that ants from different colonies will kill each other but I don't want to spend the time transporting workers from one to the other.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

My yard is infested with ants too - the little ones. I can't work in a flowerbed without being bit. With all the rain we've had, they decided to come inside. Dogfood bowl was nothing but ants - yuck. I used Raid around my baseboards but have been researching natural ways to kill them outside. Can't use chemicals because of the dogs.

I read to place little piles of boric acid mixed with some sugar or honey. They take it back to the nest and the boric acid kills them. Also read to try uncooked grits. I guess once they eat it, it swells up and they explode. The boric acid is supposedly safe in small quantities around larger animals. Not sure about chickens.