How do you get rid of ants?!?

[backyardfarmer83]

So we have a fairly old house... it was built in 1975. After years of settling and weather, I knew we'd have problems. But this one is by far the worst!! We have two spots in the house where ants keep getting in, and no matter how many times I squish them, spray bleach on them or whatever, they still keep coming back.

So is there any method of getting rid of them permanently that doesn't involve calling an exterminator??

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Sevin dust will get them.

 

[jennh]

There is a liquid called Terro that is awesome. Works overnight almost. It has boric acid in it. Or, if you don't have pets or children, just sprinkle dry boric acid in their trails. That works also.

Jen

 

[AZBootsie]

My daughter mixes grits (the cereal kind, not chicken grit) with sugar and then sets out a bowl of water. She says it works great. Ants eat the grits, drink the water and it expands killing them. I have not tried this myself. But no poison, worth a try??

 

[KristyHall]

depends on the kind of ants.

What sort of ants are we talking? Those tiny black sugar ants? Fire ants? or those weird red and black ants that are showing up all over here in Morgan county Alabama that hurt like fire ants, a little bigger, cause these pits and sores on your skin that don't heal, and have killed off all the fire ants and taken over their nests. Because not even fire ant killer is getting rid of those things and the only way I can get rid of them is to dress head to tow in thick cloth and gloves and dig them up until I either find the queen or scatter the nest every where, hit it with everything i got, and repeat several times.

If you have those, you're out of luck

 

[backyardfarmer83]

Quote:
haha, just the tiny black sugar ants. We don't have fire ants in this part of Kansas.... that I know of....

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
haha, just the tiny black sugar ants. We don't have fire ants in this part of Kansas.... that I know of....

those are easy, plenty of organic methods to get rid of from uncooked instant grits which they eat and die from, to surrounding your house with planted aromatic herbs like mints, and lavenders and sages and garlics, to rubbing garlic and lemon oil around where they are getting in at, and of course caulking any holes you find them coming in at.

Also they hate citrus. lemon juice, any cleaner with citrus in it from lemon to orange extract in it will chase them off. Added bonus it makes your house smell great! There are also "teas" you can make that mixes citrus and garlic and you can surround your house parimature with it. it's temporary and you have to re-aply though.

You can also dump boiling soapy water on their nests, and that will run them off. Must be dish soap though

 

[GarlicEater]

I think it's Argentine ants where I am and in 2009, they were all over the place. They loved Terro! I gave 'em plenty of that, and finally gave up and got some good old bug spray, and I'd spray their trails. When I found a trail, ziiiip, along the trail. I finally won without killing all my spider buddies.

I had some tiny, bite-y, and amazingly smart ants bother me in hawaii in 2003, one night I was drinking beer and of course they wanted some. So I held a big ant beer bust. Put lots of puddles of it on the table (formica) and they were shoulder to shoulder, drinking it down. In the morning, they were all dead. That's just weird.

 

[theghostandmrchicken]

http://www.ehow.com/how_4476848_rid-ants-home.html

 

[SLWyandotte]

get a tube of silicone calking. seal up the holes they use to get in. yes it may take a while, but each time you seal up a hole you are losing hot and cold air through depending on what part of the year it is. eventually you will get them all and no more ants.