I'm going NUTS!

[CluckyBoss]

Now that the warmer weather is here, we're having sugar ants get inside our little

house somehow. We have them every year in the kitchen, but this year....they are

EVERYWHERE! Bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms, you name it. They're there. And not

just one or two, I'm beginning to think they have a giant bed inside my walls or something!

And not only ants.. but carpet beetles.. We have bug problems! But our house is always
clean, so I don't get it. We do live in a old house, underneath trees. We're thinking it may
be how the stinky things are coming in.

Everybody is wanting to spray the house but I have two parrots, a rabbit, dogs, a cat,
and fish that I'm really worried about. I don't have anybody who is willing to watch my

nut head animals.. SO, basically my question here, is, does anybody have a pet safe
solution to this? And before you ask, food is not ever left down for them. The little boogers
are starting to invade our pantries, however....

Thanks

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

For the past 3 weeks every single night I come out to a kitchen floor COVERED in what looks like flying ants? tiny..with wings. i am thinking the same thing...they are living/breeding in the walls! arrrgh! good thing I am moving out at the end of the month. and why only the kitchen floor? because it is white tile? the rest is biege tile. I sprayed behind the fridge and stove, around the outside of house and in the cracks where the grout meets the wall...but still they come. "shudders" I hate bugs

 

[spiritdance]

I don't know about carpet beetles, but sugar ants hate cinnamon. I had an infestation once in an older home we rented, and we tried everything to get rid of them. Finally, I read about the cinnamon and put it out in all the cracks and crevices I could get to. Not only did the ants disappear, the house smelled great! Along the same lines, spiders do not like deodorant soap. Put a few bars around the house in closets, cabinets, etc., and the spiders will pack their bags.

 

[spiritdance]

How big are these flying "ants"? If they are tiny, they are likely drain gnats, and their presence signals a build up of moisture somewhere. Check the bottoms of your cabinets for leaks, and put a little borax in your drain whenever you get done with the sink at night. They will fly in for the stinky water in the trap and the borax will kill them. They won't go away, though, until you find the source of moisture attracting them, which is usually, as their name implies, drain water with all its "goodies." Put your nose to work and start sniffing for any areas that may smell dank, like that kitchen cabinet, under the fridge (ice makers, faulty evaporators), or even in the walls (feel for clammy spots on your drywall low on walls behind drains and faucets). My mom battled these pests for months once, until the plumber finally located a leaky drain pipe behind her cabinet. Once the leak was stopped and the area thoroughly bleached, the problem was resolved.

 

[Nitrous]

Look up the "12 mule team Borax" technique on you tube or somewhere.

It's really easy, takes a few days to weeks but then the whole colony disappears. It's easy. I mixed it with honey and thought it wasn't working. There were still ants around by two weeks later. After that? GONE.

I used to work in pest control and it takes a while, but you can follow one ant until it goes into it's hole. each room may have it's own hole. Walk around the house and go under it. You will find that there are not that many places *under* the house where the ants can enter. Outside? They CAN get in anywhere, but there will be a trail where they are all marching in.

 

[OldGuy43]

Okay, I'm know I'm gonna catch heck for this suggestion, but it works! Buy a couple of spray cans of either carburetor or brake cleaner. Spray it on the ants. Not only does it kill the ants, but it destroys the scent trail. It's low persistence, dry's quickly, and this solution lasts a long time.

Waiting patiently for the environmentalist attack.

 

[ange92040]

For the past 3 weeks every single night I come out to a kitchen floor COVERED in what looks like flying ants? tiny..with wings. i am thinking the same thing...they are living/breeding in the walls! arrrgh! good thing I am moving out at the end of the month. and why only the kitchen floor? because it is white tile? the rest is biege tile. I sprayed behind the fridge and stove, around the outside of house and in the cracks where the grout meets the wall...but still they come. "shudders" I hate bugs

You might have termites We once rented a place and we walked into the kitchen and the window one wall and the floor was covered in them we called the landlord and he said oh ya they are termites just spray them and they will go away soon but we moved soon after so i have no idea if they ever came back. Good Luck

With ants we use baby powder they don't seem to like to cross it

 

[dewey]

Last year my place got invaded with ants. I got rid of them by finding some of their anthills and pouring a high concentration of soapy water on them and their trails. It usually only takes once outside. Meantime, until the hills were located, I used a squirt bottle of the same soapy water and sprayed the ants inside and would spray around the baseboards, etc. Stops them instantly, but more will keep coming (though the numbers decrease) unless the hills or at least the entry points into the house are eliminated. I used to use the same soapy water solution in my rabbit barn. It kills ants and gnats instantly.

 

[CluckyBoss]

Okay, I'm know I'm gonna catch heck for this suggestion, but it works! Buy a couple of spray cans of either carburetor or brake cleaner. Spray it on the ants. Not only does it kill the ants, but it destroys the scent trail. It's low persistence, dry's quickly, and this solution lasts a long time.

Waiting patiently for the environmentalist attack.

I think I'll stick to the cinnamon

I'm a bit worried about my birds and other animals with that stuff, not to mention myself. I'd probably end up spraying my eyes out by accident..

So last night I found out that they were making a home in between the panels, right beside our kitchen window - which I think is also how they are getting inside. I took a tube of cinnamon, and COATED the corners around that area, went to bed... and woke up to NO ants! Not ONE! Usually we wake up to 100s of ants! I'm so happy, even if they come back, I have a weapon now! I guess I need to find and destroy their bed, now.