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JennGM
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 7:56am | IP Logged
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Anyone have some good ideas on controlling ants? I don't have trails, and not sure where they are coming from. These are tiny ones...only popped out in the last few days.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Jamberry77
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 9:27am | IP Logged
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Jenn,
We use a company that uses bait, so that the ants bring it back to the nest then the queen and all her kids die. We had a bad infestation in our old house (nests in the walls, all over) and the regular pest control company just used something to kill the ones present and that never touched the colony. When we switched, they were all dead within three weeks.
Since our bad ant episode, we now have a contract so they come every two months to spray the exterior perimeter and if we have any other problems they come for free. (We get ants every spring, without fail.)
Hope this helps.
Kelly in NC mom to two boys, 8 and 4
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Courtney
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 10:50am | IP Logged
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We've had what we call sugar ants in the kitchen in the last week. I noticed they seemed to be coming out of the electrical outlets. My dh took off the outlet covers and sprayed some ant spray (he purchased it at Home Depot) directly into the wall via the outlet. We've also used some little Raid brand ant motels. This seems to have worked!
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ladybugs
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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I would venture they're coming in because of the heat. I think Sacramento was built on a big ant hill  so we get these when it's hot for long periods. They come in via outlets, etc.
We bought little stakes with poison in them and we let the ants carry the poison back to their colony. They're called Grant's Ant Stakes or something similar. It was cost-effective for us and it worked.
Believe me, these ants come when you're home is clean or dirty. That's how desperately they seem to want to get out of the heat.
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 12:39pm | IP Logged
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mix up some borax with sugar (1/2 and 1/2) and put in tiny piles near where you see the ants coming in.
Even the pros use these ant baits... and it is the ONLY thing that works.
You'll have to repeat it in a few weeks, then you should be ant free.
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 2:23pm | IP Logged
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My mom mixes Borax with jelly (similar to Rachel's idea) and puts it in a jar lid (like spaghetti sauce) and hides them around the kitchen.
You just need to make sure your little guy understands what it is so he doesn't stick his finger in it.
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Natalia
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Our pest control guide put the bait (I think it was similar to Rachel's) in cut
up straws and placed them in strategic places. He also unscrew the electrical outlets and put some bait there.
Also, did you know that you can instantly killed ants with Windex? Maybe I am the only person that didn't know that but it made me think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Natalia
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 5:26pm | IP Logged
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Our county extensive says to use Terro-(orange box at the hardware store)-takes several days but works great.
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Jen L.
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 6:42pm | IP Logged
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With an almost-3, I'd rather not have the sugar mixture around. If you decide to go that route, I don't believe you get the soap, but rather the Borax you can special order from any pharmacy??
Anyway, we've had success with the Combat brand of the "roach motel".
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Cici
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Jenn,
We've had good luck with Terro, too.
We had both the tiny ants, and the large carpenter ants. I did notice that it worked better for the tiny ants when I put it right outside their "nest" (conveniently located right outside our back door  ). They didn't seem to form any "trails" into our house, but if our dog left a piece of dog food on the floor, they were there eating it.
In any case, the website says that it's boric acid and sugar - just ready made.
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teachingmom
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 11:24pm | IP Logged
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Hi Jenn,
After 6 and a half years in this house, we got ants for the first time a few months ago. I was so frustrated with them! The weren't anywhere near food or anything. I found them around my kitchen sink and surrounding counter area. There weren't a huge number of them -- I might have personally seen and killed between 5 and 10 each day or so.
I bought the Combat ant killing bait system at Target and placed them around the areas affected. I almost gave up on them and decided they weren't working. But finally, after a month or more, the ants completely disappeared. It says on the box that the ants should take the bait back to the nest, but I was surprised at how long it took to finally kill them all and end the problem.
At around $5 per box, I'd try the Combat solution before calling an exterminator.
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 8:12am | IP Logged
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Jen L. wrote:
With an almost-3, I'd rather not have the sugar mixture around. If you decide to go that route, I don't believe you get the soap, but rather the Borax you can special order from any pharmacy??
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Nope... 20 mule team borax. We mixed it and put such tiny piles that my 2 y.o. didn't even notice it! We managed to get rid of ours in a day this way, but normally it takes 3 days...
The jelly works well too, sometimes it's a better bait. It really depends on whether your ants are 'sweet' ants or not... but typically those which come into the house ARE sweet ants
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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Thanks everyone for your advice. I don't think these are sugar ants, as they aren't swarming all over the food, although they do seem to congregrate more often under my son's chair. But they are similar to Irene's description, just a few here and there, passing along. I'm trying the ant bait houses for now. I was going to the Borax solution, but I confess, I hate running errands. I didn't want to add any more to my week! I was at Lowe's yesterday for more paint on the current house project and there were the baits at the register. A Godsend! We'll see how they work.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 9:09am | IP Logged
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Keep us posted Jenn
We had ants like that the other day... and it bothered me more than a stream of ants...
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~Rachel~
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 9:14am | IP Logged
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~Rachel~ wrote:
Keep us posted Jenn
We had ants like that the other day... and it bothered me more than a stream of ants... |
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Isn't that funny? I had the same reaction. Random ants are really bothersome. It's like that cliche, waiting for the other shoe to fall. Are there more coming? Where are they coming from? Are they caused by my uncleanliness or what?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 8:07am | IP Logged
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Update: The ants have disappeared. Those ant house baits worked in less than two days. Poof! They are gone.
I told ds (almost 3) that he was not to touch them, that they were for the ants. Yesterday I came into the family room/kitchen and saw the 4 baits all neatly lined up against the wall in a row -- it was so cute, I had a hard time holding back a smile.  (Of course, I was worried that he had the stuff on his hands.)
I pointed out that he had moved the baits even though I told him he was not supposed to touch them. The look on his face was priceless -- HOW did she know I touched them?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Lavenderfields
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 10:36am | IP Logged
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~Rachel~ wrote:
Nope... 20 mule team borax. |
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How funny, we are planning a field trip to the borax mine and 20 mule team museum in March.
God Bless
Robynn
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 10:54am | IP Logged
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Robynn... there are so many uses for 20 mule team borax that if they give you freebies... take them!
(You can also use it to clean, prevent mold, brighten clothes in a wash...)
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~Rachel~
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Controlling Ants
