Ants!!

Ye' old general discussion board. Basically, for everything that isn't covered elsewhere. Come here to shoot the breeze, shoot your mouth off, or whatever suits your fancy.
This forum is not for asking programming related questions.

Moderator: General Moderators

User avatar
Chris Corbyn
Breakbeat Nuttzer
Posts: 13098
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:57 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Ants!!

Post by Chris Corbyn »

WTF... Where do these little pests appear from so damn quickly?? 8O

Moved into a newly refurbished house in April and we noticed Ants wandering around the kitchen floor when we moved in.... obviously this isn't too pleasant so we got some Ant Killer stuff that stinks of plasticides and they all dropped dead, we never saw 'em again.

Woke up this morning, went into the kitchen to make my morning cup of tea and OMG all around the fridge on the floor was just pasted with ant scurrying around! Ack. How the heck do they all just appear from nowhere overnight? I guess one little ant must say to another "lets see what's in here" and they all follow along and start partying on my kitchen floor :(

Got the ant killer stuff out again and they've all dropped dead apart from one or two little runaways but I wonder how long before we see 'em again. Anyone got any tips other than spraying that stinky poison in my kitchen (says you shouldn't use it near food).

:(
matthijs
DevNet Master
Posts: 3360
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:57 pm

Post by matthijs »

That's annoying. Afraid I don't know the solution.

Hmm, were you live, is it allowed to have an ant-eater as a pet?
User avatar
Chris Corbyn
Breakbeat Nuttzer
Posts: 13098
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:57 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by Chris Corbyn »

matthijs wrote:That's annoying. Afraid I don't know the solution.

Hmm, were you live, is it allowed to have an ant-eater as a pet?
Haha that would be slightly disturbing :lol:

I live in the north of the UK... we shouldn't have an ant problem... wrong climate really :)
User avatar
shiznatix
DevNet Master
Posts: 2745
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Contact:

Post by shiznatix »

don't leave food laying around on your kitchen floor and try cleaning up after the house parties instead of letting the filth rot on the floor.

har har.

actually if they are around your fridge then you might want to try to move the fridge out and clean underneither it really well and, if possible, clean the bottom of the fridge. if all else fails call your local exterminator.
User avatar
Chris Corbyn
Breakbeat Nuttzer
Posts: 13098
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:57 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by Chris Corbyn »

shiznatix wrote:don't leave food laying around on your kitchen floor and try cleaning up after the house parties instead of letting the filth rot on the floor.

har har.

actually if they are around your fridge then you might want to try to move the fridge out and clean underneither it really well and, if possible, clean the bottom of the fridge. if all else fails call your local exterminator.
Man, pulling our fridge out is going to be such a mission but yeah, it's gotta be a good idea :)

We don't really have house parties all that much, we occassionally have people crash over after a night out but seriously we're all dead tidy and clean... washing up gets done about 3 times a day too so it's not like we have mounds of dirty stuff with food baked on it building up :)
Roja
Tutorials Group
Posts: 2692
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 10:30 pm

Post by Roja »

Having lived in Florida, Ants are the least of the problem.. Roaches 6 inches long make ants seem like a nuisance compared to a plague.

Ants can thrive on even a tiny amount of food.

Ants are primarily scent-track driven, so wherever you saw them marching, make sure to clean (with bleach?) as well as possible the entire track.
User avatar
Todd_Z
Forum Regular
Posts: 708
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:53 pm
Location: U Michigan

Post by Todd_Z »

Code: Select all

foreach ( $ants as $ant )
  $ant->die();


:wink: Worth a shot
User avatar
Oren
DevNet Resident
Posts: 1640
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:13 am
Location: Israel

Post by Oren »

Although Todd_Z's solution might work, I have a better (proven) solution:
Before you use the spray and kill them, you have to trace them, you need to see where exactly they are coming from. Once you find their home... Kill them and make sure they are all dead.
User avatar
Bill H
DevNet Resident
Posts: 1136
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2002 10:16 am
Location: San Diego CA
Contact:

Post by Bill H »

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and go to the pest control area. There is something called diazanon which you can't get any more, but ask for it and they'll tell you what they have to replace it. It's a granular and you put it down in a band about six inches wide all around your house. Lasts about six months in most places. Won't harm pets or kids or any of the local critters.

Spraying them in the house is not much good. You just kill the ones that are there, but there are about a billion more and they keep coming. The stuff you put down as a barrier acts as a barrier, plus it doesn't kill them outright. They take it home and share it, and it kills pretty much all of them.

"I want some granular diazanon."
"You can't get that any more. It's been banned by the US govt."
"Then I want whatever you have that replaced it."

You'll be good to go.
:)

Edit: oops, just noticed you're in UK. You might be able to get granular diazanon, if so use it. For Home Depot or Lowes substitute whatever the equivalent is in your part of the world. But do use a granular product for best results.
User avatar
Luke
The Ninja Space Mod
Posts: 6424
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:53 pm
Location: Paradise, CA

Re: Ants!!

Post by Luke »

d11wtq wrote:I guess one little ant must say to another "lets see what's in here" and they all follow along and start partying on my kitchen floor :(
The thought of ants partying in your kitchen floor is extremely funny to me. haha thanks for that little laugh this morning.

But yea... sorry 'bout the pests. The little bastards.
Charles256
DevNet Resident
Posts: 1375
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2005 9:06 pm

Post by Charles256 »

i had a steady supply of ants for two weeks...couldn't bleach em out...so..i covered my yard with ant posion (40 USD) and then bombed my entire trailer (courtesy of my land lord ) . No ants..I think they're scared.
User avatar
RobertGonzalez
Site Administrator
Posts: 14293
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:04 pm
Location: Fremont, CA, USA

Post by RobertGonzalez »

Oregano, or other strong scented herbs. I have found that ants hate the odor and have a tendency to not come around areas that have odors like that. I have noticed it with coffee as well, but I haven't been able to prove that coffee keeps them away.

I have this same problem every year. Soon as spring ends and summer heats the little bastards come running into the house. They are in my roof and my crawl space. I have tried spraying, but it is inneffective. I tried spraying the location where they are coming through the walls... no dice on that one. Then the in-law tells me to try strong smelling, leafy herbals. Bing, no more ants in the cabinets. I still get them in the yards and in some of the kids' rooms, but the kitchen is pretty well staved off at this point.

PS I can't stand those little buggers. My older daughters can't either. I caught one of my daughters the other day smashing them with her finger to the war cry of 'Die, Die!'.
User avatar
dull1554
Forum Regular
Posts: 680
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2003 11:26 am
Location: 42:21:35.359N, 76:02:20.688W

Post by dull1554 »

just a suggestion try slicing up some cucumber and laying it around where you see the ants, its a natural repellent.
User avatar
Chris Corbyn
Breakbeat Nuttzer
Posts: 13098
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:57 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by Chris Corbyn »

Everah wrote:I caught one of my daughters the other day smashing them with her finger to the war cry of 'Die, Die!'.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
User avatar
RobertGonzalez
Site Administrator
Posts: 14293
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:04 pm
Location: Fremont, CA, USA

Post by RobertGonzalez »

d11wtq wrote:
Everah wrote:I caught one of my daughters the other day smashing them with her finger to the war cry of 'Die, Die!'.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
That was my response. Until my wife asked me what she was doing.

BTW Feigned discipline makes a wife a little more upset than finding out that her husband joined their daughter in a full out counter-offensive against the dreaded ants.
Post Reply