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Ants!!
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:52 am
by Chris Corbyn
WTF... Where do these little pests appear from so damn quickly??
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).

Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:00 am
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?
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:08 am
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
I live in the north of the UK... we shouldn't have an ant problem... wrong climate really

Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:41 am
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.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:59 am
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

Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:08 am
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.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:19 am
by Todd_Z
Code: Select all
foreach ( $ants as $ant )
$ant->die();

Worth a shot
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:51 am
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.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:18 am
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.
Re: Ants!!
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:16 am
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.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:31 am
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.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:49 am
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!'.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:54 am
by dull1554
just a suggestion try slicing up some cucumber and laying it around where you see the ants, its a natural repellent.
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:31 am
by Chris Corbyn
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:33 am
by RobertGonzalez
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.