getting rid of ants in the kitchen

Doc · #1 04/13/06, 08:06 PM

Does anyone have a home remedy that works for getting rid of those tiny ants that invade the kitchen? I've tried vinegar (temporary solution) and cinnamon (doesn't work). I don't use traps or other poisons because of my animals. Is there anything safe that will work?

Garden Ear · #2 04/13/06, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc

Does anyone have a home remedy that works for getting rid of those tiny ants that invade the kitchen? I've tried vinegar (temporary solution) and cinnamon (doesn't work). I don't use traps or other poisons because of my animals. Is there anything safe that will work?

Are they single? Maybe if you brought in some single uncles they might leave.

LOL

Buy a few of those flat little round metal ant feeders. They really work and your pets cannot get into them.

Doc · #3 04/13/06, 08:33 PM

I bought those ant bait traps, but in reading the fine print, it says that the ants walk away, back to the colony. My concern is that one of my cats might eat those ants after their exposure to the bait. He likes to eat them if they give off that pheramone.

Paranoid · #4 04/13/06, 08:45 PM

use tero. it's a clear syrupy fluid, they'll gorge on it and bring it back to the queen.

problem solved.

Garden Ear · #5 04/13/06, 08:54 PM

Here is a link with many different home remedies that don't include any poison. I hope you can find something safe that works for you and your cats.

http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants.html

fricknfarm · #6 04/13/06, 09:41 PM

Baking soda and sugar mixed together, the sugar attracts them and the baking soda acts as a dessicant and dries the out.

Quint · #7 04/14/06, 01:47 AM

Paranoid is right on. Tero. Or terro. Not sure how it is spelled. There is another that is called Jones ant killer. Same stuff I think. I think it is just syrup and borax or some very mild insecticide of some sort. Stuff is THE best at killing ants though. Put the stuff on the cardboard and the ants line up around it like cattle. They just devour the stuff. A day or two and they're gone for good.

Can't recommend it highly enough.

Edit to add - the stuff is really safe as I understand.

stanb999 · #8 04/14/06, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc

I bought those ant bait traps, but in reading the fine print, it says that the ants walk away, back to the colony. My concern is that one of my cats might eat those ants after their exposure to the bait. He likes to eat them if they give off that pheramone.

The cat would have to eat an awful lot of ants to even get sick. like thousands.

gobug · #9 04/14/06, 07:39 AM

Tero is a boric acid based bait. While many consider it low in toxicity, the boric acid is far more toxic than some other toxicants, and it is usually about 5% concentration. Amdro's toxicant, hydromethylnon is a tenth of the toxicity of boric acid, and only .25% concentration. This means Amdro is 200 times less toxic than Tero.

Regardless of which product is used, the risk to the cat is minimal, almost non-existant. A quarter teaspoon of bait is enough to kill a large colony of ants. Even if the cat ate the bait directly, it is far below the threshold of any toxic response, unless the cat just happens to be unhealthy and extremely sensitive to whatever toxicant is used.

There are probably no baits on the market that pose a risk to your cat. All manufacturers test their products on pets because if pets die, they get sued.

Any product that kills ants is a pesticide. Just because it isn't sold as one, doesn't make it risk free. The words "safe" and "natural" are oxymorons.

SteveD(TX) · #10 04/14/06, 08:45 AM

We used to have this problem on occassion. Tried several "home remedies" plus the usual poisons. Nothing worked well until I bought the little cheap ant bait trays at Walmart. They come 4 to a package and only 3 or 4 bucks. Little metal cylinders with a tiny hole in the top, set on a plastic base. Works extremely well. All ants are gone within a few days, and they don't come back. The hole is not big enough for a pet to get into, and I believe they are safe to use.

khowellrn · #11 04/14/06, 09:59 AM

Ammonia diluted with water. I often use that to clean windows and floors and discovered it zaps those ants. Seems to leave a residue that they don't like to cross, also. I wipe it along the counter top edges, window sills, and around outlets. Ya gotta give the areas a refresher shot every so often, though.
And it leaves your kitchen clean and smellin good!

Little Quacker in OR · #12 04/14/06, 10:03 AM

I am glad to see Gobug! LOL

One of the things that we forget sometimes is going around the perimeter of our homes and getting rid of stuff that may provide a place for ant species to winter over, in and under.

There are so many species of endemic ants plus in many places new species have been imported that it's difficult to generalize but it will help to do a serious "trouble shoot" around the property. some ant species are drawn in by particular types of shrubs and trees. Some like damp wood and will be drawn in by a place with a leak, others just love a stack of wood stored for the fire. You can limit your problems by getting rid or repairing some of these.

This is a good site that, in general terms may be helpful:

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ent...ruct/ef619.htm

Then call your local County Extension Service and they can tell you what species you are likely to have and how to get it out of your house as they will know which ones are the most likely. Can't tell what part of the country you are in but your Extension Service can help you.

I just don't tolerate the creatures in my house although I know our endemic ants are a valuable resource. When I first moved here from the desert I learned about carpenter ants(biggest ant I ever saw!!!) and the other species here. LOL It didn't take long for me to call the ES and find out how to deal with them.

Good luck,

LQ

texican · #13 04/14/06, 10:44 AM

I, like most of my neighbors, use to get 'medieval' on ants, whenever they appeared in the house, especially the kitchen. Then 30 years or so ago, fire ants showed up, and they quickly eliminated most of the local ant species. I, like most of my neighbors, got a little extra medieval on the fire ant populations, as they can hurt you bad.

Now, a few tiny ants, including sometimes 'sugar ants' will appear in kitchens. Personally, I feel sorry for them, and will give them a little to eat. As long as the fire ants don't follow them in, they're welcome for a couple of days. Recently talked with an Aunt, who had ants *sugar ants*, and she admitted letting them feed for a few days, before getting tired of em, and gently sweeping them into a paper towel, and depositing outside.

So, be glad you dont have fire ants. Fire Ants make all other ants (besides the carpenter ants) look like little pussycats.

Arklady · #14 04/14/06, 10:51 AM

Corn meal.... works every time it is ingested by the ant and it swells and kills the ant. I had ants in my mail box and I put some corn meal by the area they were coming out. They died...

Arklady

HiouchiDump · #15 04/14/06, 11:27 AM

Assuming you have more than one or two ants, they probably form a line to wherever they are coming into the house. Track them back to the entrace to the house, then go outside and see if you can pick up the trail from there. If you can, then follow them back to their nest. Then destroy the nest using whatever method you prefer.

I had a little nest near my porch and kept getting a trickle of ants (they were always after the dog food). I tracked them back, stuck the post hole digger in the nest and stirred it up and then flooded it with the hose. No more ants. Your mileage may vary; some ants have such large nests that you'd never get enough of them.

Doc · #16 04/14/06, 12:59 PM

Terro is arsenic. Read the label -- that is not a natural home remedy.

If there is a veterenarian on this board who can assure me that the ants who eat from the bait traps won't harm my cat, then I'll use them.

flannelberry · #17 04/14/06, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paranoid

use tero. it's a clear syrupy fluid, they'll gorge on it and bring it back to the queen.

problem solved.

We use something like that. It's non toxic to cats etc. (I think) - at least we haven't had any problems. We've had horrible problems with ants. When it's one or two we'll just relocate them or whatever but we were having a full infestation so it was lights out. We tried every gentle, non toxic, environmental option and nothing controlled the big infestation time of year but the nasty stuff.

I still recall dh rushing out on the middle of the night to reapply DE after a rain! Ha! Now we know better.

BaronsMom · #18 04/14/06, 07:36 PM

Terro is boric acid that has been sweetened (it is Borax).

Like anything else, if you are worried about using anything around your pets, check with your veterinarian. I just keep the bait away from cat, dogs, kids...never had a problem.

I prefer to buy something that works. You also have to be careful with "organics" - they are not all safe.