Ants!

[fishhead]

I was just doing some caulking on the siding and noticed that on 2 corners of the house there is a steady stream of little ants climbing the house. That cannot be good because I'm guessing they are some kind of carpenter ant.

What is a good poison to use on them? I have geese and ducks so I can't have anything on the ground.

[romysbaskets]

You should first find out exactly what kind of ant they are. Little black ants are called Sugar Ants around here and spraying with plain cheap white vinegar gets rid of them! Carpenter ants I have read about due to a house here having a problem with them that I am caring for (those beach houses are high maintenance, up here on top, we don't have those issues).

For Carpenter Ants, you have to find their nest which is generally inside of a wall and inject the poison so it does not affect other animals. It is not something generally done except by a pest control guy. I myself enjoy doing all kinds things including little plumbing jobs so I tend to do what I need or hubby does. You must find out what they are first to know how to get rid of them!

I am sorry to hear about your issue, glad you are on it!

[Bearfootfarm]

What is a good poison to use on them?

"Little" ants are NOT Carpenter ants They are at least 1/4 inch long or bigger

Mix 1/8th TSP of Boric acid with one TBSP of jelly or corn syrup.
If they won't eat that, try Peanut Butter at the same ratio.

The Boric Acid will kill them slowly enough that they have time to make it back to the nest and feed it to the Queen

[ronbre]

hubby just sprayed our family room window sill this morning..ugly things when they are inside.

carpenter ants aren't small, they are the large ones..but you can put some terro on their trail and it will kill em dead..and the critters won't get it..put it up a bit off the ground..it is a liquidy goo

[fishhead]

I thought carpenter ants were those large ones too but why else would tiny 1/8" ants be climbing up my wall?

I've had similar sized ones in the kitchen and used Terro successfully.

[rscheiderer]

Terro, definitely.
The trick with Terro is to resist the urge to kill the ants that you see. You need to put out the bait and leave the nasty little critters alone. That way they take to poison back to the nest.
Good luck.

[fishhead]

I've got a puddle of Terro on a ledge where they walk now.

I dropped one into the Terro on it's back. That little sucker was able to make it to the edge of the puddle, right itself and walk away. Boy are they tough. It would be like us swimming in honey.

[tamsam]

They carry the terro back to the nest and it kills the whole nest. I haven't found any ants that it will not kill. We put a drop on a piece of paper, usually a piece of the terro box, and lay it where their trail is. Good luck getting rid of them. Oh it might take a couple days before they are gone. Sam

[Bearfootfarm]

I've got a puddle of Terro on a ledge where they walk now.

Unless I'm mistaken, Terro is corn syrup with Boric Acid.
It's just more expensive than mixing your own

Active Ingredient: Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate (Borax) -5.40%

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/te...ons-p-752.html

[motdaugrnds]

Wondering if you can get rid of ants (without poisons) the way I get rid of them in the yard and around my fruit trees: I simply spread out some basic corn meal that I use for cooking. I was told ants cannot digest it. Seems to be working well here and I don't have to worry about our fowl getting poisoned.

[solidwoods]

We use a product called Terro.
It comes in a bottle or in a small plastic house/dispenser.
You can write your name with it and in a half hr you can read your name in ants. Couple days later,, no ants (in that area)
jim

[Bearfootfarm]

I simply spread out some basic corn meal that I use for cooking. I was told ants cannot digest it. Seems to be working well here and I don't have to worry about our fowl getting poisoned.

There's no truth in that at all.