Best way to deal with a major ant problem?

Question

I was house sitting only to find the home owners have a HUGE ant problem. They have a pest control company spraying but it obviously isnt working. They bought roach and ant spray and I sprayed it so much, I used half the can.

Answer 1

I got rid of my ants with boric acid.  It comes in a gel to use around the kitchen.  The gel is in stakes to use outdoors around the house.  The ants will gather it and take it back to the nest (my nest was under the concrete garage floor, the exterminator wanted to drill holes and pour the bug killer but wouldn't guarantee the work) It takes awhile but they all die.  In the house I use soap and water.  I mix 3-4 tablespoons of dish soap with a pint of water in a spray bottle.  It works as well as bug spray at a fraction of the cost without harming kids and pets.

Answer 2

There is a product called Max Force.  It is available at Home Depot, OSH, and Lowes.

Its made from sugar water, pectin, (used for making jams and jellies), and a chemical called Fipronil.

You locate the offending ant trail and squeeze this jelly directly onto the trail.  You will see them panic at first then they will start loading up on the "Treat" you have just given them.

Here is the problem with the other poisons.  They will either kill the ants that you see with direct contact, or the poison in some of the baits acts too fast and the ants die before getting it back to the hive.

Fipronil works very slowly but very effectively.  It works slowly enough to contaminate the entire food supply of the hive.  It starts by dehydrating the workers, and it instantly kills the larvae, then sterilizes the queen.  Once all of her workers have died she can no longer survive because the internal food supply is totally contaminated.  There are no new workers because the larvae are now destroyed.  This process works over a 48 hour period, and completely kills the hive.

I have tried many other products and was introduced to this product from a friend who's company specializes in ants, wasps, bees, roaches and rodents.  As he will tell you, ants can be the most troublesome of pests.  However, this product has worked for them every time.  

I hope that answers your question.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

they need to call their exterminators back..we went thru this in nc for a month last summer ....i was told at that time that if you spray an over the counter spray all you are doing is pushing them to come up somewhere else....if the exterminator does their job the ants should be gone

Answer 4

No spray, use old fashioned Grits and put some in the line of where you see the ants.  It's food for them, yes, but when they eat it.....BOOM, they explode.  Don't need much, either.

Hate spraying as I have dogs.

Answer 5

You really need to find out where the nest is that they are coming from, and demolish it.  Use plenty of spray  or ant killing pesticide there and if possible break it down.. (asuming these are not Fire Ants.. )  Also eliminate the reason they are coming in the house.  ..

Answer 6

The best thing you can do (especially with kids around) is to get a big bag of diatomaceous earth and spread it around the house around the entire perimeter. Ants may live underground, but they travel above ground. DE is a very fine powder that is very abrasive to insect respiratory systems. It kills them, but because mammals have a different respiratory system, it doesn't bother us at all. As a matter of fact, it's a very effective flea and tick powder for cats and dogs.

Good Luck!!

Blessings,

Silverwolf

Answer 7

use  simple turmerice powder