Ants Are Driving Me Crazy!

great product sold at walmart or lowes builders it is TORRO PLEASE TRY THIS IT WORKS WONDERS BUT IT WILL TAKE ABOUT A WEEK GOOD LUCK
S. H

ground cinnamon sprinkled around the cat food dish. unless you can place the food dish in a larger dish with water in it. that needs changing everyday or it stinks. ants can drive anybody nuts. ground cinnamon worked for us in East Bend. on the counters and else where looks weird but it works. and smells good to boot. good luck to you.

You could try Diatremitis earth (spelling?) It's available at a garden store. Don't think it would cost too much. When the ants walk on it, it cuts them.

I think cayenne pepper works too. There may be other spices that work, too.

Good luck,

J.

white vinegar...ants don't like the smell...I had this same problem and was just killing them, but they just kept coming back. Yesterday I sprayed all around the window sills and doors, finally no ants, of course you'll have to get rid of the ones inside somehow, but the vinegar should keep them out. You can also use vinegar and water to clean the counters and windows, it works well. Good luck!
H.

Hi C.,
Some of the other ladies mentioned my remedy and I live and breathe by it every summer. Terro for ants. I buy the bottle of syrup and pour just a drop or two on a piece of cardboard. Lay it at the point of entrance into the house. Within 2 days they are all gone. I even tracked a trail of ants last summer from my front porch to a tree in my yard. I went to the tree and just poured a little dab on the base of the tree. I physically watched those ants swarm to that dab from up in the tree, and also from my porch. It was like they had radar to it. Again, the next day I went and looked and there was NO ants anywhere. I think it is great stuff!! I've used it for years and its never failed yet. Its just a small bottle, but it will last you for several years and is very inexpensive. Good Luck!

if you live in the Clayton/ Smithfield area, I would definitely recommend Wood Pest and Termite. We had an ant problem right after we moved into our house 3 years ago and they came out. For $49 every other month, they come back and do inspections for insects and other pests both inside and outside our home. They even came late one night when I saw a mouse!

Purchase some liquid Borax - you can purchase probably right at local Walmart. It is not too expensive and worth not having the ants - the small bottle should last you a few years.

You put just a drop or two or the liquid on the "trail" where the ants are coming in - the hard part is you DON'T kill or touch the ants - they take the Borax back to the nest and they die.

Make sure after a week or so, that you clean the area up with a spray of white vinegar to keep them from coming back.

Good luck and God Bless.

Go to the hardware store and buy the ant traps.Depending how many ants you have..you may need a few or alot..but they do work sooner or later.Put then in direct path to the cat food so that it what they find first.Also if you can put the cat food up...good luck..
S. B

C.--I feel your pain! Ants have discovered our master bathroom on more than one occasion and we have always headed straight to Lowe's for 'Terro'. It's a little container that the ants come to for 'food' and take it back to their home so that it poisons the entire colony and not just the ants who wander into your home. It may take several, but this is very effective when pest control isn't an option.

Good luck!
T.

Try TERRO. My mother told me about it and you can find it at Wal-Mart. It is a clear, thick solution that you put on pieces of thick paper or cardboard. The ants eat the sweet solution and take it back to their nest. Don't be alarmed if you see more ants at the Terro than you even imagined in your house. We have ants that like to come inside to the cat litter box, as well as the food/water bowls. Place the piece of cardboard with several drops (7-14) drops of Terro along the same path that the ants are traveling. Put fresh Terro in fresh cardboard out every day until you don't see any live ants. You may have to do this periodically during the warmer weather. Hope this works as well for you as it did for me. A. B., Hillsborough, NC

Baby powder works. Put a ring of baby powder around where the cat food is and they wont cross it.

Terro ant killer works great. You can get it at Lowes. They are baits, so the ants go to them and take the poison back to the colony. After about a week, problem solved.

I heard about this a few years back and it seemed to work so may be you could give it a try. They said to put a small amount of food outside of your house and the ants will go to that food instead of inside your house. I put out a squashed up grape, something sweet smelling to attract them. Good Luck Jenny

Dawn dish soap! :) Take a whole bottle, go around your house, right at the foundation. That will get rid of a lot of them coming up into the foundation. We spray some harware store ant killer around the doors (kid-friendly after it dries in 30 minutes) but a whole bottle will last us all summer b/c we use DAWN all around the house in the grass and only use the spray at the doors.
I never knew ants could be so fun to have on my kitchen floor until I had a 16 month old... he gets close to them and says, "oohhh," and watches them walk the kitchen; but I know, they are irritating to all the boring grown-ups in the world :) me, included :) good luck :)

Avon Skin So Soft works great for keeping bugs away. I pour the SSS on a sponge and dab it around my doors and windows. The ants no longer come inside. Normally I reapply the Skin So Soft every 3 months.

Hi C.
I'll tell you what my mom told me. Get Terro! It's just a few dollars at Walmart. It's a little bottle of gooey liquid and you put a few drops on little cardboad squares that come with it. You put these everywhere you have a problem. Then you wait. It will take about a week or so but the ant will disappear and I mean completely! It goes to the source. They eat this and then go back and share with the nest. There are other products (ant bait) that operate on the same idea but this is the best I've found.
S.

C.
I just got an e-mail a few days ago that may help you. It was about using ordinary things to help big problems. The one for ants said to find the place they come in and put corn meal in a little pile right in the trail of the ants. Apparently, they pick it up and take it back to the nest where they eat it and can't digest it and they die. My Granny also used moth balls around the outside of her doorways--they stink but she swore by them. Hope it works.
Leshia

C., I have ants in my house too. We use Terro ant Killer. It works GREAT!! I wouldn't use anything else. You can get at Lowe's. I hope this helps. Good luck getting rid of them. J. A.

I had ants in my kitchen and finally found out they were after cough drops in my cabinet! I sprayed and put ant traps (boxes with glue-type stuff, and boxes with ant poison)under the stove and right outside the kitchen door. (My son was a toddler at the time so I didn't want to put them where he could get them.) I had also heard that ants will not cross a chalk line (!!) so I put chalk all around the door and along the trail they liked to follow. Not sure which one worked, but they finally went away! If you have cat food bowls on the floor, try setting the bowls on a something like a cookie sheet with sides and try putting chalk on the bottom of the pan. I bought plain white chalk and ground it down to make a course chalk dust. Hope this helps, good luck!

Check out this web address:

http://www.ghorganics.com/page11.html

They have some recipes for ant repellent. Also, I had used Ortho Max Home deffense and that seems to keep all pests away pretty well. If it's carpenter ants you may have a larger issue on your hands. They are pretty hard to get rid of because, like termites, they eat through wood. I rented a house a few years back that was infested with them and we had Terminex come out every month for a year and they still couldn't get rid of them. The problem wasn't as great but it never went away completely.

Make sure that there are no plants and or trees touching your home. This can act as a "bridge" for ants from their nest to your home.

There is also this sticky stuff you can put out but I can't remember what it's called...it's in an orange box and you should be able to pick it up any place that sells bug repellent...you best bet would probably be Lowe's or Home Depot.

Good luck! I hope you can get rid of 'em.

We had this problem last summer, too. I understand that you don't have money for pest control and we didn't either. What was recommended to me was a product called Terro. It comes in a syrup form and a pellet form. We bought it at Lowe's. It worked okay for awhile, but eventually the little buggers came back and we had to call in the professionals. But, you might have a different species of ant that is more responsive to the insecticide. The people that recommended it to me couldn't say enough good stuff about it.

I used to get this stuff called Terro X. It was in a little glass bottle at Wal-Mart, it was yellow, and you put it on little squares of cardboard that came in the box with the bottle. You put the squares with the stuff on them in window frames or wherever you needed them to be in the way of the ants getting into your house, if I remember right. It worked really fast, too. I didn't have any money then, either. (Not too much different from now, LOL) I think it was less than $5. I am not sure how it comes now, but I am sure that you can still get it. I think I saw some at either Wal-mart or Lowe's in the garden secion as just plain Terro, and it was not that much, like between $5 and $7. It really worked for me several years ago. I haven't had to use it in a really, really long time, though. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Skin So Soft from Avon in the spray bottle spray it around doorwasy windows and any cracks and it should take care of your problem

If they are sweet-eating ants, get some Terro. You'll find it at Lowe's. It's a small, maybe 2 0z bottle, clear with an orange label. It's very inexpensive, I think it was 2 or 3 dollars. It's clear syrup that you put on little pieces of waxed cardboard. VERY EFFECTIVE. I have it in 3 different homes that I have lived in and it worked like a charm every time. Hope this helps.

This will sound totally nuts, but it worked for my parents in their previous home. Mom heard somewhere that if you take a piece of chalk and draw a circle around an ant, they won't cross the chalk line. So, she took chalk and colored a line by each of her outside doors (where they were coming in) and sure enough.......it worked! But, you have to re-do the line every day or so. It's goofy, I know...but, it's a cheap fix! =0)

I have heard cinnamon sprinkled around where they come in..works too.

Ortho Home defense works great but takes a day or two. I use it every year. The ants here are terrible!!!

go to a local hardware store and buy Terro ant dust. It is not that expensive. You sprinkle it around perimeter of house and it works like a charm. You can sprinkle it heavier in areas that are worse. It is in a tall orange can like thing. Good luck!

I have seen this work - standing there watching ants turn around and leave...the way they came! Block their path with Tabasco sauce. Trace back to where they are getting in - as closely as you can and put Tabasco there too. They will go bye-bye.

My family owns a pest management company and I have worked in the business most of my life and would agree with the advice about Terro Ant Bait. It is very effective in controlling ants and inexpensive. That is what I recommend to people who call in to our office and want to buy something to try and take care of the problem themselves. One VERY important thing to remember if you use this bait: It WILL NOT work if you try some of these other suggestions that are repellent to ants. The goal is to get the ants to take the bait back to the colony and eliminate the colony. If you are putting other products or home-remedies out that are repelling the ants, they may not take the bait or be able to get back to the colony and then you have the potential for the ants to split off into a new colony and make the problem worse. Give the bait a few weeks to work and make sure they have enough. Hope this helps and feel free to contact me and I will be glad to give you some more information.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&amp...

TERRO ANT KILLER:
http://www.terro.com/

I found ours at Lowes and Home Depot.
I had them bad at another house about 2 yrs ago.. you have to be persistant as there might be a huge colony... it eventually does work...

How do i deal with ants?
We have ants. We have used this stuff (TERO ANT KILLER) that you set out they take the food back to the queen and then it kills them all. They go away for a few weeks then they come back, we have cleaned out everything that would attract them but it doesnt work. Shouldnt they be hiding for the winter, BUT NOT IN THE CUPBOARD!

Here's what to do. Truck down to your local Lowe's and pick up a couple different brands of ant spray. Check the active ingredients and try to get different brands that use different stuff. You might also pickup a Summer Blend of lawn fertilizer with insert treatment. Scott's Step #3.

Spray one brand of the ant spray around the outside perimeter of your home, including garage, etc. Heavier around areas that are damp, door thressholds, etc. Repeat in about a week with the other brand.

Take the other brand and spray afflicted areas indoors including baseboard areas near where ants have been spotted. Repeat in about a week with the other brand.

Put the Scotts stuff down on the lawn with a broadcast spreader.

Ants are hardy and persistent creatures that are attracted to food and standing water. A couple rounds of the sprays ought to do it. Might need a third week of spray.

Good luck.

I hate ants and any bugs in my house also! I keep my cats food out and sometimes the ants just want it! I make sure I use a cleaner and mop the floor and baseboards really well, I also use a indoor/outdoor bugspray and spray all windows as well as doors on the outside to keep bugs away.
If none of the suggestions work, I would put up the cat food in the evening so there is no temptation for the ants. If the floors and counters are food free, the ants should have no reason to come in.

I believe the pet store also carries a bug free feeding bowl for those who leave cat food outside.
Good Luck!

Responding to the ant problem...try putting Bounce sheets around, where they are coming in. It worked for me. I'm from Kernersville NC.

We had the same problem and it was driving me crazy since they were getting into everything and I was getting ready to make my girls' birthday cakes!

We went to Lowe's and bought Terro Ant Killer - it is a liquid/gel in a small container that you just cut off one section, the ants go in, get the bait, and then take it back to the nest. I tell you within 48 hours it killed them all! We know we had a bad problem when we found dead ants on our SECOND floor! We obviously had a nest inside the walls. Since using those traps 1 1/2 months ago, we have seen maybe ONE ant a week.

Oh the cost...about $6!

Hi C.! I had the same problem with the dogs bowls. What I did then was move the bowls away from any exterior walls and doors in my kitchen. Once you do that, stray the existing ants. Let the sprayed area alone for a while, then wash your floor. I haven't had a problem since. I hope this works for you.

J.

My mom swears by Terro (I think the spelling is right) It can be found at the hardward store, but not Wal-Mart, Home Depot etc. (at least in my state) Good luck.

.

Hi C.,
I have heard that ants will not cross a "powered" line. Maybe try some flour or powder or something like that along the place where they are coming in. It is cost effective to try, a thin line should not hurt the cats, and it might just do the trick. Let us know how it works for you.

C.,
try sprinkling essential peppermint oil around your kitchen, anywhere you see the ants. They hate it and it is safe for humans and pets.

IF you can find it Terro is an amazing product. Here we can find it at True Value or Walmart.

Another great home remedy that I have used for many years is Cayenne Pepper. Pour some in a line between the door and the cat bowl. For us the door was a sliding door and I just poured it in the track. Ants won't cross it because it burns their legs.

Hi C., you might want to try putting a thin line of Borax powder along window sills, doorjambs, and wherever else the ants are coming in. I don't know about your cats though... we do it w/the dogs and they leave it alone. You could also try Bayer Advanced Home Pest Control spray... it keeps bugs out for 8-12 months and it's reasonably priced (under $20 for a big spray jug that will last a LONG time). Good luck!

We have also used the Ortho Max Home Defense, which was reccomended by a friend, who also heard about it from a friend!! It worked for all of us. My husband also went into the crawl space and sealed all of the pipes and wiring coming into the house. The builders did not do that and that was where they were coming in from.

Dear C.,
Instant Grits! The ants take them back to their "nest" and when they eat them with water - poof- they explode. Sounds silly, but it works. they also don't like tea, pepper, or tobacco. You will hahe to take up the cat food after your cat eats, they love all kinds of pet food. Also, there are different types of ants and they require different types of spray. You may want to try a different kind of product.
Good luck! L.

I lived in an old home in Georgia that the aunts loved. I didn't have the money either and this is what I did. First I sprayed the house with the ant spray from Wal Mart, then I went to the Dollar Store and they had a big, tall, cylindral plastic bottle with a red top on it. It is called boric acid and is a roach killer. It is VERY cheap too. Buy about 4 bottles of that and go outside your house and sprinkle it all the way around your house on the outside up next to your house. Make sure you put an extra amount in front of the doors or windows, wherever you think they are coming in.
Ants will not go through a chalk line and this stuff is very powdery. When it rains, you will have to sprinkle more of it again. Use your ant spray for the inside of the house. If you have any ants under the sink or any place that you think they are gathering.... sprinkle some of the boric acid around.
I had really good luck doing this and it didn't cost but maybe $10 or $15 at the most for all of this.
Good luck.

We get ants every year. They come in our kitchen window. I tried every kind of home remedy that I was told about. Finally, my husband bought ant poison called Terro . It is a thick liquid that comes in a small bottle. I think they have a powder form too but we always use the liquid. The ants eat it and carry it back to their nest. We put new drops out every week or so. Sometimes we mix it with a little syrup or snow cone mix to make it extra appealing to the ants. It has worked for us.

Dear Miss C.,
I know of a couple of things that you could try and you might already have around your house.....Try putting a line of crushed cayenne pepper down. For some reason ants won't cross that line. You could also try putting some Bounce dryer sheets where they are coming in at or under your cats' food bowls. It has to be Bounce....I don't know why it works, but it worked for me around my dogs' bowls....Good luck.

Make sure your food is in a sealed container so the smell does come out. Then try drawing a thick chalk line (just use regular school or sidewalk chalk) in front of the threshold of the door outside where they come in. For some reason they won't cross the chalk.

VINEGAR!!!! I had the same problem at my last house, and I tried everything. Then a friend told me about Eloise and she said wash EVERYTHING (and I do mean EVERYTHING) with vinegar and water. Your walls, floors, counters, cabinets..... everything. They hate the smell of it and it covers up the "smell trail" they leave behind. Also use Sevendust and sprinkle it around the outside of your home; you can find this in the homes and gardens dept at walmart and lowes. I did the vinegar thing and didn't see ants for over a year!! But you will have to do the vinegar "wash" every 6 months to prevent their return. Good luck!!
P.S. I was reading other responses and cinnamon DOES NOT WORK!!! my dad uses it, my sister uses it and they still have an ant problem. They won't listen to me when I say to use vinegar, go figure. When I tried it before the vinegar, it just made them worse.

Boiling water. Follow to where the ants are coming from and douse the anthill in boiling water. It's quick, cheap, chemical-free and very effective.

Cleaners with a mint scent are also supposed to make them lose their marked trails to find food. They will eventually find it again so you could also elevate the cat foot a few inches off the floor. The cats will still be able to reach it, but it will be harder for the ants.

Put a line of talcum powder down, the ants won't cross it, it suffocates them, and stand the cat food bowl in a bigger bowl or tray filled with water.
Good luck!

Hi i have heard that vinegar works but i have never tried it. Good luck and god bless

I've always used rubbing alcohol to stop their path. If you find where they're coming in, pour some alcohol both inside and outside. I used to have them coming in under my front door, so I'd pour a line of it in front of and behind the threshold. It doesn't stop them forever, so it's something you have to maintain. Also, borax is supposed to kill ants- sprinkle it in your yard. Good luck!

This will sound crazy, too, but Nutrasweet will kill them. Sprinkle it all around where they come in. In 3 days they will be gone.

C.,
I've got a cheap and easy fix for you! Try lightly sprinkling cornmeal around the perimeter of your home. The cornmeal will expand when ingested and kill them. I've also heard that ants will not cross chalk, so you can try drawing a line around an area to test it out. Let us know how it goes!

Place a few drops of Peppermint Essential Oil in a spray bottle with water and spray the ants and the areas where you see them. The Peppermint EO kills them and if you have small children you won't need to worry about them coming into contact with chemicals or poisons. I've also done the chalk & cinnamin before and they work too.

Good luck!
J.

I don't know if Walmart still has it, but several years ago I bought something there called Terror (not sure about the name). It isn't that expensive and you just put some on cardboard and they eat it and carry it back to their nest to kill them all.

good luck
A.

Terro brand ant traps - I had the same problem and tried everything. You can get these (or the gel form) at ACE Hardware. You leave them out and let the ants swarm them for a few days - don't kill the ants - they have to take the poison back to their nest. They have solved my ant problem. I just hide the traps where I need them, throw them out when the ants are gone, and then usually have to do it again every 6 weeks or so if ants start to reappear.

Ant traps, buy them at the grocery store or hardware. The ants are atracted and crawl in the little houses, no more ants. You might also spray around the foundation of the house.

The best thing I have found is ant terro. I find this at our local Wal-Mart or farm suppy store. It is in liquid form and you just put a little out on the pads that are included in the box. Read the label for the saftey of your cats!!! But this works best.

You can use lemon juice or lemon cleaner (pine sol) it works wonders.

C., I use an all natural product that I spray around the perimeter of my kitchen, the baseboards, etc that works pretty well and it is cheap. This company I shop with has all the products that you would use for your home for cleaning, laundry, bath and shower items, even make-up and skin care etc, etc, that is all natural and they are cheaper then what you get at the store. If you would be interested just let me know. I can be reached at ____@____.com

K.

they wont come near barqs rootbeer forsome reason , but other brands of rootbeer they swarm on.....idk why but found this out from having diff drinks in my room n ants harassing me. BARQ'S ROOT BEER ANTS WILL NOT EVEN COME NEAR LOL

hi, you could maybe switch to wet cat food , they could eat their meal before bed time and you wouldn't have dry food out overnight. I have the problem at times too.
Good luck.

I won't be too much help but I can tell you that we have those black ants. Supposedly they are sugar ants....if you pinch one, and they smell, they are sugar ants. Try and google how to rid ants....other than that, we do have a pest service but I will say that this last time they used a termite spray and it has worked so far. We have had them since 2002 and they really never leave. But,you can caulk up open areas, and not let them enter the way you have been seeing them enter. Supposedly a line of chalk or salt and they won't cross....Go to Home Depot or Lowes and see what they have on termite killers and try that. The service we use say that is the strongest thing they have out there.

good luck

Obviously removing food source is important, but once ants find food they lay down a chemical trail to lead them back to the source, this is why they follow such a close line on there march. After killing the current ones, take a little diluted bleach water or I have heard lemon juice works and clean the paths. Then after drying mop thouroghly. Lemon has sugar and bleach has lots of isssues. Then dont just use an ant spray, but one of the multi insect control sprays that last up to 9 months (handily states on outside of package) that you can find at an home improvement store. 1 treatment last a long time indoors, outdoors where it rains it wears off much faster (or if you mop to close to the edges). I have had the problem previously and this worked great for me. Of course keep swept well and find all the little crevices they come in from, I treat all they edges, window sills and door frames as well as the path the ants follow.

OK... not sure if this works but it is cheap and worth a try. Put a line of baking soda just outside of where they are coming into your house. I was told that for some reason, the ants won't cross the white powder.

I haven't had to try it yet thank goodness but I have read that they cannot digest corn starch. Try leaving that out for them.

My mom always mix's borax soap powder with sugar equal parts and puts it outside the sugar draws the aunts and the borax kills them...