Ant Killa!

By badbadivy

Y'all, I have a major ant problem. The hot and dry conditions in Tennessee have been hell on my plants, but good for ants, apparently. I put Amdro down to kill the fire ants, and I don't have a fire ant problem anymore, but I sure do have a regular ant problem.

The ants have taken over my entire property. I have ants in my car, ants in my house, there are even ants in my mailbox. I've tried all the natural ant-killing methods I know of, like Borax and boiling water, and putting tiny ant heads on stakes- all to no avail.

I think it's time for chemicals. My lawn and almost all of my plants are completely dead anyway. The only thing living in my yard other than trees is ants. And I need to get rid of the ants, for my sanity's sake.

So, what chemical methods have you used to get rid of major ant infestations? I've seriously never seen so many ants before. This is horrible.

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August 16, 2007

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ivnexcel

August 29, 2007

badbadivy,

There is a chemical called Boric Acid (wikipedia.com). This is the greatest chemical known to man as it kills ants, roaches, and most exoskeleton insects. Another great benefit is that it is super cheap (~$3). Go to your local hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.). It comes in a 50/50 mixture of Boric Acid and a sugar compound.

Boric Acid is also more safe than most insectisides. It is used in many mouth washes, toothpastes, antiseptic, preservatives, etc..

I'd be interested to know if the grit thing works.

Good luck.

badbadivy

August 16, 2007

Thanks for the links, Stephee! That terro liquid ant killer looks especially interesting. I just sprinkled some grits around my doorways, so hopefully that'll help. Many, many thanks!

stephee

August 16, 2007

According to a couple of discussions I just read (see links below), if you leave out grits or cream of wheat - dried, of course - they will take them to their queen, and she will eat them, and die (due to expansion of the grains). Then the ant colony would be forced to disband. Sounds reasonable. No idea how long that would take, though. (There are some other ideas in these discussions you might also want to consider.)

http://tinyurl.com/2pg6w5
http://tinyurl.com/2phj3k

badbadivy

August 16, 2007

I have seriously considered calling a pro, but I think most of those places require a contract for a year, and I don't think I can financially commit to that.

If my DIY chemical efforts don't get rid of it, I'll have to call a pro. But hopefully it won't come to that.

stephee

August 16, 2007

You know, if it's that bad, it may be time to call a professional. I don't like chemicals either, for many reasons, but I also couldn't live in a house infested with bugs, so what can you do?

And yes, this hot & dry business is getting old - I'm in Birmingham, and my yard and garden are dead, too, and now, the roaches and silverfish are coming inside. Great. They are likely looking for water, and I can't blame them. It's another 3-digit day here.

I will likely be using roach baits (Combat disks) for my problem - they have worked very well in the past. I would recommend the similar ant baits for you, but I have not tried those.

Still, if it's as bad as you say, call a pro.

Good luck!