kyms
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posted on June 15, 2001 05:27:40 AM new
Morning All- I woke this morning to find my home crawling with flying ants...Does anyone have any ideas how to get rid of them? Last year they just went away, I can't stand to wait them out, but I have cats and dogs and I cannot just spray poison everywhere...Please help me.
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toollady
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posted on June 15, 2001 05:35:54 AM new
I don't know where you live, but generally, this is the time of year that termites swarm.
Are you sure they're not termites? You may want to have an exterminator come in and take a look.
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gravid
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posted on June 15, 2001 05:37:20 AM new
Usually this is a seasonal emmission from a hive like bees swarming and if you don't find the colony it does no good to kill the ones you see. My mother in law had a huge colony up inside her walls. Time to get a real exterminator who knows the different species and what to do - not just some chemical spraying hack.
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VeryModern
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posted on June 15, 2001 05:47:56 AM new
There is some powder stuff in a large canister called "Green Light" that kills ants. It is common, you can probably even get it at the grocery store, otherwise the hardware. I would stay away from "Raid" that stuff is made to make you keep needing more.
VeryModern Space Junk
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kyms
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posted on June 15, 2001 05:48:14 AM new
That's about what I thought...Thanks, looks like a wonderful weekend. This is not how I planned on spending my day. Oh Boy!
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zilvy
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posted on June 15, 2001 07:58:16 AM new
I live in New England, we were told that when we see black winged ants...that is the time that they are mating....we had them emerge outside from under our front door.
Fortunatly we were able to spray and kill thousands of them. They were carpenter ants. We eventually had to replace the sill in that area of the house..the builder had never put a barrier between the steps and the foundation.
\
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uaru
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posted on June 15, 2001 09:05:33 AM new
I had an ant problem a few weeks ago, and with a 5 month old baby spraying wasn't an option I considered. You can purchase ant poison that the ants will carry back to the colony, very effective. As long as you place the poison where your pets can't get to it you'll be fine.
I got a great deal of satisfaction watching a line of ants marching back and forth to the poison. Two days after their parade my ant problem was gone. Nice to know I can win a battle now and then.
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Borillar
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posted on June 15, 2001 09:35:18 AM new
Here is the non-toxic solution:
Under every outdoor light, place a large washtub of water or other wide container of water. The little darlings are very much attracted to the light and buzz around it until their wings fall away. Then, they land in the water and drown.
I used to live where this was a semi-annual event.
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kept2much-07
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posted on June 15, 2001 09:00:54 PM new
Do you know anyone with a water vacuum? You can wave the hose around and catch as many as possible. We had an old country house that had a miller problem one time and I used to suck them up with my vacuum. They would go into the water and drown. Also works great with fleas or ants that are on your floor, all you have to do is vacuum with the power head or floor attachment. I bought my water vacuum at an auction with all of the toys for $35.00(lasted me 15 years) and when the motor burned up in that one I bought another one for $40.00, also at an auction. It sure is a lot better than sprays or poisons especially with kids and/or pets.
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immykidsmom
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posted on June 15, 2001 11:43:00 PM new
I used to have rentals....... I had huge success with "Roach Pruff". It is a powder in a big can about 12 oz cost $8.00. Non-toxic to humans & pets, it can be irritating to breathe or have in yer eyes (or so they warn on label), but I never had a prob with it. It's active ingredient is boric acid. Plain ol' boric acid. It was commonly used in a dilute liquid solution as an eye-wash...... that is - up until about the mid-sixties when 'they' discovered it a bit irritating to eyes. It has a microscopic crystaline structure that gets in the body scales of crawling insects and irritates them to death (they dehydrate).
"die you stinkin' bug!"
Super for cockroaches, silverfish, earwigs (pincher bugs), sow bugs (pill bugs), and I have had minor miracles with ants. One rental I bought was over-run with roaches...... sprinkled that stuff everywhere, then with a broom worked it into the teensy cracks where linolieum meets the wall (yessssssssssss, I know it ain't lino anymore, it's all vinyl). Take out each bottom drawer in kit & bath, THROW A COUPLE TBSP back there and return drawer. Get some under -WAY UNDER- the stove, dishwasher, washing machine. Leave it, don't vacuum it up. You gotta give it 3-4 weeks to work.
I have heard very similar stories of sucess with diotomatious earth (spelling?) available at pool suply stores. It is a natural non-toxic product that irritates 'em to death, ahhhhhhhhhhhh the satisfaction!
Mom, bloodthirsty, you bet!
wait a minute, do bugs have blood?
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bunnicula
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posted on June 16, 2001 12:16:23 AM new
I wonder if it works on beetles. All of a sudden I have these teeny tiny flying beetles in my house. They are about 1/16 of an inch long & attracted to lights. There are *hundreds* of these things! I'd planned to buy a bug bomb for the house tomorrow (which means getting my dogs & lizards *out* of the house), but maybe this stuff would do the trick? Where do you buy it?
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Borillar
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posted on June 16, 2001 10:13:07 AM new
If you are going to go the bug-iritant route, Boric Acid works really well. Boric Acid is an eye-wash and you powder everywhere the little SOBs travel. They tend to pick it up and take it back to the nest where it destroys eggs.
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pyth00n
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posted on June 16, 2001 01:52:15 PM new
Btw, if you're wondering how to tell ants from termites.... ants have a sort of narrowly-pinched "waist" between their thorax ("chest" and abdominal (third and last) body segments. Termites have a distinctive uniform cylinder shape all the way down their body. You may have to pick one up and turn it over since they have wings on top that make it harder to see the shape.
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immykidsmom
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posted on June 16, 2001 11:50:06 PM new
bunni...... I am in a different state now than when I had need of 'Roach Pruff', and YES it IS boric acid.
I just get on the phone and start callin'. I found it at several larger chain GROCERY stores! and a few hardware stores. Couldn't get it at our home centers, but who knows where you are, right?
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