We had a few days of heavy rain and they all decided that my place is awesome. I however, do not like my new guests. How do I kill them? I have the big sylvester stalone and the small Woddy Allen fire ants. I believe they are fire ants since Sylvester is not killing Woddy.
I have used every trick i know that wont harm my dog and nothing works. I have used the torro gel stuff and it worked when i had the sweet ants, but these don’t even touch it. I have the Grants ant stakes and have no idea if they work. I have had them placed all over for the last month. No luck with them from what i can see. I have used the bags of poison and the spray stuff outside, but I was told this didn’t work all that well because it rains too much.
I keep my counters and my floors clean. I have fogged the house, but that didn’t work either. I kill them in the yard and a week later this is a new mound. The worst thing is when I use the graduals I see the ants take them into the mound and they still live. It rains every other day at least. Every day for the last few weeks. But really hard in the last couple days.
Please I need your help. Are there any tricks to this? I’m about to lose my mind. My index finger is starting to hurt from doing the finger crush thing
[This message has been edited by Slater_334 (edited 07-25-2006).]
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11:10 PM
PFF
System Bot
lurker Member
Posts: 12351 From: salisbury nc usa Registered: Feb 2002
i hear if you mix baking soda with sugar, the little guys scarf it up and explode.
oddly enough, fire ants are easy to get rid of. it seems they are very sensitive about their mounds, maybe that's why they defend them so aggressively. soak the mound down thoroughly with a garden hose (or a collander in california). it wont kill all of them but i suspect it kills the eggs. the survivors move and build a new mound somewhere else in a couple of days. pursue them, and soak it down again. after 3 or four good deluges, they dont come back.
i hear if you mix baking soda with sugar, the little guys scarf it up and explode.
oddly enough, fire ants are easy to get rid of. it seems they are very sensitive about their mounds, maybe that's why they defend them so aggressively. soak the mound down thoroughly with a garden hose (or a collander in california). it wont kill all of them but i suspect it kills the eggs. the survivors move and build a new mound somewhere else in a couple of days. pursue them, and soak it down again. after 3 or four good deluges, they dont come back.
Hows about soaking them down with gasoline?
Anybody got a light?
[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 07-25-2006).]
Originally posted by tutnkmn: Hows about soaking them down with gasoline?
Anybody got a light?
haha, now that would be interesting. Im in the process of getting a job with the local Fire Department (waiting on background check). I wonder if that would prevent me from getting the job?
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11:46 PM
lurker Member
Posts: 12351 From: salisbury nc usa Registered: Feb 2002
Stage one: Ants tend to travel along chemical trails they make with their butts. (food, transport, etc)
Use some rubbing alchohol, or a swiffer, and swiff yer floors.
Ants won't cross oil. They won't cross Petrolium jelly or grease (I believe). After ya swiff,Get some vasoline, spread it across doorways and other places you have seen them. If you squish a few ants, they will find them, freak out, and maybe realize there is danger in that thar house...
Probably carry their dead back. Just like marines. Then, they will plot their revenge...but meanwhile, you will be setting stage Two:
See some ants? Drop a nice little chunk of meat or sugary thing near them. let them find it. then follow them back to their home.
Then, Once ya know which mound is theirs, Do the hose thing. let the hose work its magic for awhile... You'll see them coming out. they will start carrying eggs, pupae, and then , if you are lucky, the big momma comes out! The queen. Take her out, and the rest are history.
Hold her for ransom, and her children will do your bidding.
But beware!
They probably have different entrances...clever buggers. Ever watch Aliens? Same deal.
Nuke 'em from orbit..it's the only way to be certain...
Good luck!
[This message has been edited by FieroRumor (edited 07-25-2006).]
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11:51 PM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
Originally posted by Slater_334: haha, now that would be interesting. Im in the process of getting a job with the local Fire Department (waiting on background check). I wonder if that would prevent me from getting the job?
Just tell folks its a controlled burn, fire department practice and all that....
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11:51 PM
Jul 26th, 2006
lurker Member
Posts: 12351 From: salisbury nc usa Registered: Feb 2002
Tried cinnamon? Someone told me they wont cross it, not sure, but make a circle around a few, if nothing else you can squish them and have ants and cinnimon on toast
My Mom makes a solution of Dawn dish detergent and water, and sprays it around the foundation of the house with a spray bottle. I had all kinds of ants in my room this year, despite a half dozen ant traps. Once she did her annual treatment, ZERO ANTS.
It's worth a shot. At least the raw materials are cheap.
My Mom makes a solution of Dawn dish detergent and water, and sprays it around the foundation of the house with a spray bottle. I had all kinds of ants in my room this year, despite a half dozen ant traps. Once she did her annual treatment, ZERO ANTS.
It's worth a shot. At least the raw materials are cheap.
I usually just use a liquid spray where I see them grouped. Keeps them away at least a few years. I recently noticed a few sneaking in and trying to carrry off Britneys food. There big black ones. Ill be picking up some spray.
Fire ants are HARD to kill. My sister that lives just east of Dallas had them move into her electric box on the ground for her house. Always messing with her power lines. Shes had them for at least 10 years and they refuse to budge. Professional killers have been trying to get rid of them for years now.
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10:10 AM
ryan.hess Member
Posts: 20784 From: Orlando, FL Registered: Dec 2002
Suspend SC. Safe for pets once dry. Kills a large number of pests. Very effective. Lasts months. One bottle will last a couple years. I paid about $30 for a bottle.
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11:30 AM
FieroAngel Member
Posts: 2094 From: S. Charleston WV Registered: Apr 2004
OMg I'm right there with you on the ant problem only mine are 1 inch long black ants. They gross me out and I've done all the things you have outside and put the ant poisen houses everywhere inside but I have to be careful cause I have a 1year old running around. We have been watching them and they run behind the kitchen counter/cabnits so yesterday we pulled out the dishwasher and sprayed behind the cabnits. I have not seen one today but they usually come out at night. I think the nest might be in our basement so when we leave for vacation we are going to set off bug bombs in the whole house. If you find something to get rid of them let me know.
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11:35 AM
NEPTUNE Member
Posts: 10199 From: Ticlaw FL, and some other places. Registered: Aug 2001
Maybe bad poetry will get them to leave. It works with HUMAN guests!
Ants.
We dare not touch the sugar, And we must not touch the pie, We're afraid to eat the syrup, Can you guess the reason why? The bread must be inspected, And we overlook 'em then; It just seems we've got to eat 'em. Yes the ants are back again.
They are crawlin' in the cellar, Everywhere on ev'ry shelf; They are trackin' through the butter, Every feller fer herself, In the fruit upon the table, In the stuff down on the floor; Yes the busy ants are movin', Never saw the like before.
We have killed 'em by the thousands Yet a million more came on, Couldn't tell fer all our trouble That a single one was gone. Scalded, peppered, mashed and burned 'em, Yet they seem to have the call; And I guess we're bound to eat 'em, Bound to eat 'em after all.
[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 07-28-2006).]
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12:13 PM
Old Lar Member
Posts: 13797 From: Palm Bay, Florida Registered: Nov 1999
The fire ants usually build mounds and if you disturb the mound, they'll come pouring out and bite like he[[. They are quite small and reddish little buggers. They were all around my house this spring and early summer. I went through bags of Spectracide Fire ant killer on the mounds. It seemed that three days later, the mound would have moved five feet away. I've recently bought some "Amdro" ant killer and as quickly as the ants came, they haven't made any appearences recently.
I don't have any pets in the house, but the various chemicals have reduced my ant problem.
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01:54 PM
dsnover Member
Posts: 1668 From: Cherryville, PA USA Registered: Apr 2006
The 1 inch black ants are carpenter ants, and live in wood, preferably near some sort of moisture. I had them in the header beam in my garage, which was covered with aluminum flashing...thus ensuring that I wouldn't notice the damage. They don't actually _eat_ wood, but rather, build their nest deep inside. Carpenter ants typically have a main nest, and several satellite nests, which can be as much as 30 meters or more away from the main. Really tough to get rid of. If you have an older home, with a wood frame, get an exterminator. The sprays and powders and such that are available to consumers is almost a joke on the 'potency' scale. An exterminator will be able to get the good stuff and put it where it does the most good....in the walls. I've had some success with consumer grade sodium borate (commercially, Timbor). It's a white powder, Lowe's and HD carry it as Roach powder. Relatively safe for people (don't eat large quatities, though). Still best to call an exterminator. The guy that came to my house took the time to follow the worker ants to locate the nest(s). His version of sodium borate was much more potent than the stuff from Lowe's....
-Darryl
quote
Originally posted by FieroAngel:
OMg I'm right there with you on the ant problem only mine are 1 inch long black ants. They gross me out and I've done all the things you have outside and put the ant poisen houses everywhere inside but I have to be careful cause I have a 1year old running around. We have been watching them and they run behind the kitchen counter/cabnits so yesterday we pulled out the dishwasher and sprayed behind the cabnits. I have not seen one today but they usually come out at night. I think the nest might be in our basement so when we leave for vacation we are going to set off bug bombs in the whole house. If you find something to get rid of them let me know.
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02:27 PM
FieroAngel Member
Posts: 2094 From: S. Charleston WV Registered: Apr 2004
The 1 inch black ants are carpenter ants, and live in wood, preferably near some sort of moisture. I had them in the header beam in my garage, which was covered with aluminum flashing...thus ensuring that I wouldn't notice the damage. They don't actually _eat_ wood, but rather, build their nest deep inside. Carpenter ants typically have a main nest, and several satellite nests, which can be as much as 30 meters or more away from the main. Really tough to get rid of. If you have an older home, with a wood frame, get an exterminator. The sprays and powders and such that are available to consumers is almost a joke on the 'potency' scale. An exterminator will be able to get the good stuff and put it where it does the most good....in the walls. I've had some success with consumer grade sodium borate (commercially, Timbor). It's a white powder, Lowe's and HD carry it as Roach powder. Relatively safe for people (don't eat large quatities, though). Still best to call an exterminator. The guy that came to my house took the time to follow the worker ants to locate the nest(s). His version of sodium borate was much more potent than the stuff from Lowe's....
-Darryl
We just built and moved into our home this year (may 1st) but we have a forest behind our house so that might be where they are comming from. We live near the "bayer" crop science plant and they make pesticides and my FIL used to work there and so he had very strong stuff that he got from the plant. We put it all around the house but it didnt help
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03:59 PM
rogergarrison Member
Posts: 49601 From: A Western Caribbean Island/ Columbus, Ohio Registered: Apr 99
Originally posted by FieroAngel: We live near the "bayer" crop science plant and they make pesticides and my FIL used to work there and so he had very strong stuff that he got from the plant.
Just be glad you dont have a nest of 5 foot mutant ants back there, lol. OK, I watch a lot of sci fi monster movies..........
