boric acid works well also, it's odorless. It takes awhile for you to see results-several weeks because it has to be dilute enough for the worker ants to take back to the hive for the queen.
Keep all foods sealed up tight, wash the area they are hanging out with hot soapy bleach water and definately get the trail back to the nest-you can find it by following the ants, it's all very national geographic to watch the ants take food back to the nest. Once they realize there is no more food, they'll eventually go somewhere else.
Can you tell that I know my ants? We have a cat and they go to the food and water bowls every spring. We do the moat thing, putting the food in a small bowl, floating in a larger bowl of water. The ants don't swim well and drown getting to the food.
Maybe on Friday afternoon right before everyone goes home, someone could spray the area and hopefully the smell would be gone by the time everyone came back in on Monday...or maybe one of the long weekends coming up?
Good luck doing battle with the ants.
Sarah