This summer has been record high heat for us and along with it had been record amount of ants. I've tried everything short of fogging the house (I have a bird and I'd have to leave him somewhere for days so I'm trying to avoid it)... sticky traps, baking soda laced sugar, ant hotels, killing on sight, vacuuming up huge numbers, leaving not food out or water, putting stuff in air tight containers. They are just going nuts and after anything they can find !!! A piece of my birds seed. My dogs food. Even when we keep this stuff up, they amass in the locations it was (even after thoroughly cleaning the area). they swarm the bathroom looking for water I believe. They amass in our clothes baskets, even get in our bed (change the sheets nightly ! I don't get it!!), they are just everywhere. I've tried lines of pepper, bleaching where they've been, vinegar, 7 dust outside. I seem to have sugar ants as well as HUGR black fire ants. I kill one and they amass around the body and carry it away. We are getting bit all the time. Is fogging my only option at this point ? I'm at my wits end.
I've always used Grant's Ant Traps. they have worked for me, especially if you can find where they are getting in. Walk around the house, outside and see if you can see where they are coming in.
We've had good luck with crumbled dried bay leaves around the outside perimeter. Diatomaceous earth will help slow them down, but only if it's kept dry. Once it rains ... poof. And good old boric acid on the nests.
I have had a terrible time with ants in my bathroom this summer also. My breaking point was two weeks ago when after getting out of the shower, drying off, them wrapping my hair up in the same towel I realized there were ants in my towel. I had at least a hundred ants all over my body and in my hair. After panicking, and standing under the running shower for half an hour to make sure they were off me, I bleached the entire bath room, then bought Raid ant spray and traps. I sprayed any seam in the bathroom including inside the tub, the baseboards, etc. I sprayed the baseboards around the outside walls, both inside and outside. The spray says it's supposed to last for 4 weeks but inside the tub, I resprayed everyday because I was afraid the shower would wash it off. I have ant traps everywhere also. It's been 2 weeks and so far, so good. I live in an apartment so if I see even one more ant, the apartment management will have to exterminate.
I went to google and found a ton of suggestions. I haven't tried any of them, but I found similar ones on multiple sites. Look them over and see if any of these appeal to you:
Chalk
Keep ants at bay by drawing a line around home entry points. The ants will be repelled by the calcium carbonate in the chalk, which is actually made up of ground-up and compressed shells of marine animals. Scatter powdered chalk around garden plants to repel ants and slugs.
Flour
Sprinkle a line of flour along the backs of pantry shelves and wherever you see ants entering the house. Repelled by the flour, ants won’t cross over the line.
Lemons
First squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any holes or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outdoor entrance. The ants will get the message that they aren’t welcome. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas: Simply mix the juice of 4 lemons (along with the rinds) with 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water and wash your floors with it; then watch the fleas and roaches flee. They hate the smell.
Oranges
Get rid of the ants in your garden, on your patio, and along the foundation of your home. In a blender, make a smooth puree of a few orange peels in 1 cup warm water. Slowly pour the solution over and into anthills to send the little pests packing.
Salt
If ants are beating a path to your home, intercept them by sprinkling salt across the door frame or directly on their paths. Ants will be discouraged from crossing this barrier.
Spices
Flour, sugar, and paprika can all fall prey to ants. Keep these cooking essentials safe by slipping a bay leaf inside your storage containers. If you’re concerned about the flour or sugar picking up a bay leaf flavor, tape the leaf to the inside of the canister lid. This trick works inside cabinets, too, where sachets of sage, bay, stick cinnamon, or whole cloves will smell pleasant while discouraging ants.
Talcum Powder
For an effective organic ant repellent, scatter talcum powder liberally around house foundations and known points of entry, such as doors and windows.
Vinegar
Serve the ants on your premises with an eviction notice. Pour equal parts water and white vinegar into a spray bottle. Then spray it on anthills and around areas where you see the insects. Ants hate the smell of vinegar. It won’t take long for them to move on to better-smelling quarters. Also keep the spray bottle handy for outdoor trips or to keep ants away from picnic or children’s play areas. If you have lots of anthills around your property, try pouring full-strength vinegar over them to hasten the bugs’ departure.
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Coffee Grounds
Sprinkle your used coffee grounds in the garden and around the outside of your house.
Why This Works: Ants are repelled by the scent given off by the grounds; and incidentally, so are cats.
I had a serious problem with the little sugar ants earlier this summer. In addition to making sure all food residue (and pet food) is cleaned up I had good luck with Terro ant killer with borax. It comes as a liquid that you place in small puddles on a small piece of cardboard in the areas that the ants travel. The ants eat this, take it back to wherever they live, feed the others, and then eventually die. It takes a couple days. You have to allow the ants to feed and go back to their source, which was really gross, but it worked. I also placed ant trap stakes around the outside of my house. I don't know if they helped as I never saw ant ant go near them. I did this a couple months ago and have not had a problem since then. Found this product at home depot - it was about $5 and I still have the majority of it left for next year.
We had ants earlier this summer too. We cleaned (I mean REALLY cleaned) the afflicted rooms (ie move furniture, clean out cabinets) and wiped every surface we could find with vinegar in a spray bottle. I read somewhere that thoroughly cleaning the room should always be the first step in dealing with ants and that they really don't like vinegar. I figured our downstairs could use a thorough cleaning anyway. They were gone in 24 hours.
A co-worker of mine swore by the Ortho spary too, but the cleaning worked so we never got that far.
Ants !!!!!!
