Ants

[twinkie]

Oh my gosh!!  Is anyone having the worst summer for those tiny little black ants?  They are everywhere no matter what we do.  Is this drought related?  Heat related?  I know we get them every summer but this year seems extra bad.

[WDB123]

Lots of Ants here.

[ForestGal]

So far, knock on wood, I've only had a couple of them in my house.  I have had summers where the blasted things were almost uncontrollable, especially when I had a little dog who got wet food in addition to dry, and didn't always eat it all.  The little dog I have now scarfs her whole bowl of kibbles.  The very few I've found so far have been in the bathroom, so I think they were looking for water.  No food in there!   

[ForestGal]

Those really do work well.  I used them when I had serious ant issues, and in fact, still have a few, bought of course at Mtn Hardware.  I just couldn't leave them anywhere the dog could get to them, but don't have to worry much about dachshunds reaching up too high! 

[in my dreams]

I second the Terro ant baits. We always have a ton of ants--it doesn't help my daughter eats in her bed This year, I went to the hardware store in town as soon as they appeared, they recommended Terro, haven't had ants since. And yes, my little miscreant STILL eats in her bed.   

[twinkie]

Thank you all for your comments about the Terro ant baits.  We bought some this afternoon and have them placed in some strategic areas.  I hope like crazy this takes care of it.  Seriously bad this year.

[Tursiops]

Helpful Hint that works.
To keep ants out of pet food bowl, place that bowl in the middle of another bowl with water it. When ants try to get to the food bowl they drown. Make sure none of the food bowl edges touch the edge of water bowl or they will climb to it.

[twinkie]

Tursiops, I made DIY moat bowls and it works so well.

[YoMama]

Another method I have used these last 43 years is to find the ant trail (pheromone) trail going back outside . Spray the trail from the food source back and wipe out the ants in the ground. 3 times this year and they are gone completely ...... SO FAR

[AvocadoFlyer]

I use diatomaceous earth in addition to Terro ant bait.  The diatomadeous earth is spread where the ant freeways are, and the Terro is set up next to their ant holes.  It is working!

[lwt42]

Terro is basically Borax and Pancake Syrup.  I wouldn't want to eat it, but it's pretty safe around people and pets.

You can make your own, but the packaged product works quite well.

[Wrightwood]

Yikes.. where are they coming from?

[Wrightwood]

Liquid Ant Baits

While ants have been known to ruin a picnic or two, an ant infestation can cause major headaches for homeowners as well. Liquid ant baits work by attracting foraging ants with an enticingly sweet liquid. Upon ingesting, the workers ants leaves a pheromone trail back to the colony to lead more ants back to the food source they’ve discovered. The borax in the bait kills the ants slowly, giving other ants in the colony plenty of time to find and ingest the bait. With indoor and outdoor baits available, TERRO® liquid ant bait stations will help to eliminate the ants you see and the ants you don’t see.