Ants

Mrs Silver Fox 60 said:

We have a terrible ant issue...they are in the yard, they are in the house...help!!!

I've been looking for a pet friendly solution. Something the ants can take home to feed the youngins and kill them but not my dogs and cat.

I've used baking soda in the yard when I discover a new ant hill. That's great until they relocate to a new location. We keep the poop cleaned up so as not to attrack new colonies.

We discovered cinnamon works to a certain degree in keeping them out but the wind blows that away.

We also have used Beni Bio for bad infestations. I use chloro on the countertops, a little in the floor wash water.

I'm loosing the battle so any suggestions that anyone has would be appreciated.

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Try regular Listerine mouth wash...it works on mosquitos too...good luck....if not at least they will have fresh breathe...lol...all kidding aside it should work...make sure its the gold one thought not mint flavored...

Boric Acid too....

Mrs Silver Fox 60....try this too:

It's just a mixture of boric acid and sugar water. The sugar in the mixture attracts the ants; the boric acid slowly poisons them after they eat it. Boric acid is usually available at your local drug store.

There are several secrets to success for using this potion:

a.Ratio ? The proportion of boric acid to sugar water is important. If you make the mixture too weak, it won't kill anything; if you make it too strong, it will kill the foragers before they can get back to the queen and deliver the poisoned food to her. We've found the following mixture to be about right: 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons boric acid. You can make a smaller amount?you won't need much?just keep the proportions the same.
b.Placement ? Put little drops or dribbled lines of the mixture on the counter or floor..outside too?wherever you've seen the ants. You need to make sure they'll find it. IMPORTANT: While boric acid is far less toxic than most commercial chemical pesticides, you still do not want kids or pets ingesting this sugary but tainted mixture. Take precautions so that this does not happen.
c.Courage ? You MUST resist the temptation to wipe up the masses of little ants when they are feeding on the sugar-boric acid mixture. Remember, you're using the foragers as a payload delivery system to get your weapon to the source of the problem, the queen. Letting the foragers get their fill means you will have to endure something of a horror show?teeming masses of black ants on your counter, table, or floor. Yeech! It will take 24-48 hours for the freak show to run its course, so just be patient. By the end of 3 days, your problem with the little ants should be all cleared up....

Tiza china

Tiza China - Try this chalk that is available in most hardware stores. its harmless to pets and people. What it does it cut the insects to shreds in a microscopic way.. Note - only works on a dry surface.

matahormigas. can buy them in supermarkets: little black (usually) plastic boxes. buy them and place all over the house, in the kitchen on the counter, under the sink, next to kitteh's food bowls, wherever you want. they work slowly but surely. you will notice less and less ants and then, eventually, they will be gone.
downside it that matahormigas only work for a short time, maybe few weeks. then you have to buy new package (about 100 pesos for package of two). pet safe. does not work outside.

The ants nest outside the house often at the base of or in trees. You must find the nests first then use poison of your choice directly on the nest. They migrate to the house and back outside so you need to be a detective. I remember a professional pest control in Florida using a powdered arsenic on the nests. BTW, did you ever have any luck in finding the burglars or recovering your lost property?

I've used a bottle of spiritus with great effect.

1. Identify one of the main entrances to the nest, open it up with a shovel till you reach the deeper layers,
2. Quickly and steadily pour 5/6 of the contents of the bottle down it, use a funnel if you have one,
3. Use the last 1/6 to wet the entrance,
4. Ignite and watch the ants burn and stream out of the nest.

If you're lucky the ants will move after one treatment; if not they will surely move after the 2nd bottle.

If you have red ants you must move quickly, with black ants you can go a little slow so they congregate around the open entrance to close it again.

WE spray Bygone(sp?) around the outside of the house..... worked for us.

Inside the house we had followed the advice of Dr Bob, cleaning the floors and other surfaces always with water added a bit of trementina. Has worked perfectly, is cheap, smells fresh and not toxid with dogs. Trementina we use is made in Jarabacoa by Ylinen, but I suppose the others works as well.

Mrs Silver Fox 60 said:

We have a terrible ant issue...they are in the yard, they are in the house...help!!!

I've been looking for a pet friendly solution. Something the ants can take home to feed the youngins and kill them but not my dogs and cat.

I've used baking soda in the yard when I discover a new ant hill. That's great until they relocate to a new location. We keep the poop cleaned up so as not to attrack new colonies.

We discovered cinnamon works to a certain degree in keeping them out but the wind blows that away.

We also have used Beni Bio for bad infestations. I use chloro on the countertops, a little in the floor wash water.

I'm loosing the battle so any suggestions that anyone has would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

diatomaceous earth and or Boric acid, very long term and safe. It won't work quickly (10-14 days) but will remaqin (as long a kept dry) and kill about anything that crawls or walks on 6 or 8 feet

zoomzx11 said:

The ants nest outside the house often at the base of or in trees. You must find the nests first then use poison of your choice directly on the nest. They migrate to the house and back outside so you need to be a detective. I remember a professional pest control in Florida using a powdered arsenic on the nests. BTW, did you ever have any luck in finding the burglars or recovering your lost property?

Click to expand...

A good Dominican gardener in combination with a good cleaning lady works miracles in keeping the little buggers out plus a bit of self control on your part yourself as in not leaving dirty dishes in the sink or pieces of bread on the table helps allot. That's speaking in general so don't take it personal.

Another trick I learned from a cleaning lady is if you have a strain of ants in the house, just lay a cloth soaked in Misoline or sprayed full with Baygon on where they enter f.e. a window...never seen them come back that way.