Ants!!!

My mother-in-law told me cornmeal would assist in killing ants. Ants cannot digest cornmeal. It is a slow process though; taking approx. 2-3 weeks. Works great in bathrooms, kitchens - anyplace where an insecticide is less than desirable. We placed tablespoons around the sinks and where it seemed the ants congregated. It's been about two weeks and I'm just now starting to see them die. I'm tired of the ants this year too!!

I know this sounds rediculous but sweet and low!! YOu can put this in the corners where u think they are more likely to be. The reason i have found this works because it has aspertane in it and it shuts down the nervous system in the ants and then they die>>>I dont know if you know this but all of our diet drinks, chew gum, and several other things have this in it!!Kinda creapy..but its cheap, pet safe, and works!!

Ants are repelled by mint. If you can grow mint around your home, the ants will no longer be a problem. I like this method because it is natural and smells nice too. You can also use the mint leaves to steep in tea, among other cooking tips with mint. Mint is also a great cure for nausea. I drank mint tea during my pregnancies. But back to the ants. I suppose something with mint extract will work. I'm not really sure, I've not tried it. Good luck.

A friend of mine said to use baby powder. I tried it where the ants were coming in to my house and they were gone that same day! I just sprinkled a line across the window frame and my front doorway. I did it inside and out. For the window, I sprinkled it in between the screen and the window. The ones that I did see, I sprayed them with Fantastic cleaning spray and wiped them gone.

Hi L.,

We had ants that were coming in our kitchen through an outlet. I took the cover off and sprinkled Seven dust in there and haven't seen an ant since. That was back in 1996.

You might try Seven dust by sprinkling it in the crack or corner where they are getting through. Also, if you track down where they are coming in outside, try putting some there as well.

Hope you find a solution soon!

M. :)
www.mystuffapet.com

I have the same problem- 2 kids, a dog and aunts.
Planting herbs such as lavender, peppermint and tensy outside near entry ways will help deture them from entring your home.
Also, aunts dislike peppermint, spearmint and citronella oil. Put a few drops on a cotton ball and place them in areas you've seen aunts. You can purchase these oils at most health food stores and of course on good ol' Ebay.
Lastly you can make a mixture of equal parts of dried and crumbled peppermint leaves, powdered cayenne and borax and sprinkle mixture where aunts are entering your home.
Good luck to you. Hope this helps.

Hello ladies I think we have found something we all agree on the Ants have took over our lives . We had several people at my husbands work that swear by this stuff called combat ant killing gel you can get it at home depot it comes in a large tube it looks like a syringe and you try to locate where they are coming in at you then put adime size drop either inside or out we did both in 3-5 minutes after you put it down go back and look at it this clear gel will be civered with a ton of ants they will stay there untill they have ate it all then they take it back to the queen ant and other baby ants and it kills them off . we had this problem about the mid part of april and have not seen any since this stuff is about 5.00 I bought two tubes and still have atube 1/2 left and we had them really really bad in kitchen ,laundry room ,& bathrooms where ever there is food and water . I have heard a lot of great ideas on here good luck to you all .M.

I had major problems with ants last year. I tried all of the home remedies that people told me and none of them worked. I finally found something that got rid of them. It is raid ant stakes you put them all around your house just do not let your kids play with them. Within a couple of days my ant problem was gone.

Ants don't like cinnamon. We put cinnamon around windows and dorrs and anywhere you see a lot of them. Ours were gone in less than 2 weeks.

If you can look around outside and see where their trails or ant hills are, pour a mixture of dawn dishwashing detergent and water on them. A couple of good squirts in a gallon jug filled with water. I have had to use this when I had ants making a trail from an indoor tree to my kitchen and they were gone the next day. I assume it would work outside, too. You may have to do it more than once if you water them and then it rains.

Wipe down their trails with citrus essence. I use the Lemon scented clorox wipes, and lemon pledge. They don't like the smell.

My aunt has the same trouble. Here's what I wrote her:
"DIY says you can spread coffee grounds around the base of your house, or plant peppermint. Placing a string soaked in Citrus Oil, Lemon juice, Chyenne Pepper or Cinnamon will also create a barrier they won't cross."

The added benefit, you home smells nice.

Get a box of Cream of Wheat (hot cereal) and sprinkle it around the outside of your house...anywhere you think ants would be. The ants eat the cream of wheat and it expands in their stomach...leaving them "no longer with us". You can also put it inside around the places you think they may be coming in. It's great because it is safe around children & animals.

Anyway...try it...it's cheap and is unharmful!

These are great answers! I've been struggling with the same issue. Thanks, ladies.

L.:

I can't stand those pesky Ants! We have tried those little black traps (I can't remember the name, you get them at Home Depot), and they work pretty well. There is nothing to spray, or spread around, so no toxins (just hide them from little ones). I have also tried peppermint oil....works fair. We only get them when it is really hot outside. I will be interested in other responses.
A. L

We definitely have issues with ants. 1) During this time of year I have to be extremely vigilent with the cleaning in the kitchen. It's extremely important to wash and dry the counters, the sinks, don't leave any dirty dishes out at all, don't leave cat food or dog food in bowls, don't let splashes or spills be left on cabinets etc. It's amazing how small a spill can be and it's easy to miss and yet it becomes food for the ants. Keep a vacuum cleaner handy so that if you see a trail of ants coming into the house you can vacuum them up. They'll die while going into the vacuum. Do extra sweeping and mopping to keep any possibility of food for them to a minimum. Also change the trash a LOT.

They will get places you wouldn't even think of like on your desk where there doesn't seem to be any food. But it doesn't take much, even a crum from some chips you had some time ago. So if you see ants in any part of your house take the area apart and clean it. They won't stay in a place they can't find food or water. When it's this wet they are often coming in to get out of the rain. If it's really dry they are coming in looking for water. So what you do may depend on why they are coming in.

This really is nothing here in the midwest. In Southern California fighting the ants becomes a 15 hour per week job for 7 or 8 months of the year.

Suzi

TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!! The wont leave.

Ok, so i cant remember where i read this and im not sure if it works, but they said to leave the skin of cucumber by there entrances and for some reason they hate it.
Let me know if it works

Hi L.,

I've had the same problem. I have had them coming through the outlets, windows & they are even eating through the cocking around the tiles in my bathroom. I've tried EVERYTHING and have had an exterminator out twice this year. I asked the guy that sprayed my house & he says that the ants are pretty much getting amunned to everything which is making it harder to get rid of them. THEY can't even do the job without having to come out 2-3 times in a month or two. He seemed kinda clueless on what to tell me. After the 3rd time of having them out, they aren't as bad but I do still have them. My sister had told me to use straight pine sol but that hasn't worked yet either. I know this doesn't help but just wanted to let you know your obviously not alone in the ant fight.

I feel your pain. We have had a horrible time with ants this year. They've even invaded our pantry area. Our exterminator had already been out and they couldn't get back out for another week. They told us about the Terro products. And to wipe everything down with vinegar water. Something about the smell of vinegar the ants do not like. I cleaned my entire pantry in vinegar water. We also set traps outside. I would look around your house and see if you can see a path of ants climbing up into the woodwork. We were able to find a path and set a trap there and so far, the past 2 days, we haven't had any coming in.

i tried everything, too, we even had winged ants flying around every light inside the house at night it was horrible. i finally broke down and called an exterminator and one treatment from them and they are gone. here's the guy we used. Moxie Pest Control. ###-###-#### or ###-###-####.

try sprinkling pepper it most generallly works.

I've had the same problem! The cornmeal idea works,try it!

Tried and true solution. Use a small amount of regular Dawn dishwashing soap and water in a spray bottle. Spray on the area where the ants are found.

I hear ya on the ant situation! They are making me insane!! I also tried the Terro to no avail. My MIL said to sprinkle cornmeal because they can't digest it so it kills them. I actaully haven't had any for the past 2 days, so maybe it works, but it does seem to take some time.

There were alot of responses and I didn't read them all so not sure if someone already said this, but try this. Wash your base boards and window sills down with a little vinigar. Also they hate mint, if you plant it near where they are coming in it does wonders.

we can't figure out where our ants are coming from, but sprinkling cinnamon has taken care of the majority of them, now we only ahve a few straglers here and there

Cucumber skin works!!! If you put it where they go they will stop going there. However, it only helps control ants. It doesn't make them leave your house.

The only thing that has worked for us, and we use it every year, is the Ortho HOme Defense. You spray it around the outside and the inside of your house and it really does work. We have kids and dogs and cats too and just waited until we were going to bed to spray it, that way when the kids got up it was dry. I hope this helps.
H.

There is a company that I work with that has some spray that is totally safe around kids and pets - in fact, if my kids drank the entire bottle, they'd be just fine. We had ants 1 day this spring - then sprayed this stuff and haven't seen a single one since. Visit my website, fill out the GET MORE INFO form and I'll contact you. (there is a business attached, but I know you said you work from home - so you don't have to worry about that - you can still get the spray without doing the business.) Looking forward to helping you get rid of those pesky buggers! www.healthyhome4family.com

We are invaded every spring by ants and my husband sprays around the outside of the house. I don't know what he uses buy it works. I very rarely spray inside. But when I do I drown them in bug spray!

On the bright side, better ants than roaches.

Hi L.,

We have the same problem we had gotten rid of them and now they are back :( We use the terro also and also use this spray for the yard it is good for all types of bugs but you have to leave kids and animals off of it for like 48 hours, It's in a green jug and you get it at home depot.

We noticed they are coming in between the tiles in are kitchen where there is grout missing. Anyway I will be looking at the other responses also. W.