Ants, Ants, Ants!

My brother told me that if I sprinkle an Aspartame base sugar in the area the ants are traveling, they will take it back to the nest to feed the colony. The way it supposedly works is that they will die from no nutrition. Aspartame is not absorbed, they starve. I will be trying it bc I have ants this year too!

I just read that white vinegar is effective to get rid of ants and it is safe for the kids. I didnt try it yet but I will because we have ants problems here also and I have 3 little kids.

I'm pretty good with non-toxic prevention--not so good with non-toxic removal. In ten years, I've had ants three Summers. In late Spring, I dilute Trader Joe's peppermint shampoo and pour it around the outer wall of my house. I pour chili powder along windows and doors near ants if I see them. (They don't like to cross chili powder.) You can really mess up a hill ouside if you see one near your house by pouring dry grits on it when rain is predicted -- the grits swell when wet. Once they are inside, I try to smash them and disrupt their trails with ammonia cleaners, peppermint shampoo, and chili powder. I think it works -- especially with a handy toddler dress up shoe for smashing, but it only works if you catch that trail really early.

A friend of mine said a professional exterminator told her to put a pile of gravel four inches wide along the outer walls of her house and that it helped her. Another friend said that she had to call poison control after her son put an ant trap in his mouth and that it turned out that the ant trap wasn't toxic.

I've read that aspartame works. This seems like the cheapest solution to try. Read here: http://www.execonn.com/poison.html
Also, I've had great success with Terro. It's hard to find, though. The only place I've found it is Lowe's.

We use Orkin and the products they use are safe around kids and pets and we've been very happy with their services. Also, a quick fix that our Orkin person told us is that Windex kills the ants. It won't stop new ones from coming in but will quickly get rid of the ones you have. Good luck!

P.,

I use Ortho home defense spray. I have 2 children and 2 cats and it does not harm them. It even smells nice so that the kids are not attracted to touching it. Like Rachel said however, anything you spray in your face would harm you the same if it was sprayed in your son's face. Just have your son in a different room when you spray so he does not get any ideas to going near it.
You can also use Cayenne pepper. It deters the ants. Kids will think it is spicy.

They might be harmful, but they're not easily accessible

Grants Kills Ants. We used them with tiny ones around, but keeping an eye to make sure they didn't get a hold of them. But nothing unsafe to breathe or anything like that.

There is a mixture of dishsoap, vinegar and water that we use that works well. Google it to find the right recipe. I think I found it on a dollar stretchers website.

Try sprinkling corn starch around the perimeter of your room. I've used this in the house as well as outside and it works great!! If you can, look to see how they are getting in your house. You may have a nest that needs to be cleaned out or they will continue to party in your home.
E. Moss
Local Childcare Coordinator,
Cultural Care Au Pair, Baltimore
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http://emoss.aupairnews.com

A trick that I was told for fleas was to place a flea collar into the vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum the area every day for a week. Something similar with sticky paper or such could be done for ants.
M.

Hi there,

I know this is late, I was saw this and thought I would share what I just read.
If you put small piles of cornmeal where the ants are, they will take it back to their home and die because they can't digest it. It may take a week or so, but it's not harmful to anyone, including pets! So if you have this issue again, it's worth a try!

Good luck!

Hey P.,
I'm with Natalie B--I don't know her but we always seem to give the same advice--Melaleuca products!!! She recommended Pre-Spot--which happens to be my favorite product for carpet stains not just laundry. That one kills spiders in my house too. Another Melaleuca product is their all-purpose cleaner, Tough & Tender. I've used that on ants and it works great. Their Tub & Tile works on wasps!!

And best of all--no harsh chemicals so that baby will be safe!!

You can see all of their cleaning products (that have all kinds of alternative uses) on their site: www.saferforyourhome.com.

Hope that helps!
M.
____@____.com

Hi, P. - This may sound strange, but Pre-Spot, by Melaleuca, kills ants. I use it every spring, when I tend to get ants around my dog's food bowl area. Good luck!

you can sprinkle cinnamon, fairly thickly, around where they're coming in and along the path, and it deters them. obviously, this is good b/c there's absolutely no toxicity concern for kids or pets.

in addition, you can make a mix of:
10.5 oz water
3 oz tabasco sauce
2.5 oz Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint soap
mix the ingredients together and then pour into a hand-pump spray bottle. spray where the ants are coming in. while you wouldn't want to ingest this, it doesn't have any toxicity concerns for you or your kid.

as an aside (of sorts), the woman who said that all of our concerns about toxicity (and anti-bacterial hand soap) are over-stated is sadly, and seriously, mistaken. there is ample scientific evidence to contradict her position. while her 7-year-old may ~seem~ "just fine," the reality is, the toxins that we use in our homes build up in our systems, and they can lead to long-term problems, including problems with endocrine glands which interferes with hormone communication throughout the body; kidney and liver damage; lung damage; paralysis; sterility; suppression of immune function; brain hemorrhages; decreased fertility and sexual function; heart problems; and the list doesn't stop there. again, there have been ample scientific studies, not just anecdotal evidence, to support this position, which directly contradicts her assertion that folks are worrying about nothing.

a 1987 study under the auspices of the National Cancer Institute found that children who lived in households where OUTDOOR pesticides were regularly used were six to nine times more likely to develop some forms of childhood leukemia; the figure increased four times when indoor pesticides were regularly used. and that's not even touching on the number of children (and pets) who are harmed our killed by accidentally ingesting pesticides; pesticides are the #2 cause of household poisonings in the US.

not only that, but when we use pesticides (and fertilizers) in our homes and gardens we don't just contaminate our own land, air and water, we contaminate that of the entire community.

Don't let other people's denial deter you from seeking safe solutions. there is absolutely no reason to use commercial, chemical pesticides when there are so many natural pest-control methods that have worked forever and are often even more effective b/c many pests are beginning to develop immunities to the chemicals (which doesn't happen w/ natural solutions b/c Mother Nature has a way of making things evolve together).

sorry to jump on my soap box, it's just that this stuff is dangerous and it bothers me when people are deliberately ignorant about what's going on.

best,
K.

We also spray our counters with a mixture of water and regular dish soap. It seems to obliterate their scent trail and prevent their fellows from following them across the counter.

We are totally in the same boat here. Go to the farm supply store or home depot and get Terro ant bait. You have to put it where your son won't get it. It initially attracts lots of ants (gross!) and you have to make sure to add more bait as they eat it, but it will slowly poison the entire colony. It is only borax and syrup, so no neurotoxic chemicals like the other stuff. Hope this helps!

When we moved into our house last summer it was overrun by ants. They were everywhere! I did some research and found a product called "Torro". What you do is put a little bit on a small piece of paper or cardboard, and put it near where you see the ants. They will eat it (and you will have to replenish it often at first) and take it back to the nest to feed to others. It took us only a month or so to get rid of the majority of them, and now only have to set this stuff out once in a while if one of the kids have spilled something and not cleaned it up right away. I have recommended this stuff to everyone that asks me and they all love it. And the best part is, I bought three bottles (and they are not big bottles) and I still have like half of one left. This stuff lasts forever and should take care of your problem at the source.

Good luck!

I've heard that if you can find where they are coming in, to wipe rubbing alcohol across the trail to erase the scent!

I've found Terro Ant Killer to be a good product. It is not a spray. They have several products, you can look to see what is best for your needs. I find these products in Lowes, Home Depot and sometimes Walmart.