Ick Ants

Use non toxic childproof sidewalk chalk and draw a line where the ants are coming in and they will not cross that line. My husband said he had that problem before and thats exactly what he did and it worked. I know it sounds dumb but just try it.

A friend of mine always used borax powder mixed with sugar. The borax is poisonous to ants, and they'll carry it back to their nest with the sugar. You just put it in a bowl up away from where your kids and pets can reach. It might take a couple tries, but it usually works.

Yesterday I noticed the problem in my house as well. I looked online and the advice said to put 1 tsp. of dishwashing liquid in 1 quart of water and spray in the troublesome areas (cracks in the walls), it worked! the ants died on the spot. Of course you have to immediately dispose of them. So far the troublesome areas in my house are free from ants.

We started the ant battle at our house in February and are now (finally) rid of them. A friend of mine is married to an exterminator and he gave the advice that finally did the trick. He said that the ants were probably living in our walls and would be in the walls that have plumbing. He said to buy Seven (available at Lowe's and Home Depot) in powder form. Then use a turkey baster (throw it away when your done) to squirt it into the appropriate walls of your house. We took the covers off plugs and worked around the holes where plumbing comes through the walls. In a few days, the ant population marching across my floors had dwindled and now I haven't seen a single one in about two months. We have three cats, two dogs, and a one-year old and they all came out of the ordeal alive. The ants didn't.

www.melaleuca.com Order solumel and dilute it into a spray and spray the entire outside edge of your house and inside where they are coming in and this works wonders! non toxic and all natural and smells good. I used this when we had an ant problem in Maryland!

If you can find where thay are coming in from there is this great stuff (the name escapes me) it is these granules that you can sprinkle outside or in you basement that the ants think are food and thay take them back to their home and it kills all the workers and the queen. You do have to be careful with it but it works great and it is so small I can't imagine a child trying to pick it up. I got it at either Home Depot or Lowes in the pest area. It is usally in a plastic bottle with a handle. Hope this helps, you should also surf the net for some natural remedies.

Hi S.!

I shop with a great on-line company. One of our recipies which they refer to as an ant preventative is 2oz of Melamagic with 8 oz of water and you just spray where the ant are. I love this company that I shop with. www.livegreeneasy2.com www.livegreeneasy.com

Hi S.,
We had this problem in a house we lived in. We bought this stuff at Lowe's. They are pellets in a green bag that you sprinkle in the yard around the house. A few days after sprinkling the stuff, there was a significant difference. In another home, we had to do the same thing, but we had to spray as well. We had terminex come out. If you do that, just be careful. The chemicals are safe, but they require a contract and will come out when you aren't home (they did this to me, and were coming out and charging me after my contract was up). You can also get the same chemical by going to your local exterminator. They sell pretty strong stuff in gallon containers. The stuff is safe after it is sprayed, but to be on the safe side, make sure the kids are away and the pets are outside when ou spray. Spray the perimiter outside about every 3 months, and inside once or twice a year.

Hi,

Try the bait traps from exterminators. I have seen them get rid out outdoor ants on decks and sidewalks. I know they are excellent inside as well. The ants actually take the bait back to the nest and that eventually rids your house of them. With this, you will not have to handle the chemical. Good luck!

I just read somewhere but havent tried it yet that if you take and put cornmeal where the ants are coming in. The ants take it back to the colony and ingests it and it kills them becuase they cant digest it. it takes a week but they will be gone. I havent tried it yet but its a friendly way to get rid of them without harming your kids or pets

I also have this problem. I do put all my food in ziplock bags like you, anything that will fit in the fridge goes in the fridge, ect. I spray my counters and door frames and window frames with raid them wipe it with a damp sponge and this seems to work great. I have two cats and two kids and I had no problem with it last year. The ant traps don't work at all for us so I don't bother anymore. I also spray under my kitchen sink because I THINK they have fairly easy access coming up around the pipes into the kitchen and that seemed to help also. Someone also said to put cornmeal down in corners of the counters because the ants will carry this back home and they are unable to digest it. I haven't tried it yet. My sister in law puts cyenne seasoning on the outsides and insides of her windows because they won't cross over that. She lives literally in the woods and she says it works great. Anyway hope something on here helps but this year I will spray with Raid and then wipe off with a sponge, it still leaves a residue but dosen't make us or our pets sick-it's part of our after dinner cleanup ritual!

It is not non toxic, but if you spray diazapan (spelling?) outside, around the foundation of your home, that whould end your problem. I used a powder that I sprinkled, but I'm affraid that would stay arround longer since you are afraid for the pets, I just watched mine for awhile.
C.

The ants are after the food, but they are also after the water - they were living in our bathroom wall because there was a source of water. You probably need to get an exterminator to find out where they are living and dust the colony. We have an exterminator who comes every other month and sprays outside the house and in the baement (I don't let him spray inside as I have three kids and a dog). Also, I had a big pile of mulch near my house - the exterminator told me to get rid of that and to move my wood pile as they were probably living in those two places. As for keeping them from coming in around the doors and woidows, pepper works as does cinnamon.

Don't know if you've already solved this problem, but saw your issue in the "spotlight" section. I've heard that peppermint oil works to keep them away. My neighbor used to have ants in her powder room and swore that the essential oil kept them at bay. Good luck!