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  1. #1
    DrSally's Avatar
    DrSally is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Default Ants are driving me crazy! (Update in last post)

    Why won't these ants take the bait?! Last year when we had them, I put out both raid traps (took them up during the daytime) so DD couldn't get them and Terro when we were away for a weekend. They were all over those traps. This year, I put some Raid traps behind their toybox along the baseboard. The ants are not going in there. They are moving from the carpet tack to the other part of the kitchen and it is really stressing me out. I am so disgusted. I clean the floor after every morsel of food b/c if I don't, the ants are on it fast. It's stressing me out, and I'd just like them to be gone!! I've been asking DH to put some stuff outside around the perimeter of the house for a month (and he hasn't). Tonight I put some terro out on some cardboard, but I'll have to take that up during the day so DD doesn't get into it. I just have to vent b/c They gross me out so much and it's stressing me out. DH ate some maple honey potato chips in his office the other day and it freaked me out that they would invade other parts of the house. The kids are basically not allowed to walk around with snacks anymore (they used to be able to sit at their own little table with a cup of dry cereal). I guess I should put this in the BP. Feel free to move, mods.
    Last edited by DrSally; 05-02-2010 at 09:36 PM.
    Sally

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  2. #2
    dcmom2b3's Avatar
    dcmom2b3 is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Default

    Sally, are you using Terro bait traps? Or another Terro formulation? I used the Terro traps when DD was small, just tucked them in a secluded area that she wasn't likely/able to get to. Even if it wasn't directly in the trail, it helped a heck of a lot.
    M-H

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  3. #3
    DrSally's Avatar
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    I've been using the Raid self contained traps up until now. Tonight I put out some Terro on several pieces of cardboard, but will have to take them up tomorrow morming. Last time, the ants were swarming the Raid bait traps, so I don't understand why they're not going for it this time. Maybe I can find somewhere to hide the terro. I have to find a good place b/c if DD sees it, she'll definitely get into it.
    Sally

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  4. #4
    gatorsmom is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Sally, how big are the ants? Are they the small sugar ants or the bigger black ones you see more frequently outside?

    The reason i ask is that for the past 3 years I've found anthills in our backyard in the grass. I did a little research and found that they are field ants. They can travel pretty far. Every year when I see the ant hill being built up, I start to notice them coming in our sunroom. If I don't stop them, from there they get into the kitchen. I agree, it's gross.

    What I have found to work is locating the ant hill out in the yard and staking one of these: http://www.terro.com/products.php?pr...tdoor_ant_bait right in the middle of the hill. They are gone from my backyard and my house within a week.

    I also use these inside the house: http://www.terro.com/products.php?pr...iquid_ant_bait . I can't put them right in the ants' path, but I put them up on top of door frames and high window frames and they seem to help.

    If you can't find the ant hill in your yard (it will most likely be right in the grass), then maybe ask your neighbors if they are having problems and have seen some anthills with large black ants coming out.

    GL!
    " I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi

    "This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems." Martin Luther King, Jr.

  5. #5
    DrSally's Avatar
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    No, pretty sure they're just sugar ants. I'm frustrated that they're not taking the bait. I did put some of those indoor terro baits you listed in the laundry/mudroom (which is attached to the garage) when they first started. That took care of them in the laundry room, but now they're in the living room. I could close the door to the laundry so DD couldn't get into the bait traps, but can't do that in the living room. So, you put them *on top* of the door frame? do the ants get all the way up there?

    I'm definitely getting some outdoor stuff this weekend. I see terro had dust that you can put around your perimiter as well. I thought about asking my neighbors, but I'm embarrassed that I may be the only one with this gross problem.

    OK, I just watched the Terro video, and it says to put those outdoor ant baits AND the perimeter powder down. It said the ant bait may draw the ants from inside, outside. I am definitely getting some of those. The seem to be coming from the outside wall where the deck is. Lisa, where did you get the outdoor ant baits? Can I find them at Target, or do I have to go to Home Depot?
    Last edited by DrSally; 04-28-2010 at 12:02 AM.
    Sally

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  6. #6
    gatorsmom is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrSally View Post
    So, you put them *on top* of the door frame? do the ants get all the way up there?
    You know, I had a few traps left in the box and I thought I'd just try to use them up. So, I placed them up high. When I checked them, they weren't filled with ants, but a few did make it up there. However, mine were definitely field ants and they were crawling on the WALLS! so disgusting...

    I'd still check with your neighbors. I really think sometimes these bug issues are cyclical and can change with the years and seasons. Or, if you are getting a ton of ants, I've heard that people can drive them away from their house and to their neighbors' by putting down pesticides. or maybe I'm getting that mixed up with cockroaches (from when we lived in Texas). I'm tired so it's possible I'm all mixed up. But I wouldn't worry about your neighbors thinking you are gross. It happens to all of us at some point.
    " I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi

    "This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems." Martin Luther King, Jr.

  7. #7
    JustMe is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Unfortunately, I am having the same problem. We definitely have a cyclical ant problem and in the past I have put down terro products and within 2 weeks my problem is gone. this year they seem to come out to smell it and then walk away. I would definitely talk to your neighbors, though. I am sure if you have them, then your neighbors do as well.

    I forgot about the powder as an option, though, so I will be buying some of that tomorrow.
    lucky single mom to 20 yr old dd and 17 yr old ds through 2 very different adoption routes

  8. #8
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    We had ants in the kitchen about a month ago. Sprayed Home Defense on the kitchen floor perimeter and also by the balcony and front doors. DH emptied a container of pellets in the house perimeter outside where the vegetation is. Ants went away after two days.

    Home Defense disclaimer says it's not toxic to humans, and if it comes in contact with your skin or kitchenware to just wash it off with soap and water.

  9. #9
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    The ants are REALLY bad this year. I think because it's been such a wet spring. That or they've finally decided to take over.
    DD - 8
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  10. #10
    DrSally's Avatar
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    So, is it the rain that drives them inside? JustMe, are you saying the ants stopped taking the Terro now?!
    Sally

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