HELP! Ants!

[conniez]

when we came home from church last night I put DD on the couch so I could get her out of her bunting. This was when I noticed a big black ant on her hood! :eek: I killed it immediately of course, and within the next hour we noticed maybe 4 more roaming on the couch and 1 on the towel that was on the floor near the couch. I can't figure out if we brought them in from when we were outside (maybe some dropped on one of our clothes) or if they were from our couch. I did find crumbs near the base of the couch & vacuumed them immediately, but I didn't find any ant nest/trail. Wouldn't there be a trail if the ants came from our house? Please help! I am freaking out!

ETA: I saw 1 of these ants on the bathroom sink which leads me to believe they came in on our clothing (we put our clothing from last night into the hamper which is right next to the sink)

[SnuggleBuggles]

We just saw our first tiny ants today. :hopmad: I hate them.

I have hardwoods where they like to hang out in my dining room. They travel in the grooves and just on the planks. I got a medicine syringe and some vinegar and shot it down every groove where they are. Hoped to drown and discourage some of them. What I hate most is that the drm is on the 2nd level and I can't figure out how they get in!

Oh, and I later googled ants and vinegar and my idea seems to be legitimate.

Beth

[conniez]

We just saw our first tiny ants today. :hopmad: I hate them.

I have hardwoods where they like to hang out in my dining room. They travel in the grooves and just on the planks. I got a medicine syringe and some vinegar and shot it down every groove where they are. Hoped to drown and discourage some of them. What I hate most is that the drm is on the 2nd level and I can't figure out how they get in!

Oh, and I later googled ants and vinegar and my idea seems to be legitimate.

Beth

We've been lucky since this is the 1st time I've seen ants in the 4 1/2 yrs. we've lived in these apts. The apartment is mostly carpet & laminate in the bathroom/kitchen. I saved one of the ants & was thinking of showing it to the apt. pest control guy to see if he has any ideas where they're from. If I see more I'll buy ant bait, but I'm wondering if we brought them in from outside since I just now saw 1 on the bathroom counter (near the hamper where we put our clothes from last night)>

[ewpmsw]

We get ants like clockwork every spring and sometimes over the summer. The first big rain sends them up into our kitchen. They like the water in the kitchen sink. Just in case yours aresn't coming in on clothing: We've had the best luck with Terro clear ant baits.

[PearlsMom]

Ick, ants! They are a part of life down here (the tiny black ones, not the big ones, though). I've found that spraying them with Clorox "Green Works" all purpose spray immobilizes and kills them, and it's less toxic than actual bug killer sprays. But if you do get a real infestation, the best thing to do is try to figure out where they're coming from and caulk up any holes you find.

Here's hoping they just got brought in from outside and won't be coming back!

[HIU8]

Is this the first time you have seen them? I ask b/c we get them every single year. We currently have a contract with a company to come and treat the outside of the house (with stuff non-toxic to children). We have not had an ant issue this year (just got treated last week). The stuff lasts about 3-4 months and they come back and do it again. It's great. No more ants all over my laundry room and by my sliding glass door. It might be worth looking into a pest company if it is recurring.

[newg]

uuugggghhhh.....I have been dealing with ants all week!! It makes me feel like I have a dirty house...and right now, since the ants have been here, my kitchen has never been cleaner!!
The first stuff we got doesn't seem to be working, so DH just came home with the Terro liquid and I am really hoping it works!!
I hate the little buggers and so does DD.

[conniez]

thankfully I haven't seen them since about 2 days ago (just the 4 or 5 on the couch, and the 1 straggler on the bathroom sink). I really really really hope they just fell on our clothes/were brought in from outside...despite the fact that seriously creeps me out that bugs would just fall on my daughter/us, it's a lot better than some infestation under my couch! I'll just make sure to always wear a hooded coat when I go to church now :barf:

[DrSally]

I had this problem last year (sugar ants), and here in the spring, they're baaaack. I noticed that they start in our laundry/mud room and then migrate to the kitchen if there is *any* food avail. I wonder if ours are coming from our garage (which abutts the laundry room). I have been meticulous about cleaning up the kitchen floor to make sure there are absolutely no crumbs on the floor. My understanding is that they send out "scouts" to look for food. Once they find it, there is a pheremone trail to that spot and they keep coming. Killing scouts only makes the colony send out more scouts. They came out from the baseboard and walked along the carpet tack and came out to the wood floor to look for food. Last year, I was told here to use Terro, which we did. I had to put them out at night and then take them up during the day b/c of the baby. We left for a weekend and left them out. They went away, but it was also getting to be fall. I contacted the company, and they said if any terro residue gets on the floor, it's not toxic to baby (it's borax and sugar, basically). Right now I have Terro baits in the laundry room but I have told DH to put some stuff in the garage. I would love to find a company that can come out and put child friendly stuff outside.

[emily_gracesmama]

Raid ant spikes outside our house have worked
WONDERS for us for 2 yrs

[DrSally]

Raid ant spikes outside our house have worked
WONDERS for us for 2 yrs

Interesting. Do you put them close to the foundation? Are they all the way in the ground, so that the kids can't find and pull them out?

[kransden]

This is the best stuff ever. I used to have to use it every year - once then they were gone.
http://www.terro.com/

[luza]

This is the best stuff ever. I used to have to use it every year - once then they were gone.
http://www.terro.com/

:yeahthat:
We get ants every spring that come in from neighboring apartments and the Terro baits take care of them right away. The baits even got rid of some colonies that had taken up residence under our wood floors.

[fumofu]

We're in California and get ants almost every year. It drives DH and me nuts. Since moving to our current house, we've sprayed Home Defense on the hardwood floors in the kitchen and any entry way to the outside (front & balcony doors, door to garage), and DH sprinkled pellets on the outside. These were purchased at Home Depot.

Find out what species of ants are in your area. I don't know what kind we have now, but in our previous residence we had Argentinian ants, that have multiple queens and colonies that can stretch for miles. So killing one queen doesn't do anything. One thing that did NOT work: Grants Kills Ants.

Sealing all food & cooking ingredients help. Clearing the dirty dishes, at least by the end of the day, also helps. :D

[veronica]

We tried it all but had to go with Terminix. They are finally gone.

The large ones you mention could be the woodeating kind so try to make sure. I get the tiny pavement ants that don't do anything but roam around. Still "bugs" me out though!

We had a ton of rain the past month and they finally started to come in everywhere. We called Terminix for our spring treatment and poof. Have not seen one since.

[calv]

GROSS! ITA that the seem to come out w/the rain. we've been flooding so I think they come out the 1st sign of spring and when it rains A LOT! we put traps down and that seems to help a lot

BTW, these are itty bitty ones not huge ants