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  1. #11
    Clarity is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Same problem here too. We have "sugar" ants and have the little raid boxes out. Last year we used the Terro products with some success. This year they seem to disappear while we have the raid boxes out. When I throw them away they're back in the kitchen in about 1 week.
    Last year they took over our kid's sandbox too. I hate, hate ants. I'm seriously considering calling an exterminator this year. I just want them gone.
    big girl 6/06
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  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clarity View Post
    Same problem here too. We have "sugar" ants and have the little raid boxes out. Last year we used the Terro products with some success. This year they seem to disappear while we have the raid boxes out. When I throw them away they're back in the kitchen in about 1 week.
    Last year they took over our kid's sandbox too. I hate, hate ants. I'm seriously considering calling an exterminator this year. I just want them gone.
    I wonder if that's b/c there was still a colony outside? I went to Home Depot today and was overwhelmed with the selection of ant killers. Many of the ones for outdoors said not to use around kids. I'm going to send DH back and have him decide what to get. I really think the 2 pronged approach of attacking them inside and outside may help. I did not see the Terro outdoor antbaits though... Lisa, where did you get those?
    Sally

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  3. #13
    SnuggleBuggles is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Me too! I actually put a line of flour down where they are coming in and it has really helped! they are still there but maybe only 10% of what I had before I put the flour down.

    Beth

  4. #14
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    DrSally is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles View Post
    Me too! I actually put a line of flour down where they are coming in and it has really helped! they are still there but maybe only 10% of what I had before I put the flour down.

    Beth
    I wish I could find where they're coming in, exactly. My closest guesses would be the garage and the deck. They say that ants won't cross a line of chalk or cinnamon. Maybe I should also put down some flour (don't know where I'd get chalk dust other than pulverizing some of DS's sidewalk chalk) out by the deck.
    Sally

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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrSally View Post
    I wish I could find where they're coming in, exactly. My closest guesses would be the garage and the deck. They say that ants won't cross a line of chalk or cinnamon. Maybe I should also put down some flour (don't know where I'd get chalk dust other than pulverizing some of DS's sidewalk chalk) out by the deck.
    We have huge cyclical ant problems down here, too. Cornstarch works really well as a barrier, if they're walking on a horizontal surface. Most of ours come through cracks or seems in windows/rafters/doors. For those, we try to caulk up where they're coming from (usually the great marching lines of ants make it pretty obvious) and then spray the ones inside to kill them. Haven't had a ton of luck with baits. FWIW, I use the Clorox "Green Works" multisurface spray - it kills the ants on contacts and doesn't seem as nasty as regular bug killer spray.
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  6. #16
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    trales is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    (don't know where I'd get chalk dust other than pulverizing some of DS's sidewalk chalk)
    EMS, any store that sells climbing gear with have bags of powdered chalk.

    I tend to buy one box of every type of trap and put them up and in the back of the panty, out of kid reach. It seems to help to mix it up a bit.
    Tracey

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  7. #17
    DrSally's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by trales View Post
    EMS, any store that sells climbing gear with have bags of powdered chalk.

    I tend to buy one box of every type of trap and put them up and in the back of the panty, out of kid reach. It seems to help to mix it up a bit.
    Oh, thanks, I bet REI would have some then. Although, it sounds like cornstarch or flour would work too. I haven't seen any noticable trail of ants coming in, but haven't had a good chance to walk all the way around the house. I'm all psyched to get some stuff down outside this weekend, hoping that will help. I found some RAID outdoor ant stakes and then some spray to use along the foundation. It's toxic, but they said not to let kids or pets around it until it dries. Then, apparently it keeps working but is not sitting there in liquid form for kids to touch. Last night, I tried to put the terro right in front of an ant's path and it kind of sniffed and drank *a little* and then walked away. I wonder if I have grease ants?
    Last edited by DrSally; 04-29-2010 at 05:12 PM.
    Sally

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  8. #18
    gatorsmom is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrSally View Post
    Lisa, where did you get those?
    I found some at Target.

    Hope you find something that works for you!
    " 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.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by PearlsMom View Post
    . FWIW, I use the Clorox "Green Works" multisurface spray - it kills the ants on contacts and doesn't seem as nasty as regular bug killer spray.


    I also heard that Raid has a new "green" spray. Haven't been able to find it though locally.
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  10. #20
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    Default Ants, the update

    Well, I'm cautiously thrilled to report that I haven't seen a single ant in 3 full days. The traps must have been working (although I never saw an ant go into one and they didn't seem to like the terro too much either)--last summer, the ants swarmed the traps. Anywho, I had also put a terro outside on the deck adjacent to where they were on the inside, so maybe that helped too. Today, DH ran spray around the outside of the house and put some baits outside too. Hopefully that will prevent them from coming inside again. The only ones he actually saw were on the crack at the entry to the garage.

    Thanks for all your advice. I'm so glad this seems to be over. They were crawling on the carpet right in the area where the kids play, and it was grossing me out bigtime. Funny how something little like that can just ruin your mood!
    Sally

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    Please excuse the typos. Getting used to a virtual keyboard

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