OT: Ants coming in from the cracks in the hard wood floor

[DarrenCT]

First of all, I'm abso-f'ing-lutely hate ants, spiders, etc...

I come home from a hike to find my new Kirk at my door, crack a beer, and everything is going well.... UNTIL... I noticed a few ants over by the radiator dancing around. So I get the vacuum and suck'em up and then go to the hardware store and by some of these f'ing "ant pods".

I've also noticed a few more around my small condo. They seem to be getting in near the wall or radiator. I put 2 of those pods near the wall, and one in the radiator and a few more around the house.

Any other suggestions?

I may have to call the "Ant Doctor" to have him take a look. He'll charge me about $250 just to take a look though. These guys are thief's!

Take a look....

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1679/p1000895eu3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/736/p1000894bk2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[flux]

Burn your house down. It's the only way. Those things are relentless.

[DarrenCT]

justin,

im thinking about burning this entire god damn place down.

i wish my cat would grow some balls and start killing these things

[1centaur]

Recently read a thin film of soapy water where they like to go can do the trick.

[DarrenCT]

Recently read a thin film of soapy water where they like to go can do the trick.

Ok cool I'll try that now.

BTW, I'm also having another f'ing beer. I hope someone is joining me...

thanks centaur

[whitecda]

And now.....it's Chimay time! :beer:

[DarrenCT]

And now.....it's Chimay time! :beer:

ohhhh u are lucky!@#

im stuck with saranac oatmeal stout :(

[Bud_E]

I can relate ( to the beer AND ants ). Out here we have Argentine ants and these little bastards are relentless. How you get rid of them depends on which kind you have. Check this website. (http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-ants.htm)

I found that most of the major brands of ant traps/pod thingies are useless. I've had the best luck with Terro brand.

[whitecda]

a long island iced tea is more appropriate. But I'll stick with the Trappists! Woohoo!

I'm becoming a BIG fan of the Belgians! Had my PIRAAT yesterday BTW!!!

[BumbleBeeDave]

This could be either no big thing--or it could be very bad. It depends on what kind of ants they are. If they are really tiny ants and brown, then probably no big thing. They've come inside because it's warm. But if they are big black ants--carpenter ants--then you should call someone who knows and have things checked out.

Carpenter type ants don't eat wood like termites, but they do chew it up and tunnel through it to make their nests--and the result can be the same--big time damage to your house. If you are seeing carpenter ants this time of year, I would bet it means they have already established a nest in your house and think it's still summer because it's nice and warm. That's why they're out and about and you're seeing them.

I've dealt with them in the first house we were in when I was married and also in the house I'm in now. Normally you only see them coming in the house in the spring and sometimes on into summer. That's when the young queens mature and leave the nest to mate and establish their own nests. In fact, you may have seen "ant day" at one time or another. Somehow all of them--even ants in different nests--know when it's "ant day" and they are all over the place. The queens mate with the drones, which die. Then the queens fall to the ground, shed their wings, and crawl off to find some nice dark place to chew on wood and make a nest and start laying eggs. It really is miraculous how they synchronize--same as all those Monarch butterflies finding their way to Mexico to the same small wooded area. Amazing! . . . But, I digress . . . Anyway, there's a couple of things you can do, and you can do them yourself or pay someone mucho dollars to.

The first--and most important if they are already established in your house--is to KILL THEM! Easiest way for Joe consumer to do this is to put out those little and baits like you have. But that only works if they come out, and carpenter ants are like cockroaches. For every one you see there may be hundreds inside the wall. You can buy ant power in a squirt can at Home Despot or wherever. Then you drill holes in your walls down a few inches off the floor or above the baseboard, space to be between each wall stud, and squirt the power in--down by the floor to make sure it doesn't just go into any insulation you have in there. The ants walk in it, take it back to their nest, and it's curtains for them. This way also works for future invasions to stop them before they get established. I've done this in both houses and it works great--as long as you don't mind the small holes in your wall.

The second way is to prevent them getting into the house. My current house has about a foot of bare concrete between the ground and where the siding starts--and that's why most houses have it. It's a bug barrier. Our first house had a breakfast room which had been added on where there was only an inch or so of concrete, and the ants were getting in there all the time. With the larger concrete distance, you can get ant spray at the aforesaid Home Despot, spray it around the perimeter of the foundation a couple of time per season, and it deters them. This also works pretty well, from my experience, and only takes 15 minutes or so to do.

I also look around in the spring and try to locate any nests in trees in my yard and do my best to eradicate those. I keep an eye out for the area where the most ants seem to be, then follow them home if I can. I know that makes for a pretty funny mental image--BBDave following ants around his yard--but it works pretty well. I just hate the little effers, though. They are eating up MY house!

But I'm not a pro. They can do a better job of locating exactly where the ants are and have some more potent tools to get rid of them. But don't ignore them! It can get real expensive in the long run if you do!

BBD

[DarrenCT]

BBD,

first of all, thanks for all the valuable information.

luckily, these ants are very tiny and probably not the carpenter ants.

still... they are really pissing me off. i'll check out the action in the morning and try and get a few more pods after christmas

thanks again for the info Dave

-d

[Viper]

Darren,

Bro, please read this...I've highlighted important elements/facts regarding ants and Winter. A very good read, if you're in this situation:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:ImZgJMs8ySQJ:www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/DK1015.html+ants+home+winter&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

They are by the heater for a reason and imo, soapy water is a no-no...the last thing you want to do is give them moisture (or bacon).

Viper

PS. What beer are you drinking? I'm going for Anchor Steam tonight.

[rwl]

Try dusting a bit of cinnamon around. We've did this when the kids were little and didn't want them in anything toxic. The ants dislike the cinnamon, or they can't track their scent and lose their trails. Either way, it really cuts down on them.

[DarrenCT]

Darren,

Bro, please read this...I've highlighted important elements/facts regarding ants and Winter. A very good read, if you're in this situation:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:ImZgJMs8ySQJ:www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/DK1015.html+ants+home+winter&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

They are by the heater for a reason and imo, soapy water is a no-no...the last thing you want to do is give them moisture (or bacon).

Viper

PS. What beer are you drinking? I'm going for Anchor Steam tonight.

viper,

good info although i dont think they are carpenter ants. they are very very small.

i was drinking stoudts, and i had a stella w/ dinner. im off to bed early.

damn those ants!

[soulspinner]

In the spring spread bleach around the perimeter of your home. Just had some wine that I dont care for. Time to chase it down with a :beer:

[swoop]

note to self... time to move the corpse.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Darren,

Bro, please read this...I've highlighted important elements/facts regarding ants and Winter. A very good read, if you're in this situation:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:ImZgJMs8ySQJ:www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/DK1015.html+ants+home+winter&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

They are by the heater for a reason and imo, soapy water is a no-no...the last thing you want to do is give them moisture (or bacon).

Viper

PS. What beer are you drinking? I'm going for Anchor Steam tonight.

Did someone mention BACON? . . .

[Viper]

Did someone mention BACON? . . .

I need to know that others are watching this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMrofWrbmMw&feature=related

[Karin Kirk]

try stuffing tampons into the gaps between the boards.
Swoop will be happy to come over and help with that.

[DarrenCT]

these blasted little critters are still around!@#

im going to home depot to see what else they have to stop these things

i may have to get all the wood floors re-done :(

[DarrenCT]

i think i bought every kind of ant killer possible at Walgreens and i've ready to kill these f'ers!

pods, power, liquid, super-pods, prays.

these guys are going down!

[Fixed]

posion them a cat does my house every 60 days $40.00

[Viper]

i think i bought every kind of ant killer possible at Walgreens and i've ready to kill these f'ers!

pods, power, liquid, super-pods, prays.

these guys are going down!

You're killing a few snowflakes on the tip of the iceberg; what you're seeing versus what is within the foundation, the basement, the wall...is another story.

I say you spend more money on quality beer, forget the ants, call the exterminator (see below) tomorrow and have the pros deal with it.

[Ginger]

yeah..stop harassing the ants.

It takes time for the pods to work. You keep vacuuming up the little guys who are going to take that stuff back to home. I had a few carpenter ant sitings this summer and set those out. (Yes, I've had ant infiltration before and I understand their nesting habits and I've had pros in for a year... If they weren't gone, I'd still be seeing them now.)
But you know...you don't just set them out on the floor. Get into the foundation/basement and set them on the sill plate under the floor.

I have to be careful with the bug killer now. My kitten loves to eat the bugs. Hunts them down and dispatches them. Even the little ants.

[flux]

try stuffing tampons into the gaps between the boards.
Swoop will be happy to come over and help with that.

potd

[jamesau]

Darren,

What you want is Maxforce ant baits. They make different varieties for different ants. I can attest to its effectiveness on carpenter ants. Read about it and how the actice ingredient, Fipronil, works here:
http://www.pestproducts.com/maxforce_ant_gel_bait.htm

It's pricier than the other stuff, but it works; it's a WMD against your unwelcome ant colony. (And it's much cheaper than an exterminator).

[swoop]

try stuffing tampons into the gaps between the boards.
Swoop will be happy to come over and help with that.

.

[DarrenCT]

ok so i moved all the carpets and cleaned every f'ing square inch of the living room area. i setup about 10 different pods and put some liquid ant kill stuff under the carpet and some powder stuff in the cracks.

hopefully im all set! thanks for the help.

i'll let you guys/girls know.

cheers
-d

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9071/p1000903fg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Ginger]

You're going to wait a couple weeks before burning the place down...right?

Give the little guys some time to track that all back home.

Good luck keeping kitty away from those pods. They're great fun to play with but not very good for kittens.

Do you have a basement below?

[DarrenCT]

You're going to wait a couple weeks before burning the place down...right?

Give the little guys some time to track that all back home.

Good luck keeping kitty away from those pods. They're great fun to play with but not very good for kittens.

Do you have a basement below?

im on the 1st floor on a condo building. there is a basement below yes

[Ginger]

im on the 1st floor on a condo building. there is a basement below yes

Take your vacuum cleaner and a flashlight and a few of those pods downstairs directly below this...vacuum the ants you find (and you will find them) and put some pods up on the top of the basement wall and one or two on the floor (as long as there's no kids or critters that go down there)

You've got a couple ants in your place, but there's probably a party in the basement.

[DarrenCT]

Take your vacuum cleaner and a flashlight and a few of those pods downstairs directly below this...vacuum the ants you find (and you will find them) and put some pods up on the top of the basement wall and one or two on the floor (as long as there's no kids or critters that go down there)

You've got a couple ants in your place, but there's probably a party in the basement.

good advice.

will do.

[girlie]

don't like mint.

[DarrenCT]

don't like mint.

true.

they also don't like being smashed by a carbon dmt sole :)

[chuckred]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Orycteropus_afer_stuffed.jpg/200px-

One of these guys should be able to help!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/DirkvdM_tamandua.jpg/200px-DirkvdM_tamandua.jpg

[Ginger]

I seem to remember hearing something about using vinegar for ant repellent too. Nicer for the kitty cats. But perhaps you should look that up

[girlie]

true.

they also don't like being smashed by a carbon dmt sole :)


my way they get marinated along with the carbon swirl.

[rinconryder]

And now.....it's Chimay time! :beer:

Had that beer for the first time last night! Delicious.

[slowgoing]

Step on them and then leave them there. The rest of them go somewhere else fairly quickly. It's like they don't like the smell of death.

[Ken Robb]

I got some aerosol poison spray "for profesional use only" from a pal in the business. One shot and they are gone for good. Well 3 years and counting.

[slowgoing]

do a google search on pesticides and Parkinsons disease. I won't ever use the stuff.

[Squint]

If I remember correctly, there are a few categories of ants based on what type of food they like (sugar ants, grease ants, etc.).

I never had any luck with the plastic bait traps.

I had great luck with the liquid baits. Don't use any pesticides or repellents with them as you want them to bring the syrup-like stuff back to the queen. I put a few drops of the stuff where there were ants and they were soon swarming it. A few days later, their colony was dead.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . it might be time for some more, uh, radical tactics . . .

BBD

[rwsaunders]

I'm with BBDave..bring out the heavy artillery.

Ever since Chlordane was outlawed, carpenter ants have flourished in the NE. It's a mixed bag, as Chlordane was some pretty nasty stuff, especially when used by amateurs. Unfortunately, you'll probably need to get on a program if you have them, as anything that you do will only be temporary.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . it IS possible to overdo it if you're not careful! :crap: ;)

BBD

[93legendti]

I seem to remember hearing something about using vinegar for ant repellent too. Nicer for the kitty cats. But perhaps you should look that up

OK, that's spooky. I was just in the kitchen looking at the vinegar spray bottle my wife likes to use to clean, thinking how awful the smell is and wondering if ants would also hate it. We do not have any ants we can see and with young ones dropping food every were, that's a feat.

[DarrenCT]

terminex is coming tomorrow morning just to check things out.

they'll spray outside my building, below in the basement and check out the indoor situation

now more importantly...

time for a beer!

[whitecda]

Had that beer for the first time last night! Delicious.


And I'm having yet another Chimay Blue right now. Also I tried a Konings Quad after riding OUTSIDE today. Most excellent!

Screw the ants. Have a brew! :)

[Bud_E]

.