Ants in the house

[Snags]

Hi when it gets hot we get ants…..2 types a little black ordinary looking one and these tiny tiny tiny little specks……………If you drop a crumb………..,dont wash the knife or chopping board immediately…………leave a plate on the table for too long (seconds it seems)………dont rinse your toothbrush perfectly……….dont turn the dishwasher on immediately you have dirty plates in it …..if you sweat from your wrist on the mouse pad………..they are there…………………………………………

Vinegar seems to be working,I put some on a sponge and wipe were they are concentrating on entry points,,,edge of power point,window sill,gap in floor board,under door……………..
Im going to mop with some vinegar too

[ballamara]

I must try that, little black ants are my biggest problem. The bigger ants seem to stay outside.

[Snags]

I have been on them all day they stopped in all the areas Ive used the vinegar,except under the door for some reason they just keep comming…Cleaned a line going the long way to the kitchen once their easy tracks were vinegared…..Cleared the new line but they keep comming under the door….I tried plan B which included cinnamon at a known entry to the bedroom and bathroom and it worked real well there but not under the front door,,,there must be a nest near there and they are sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the nest…Its fun…it will be interesting to see them adapt to their plan B

[ballamara]

I have heard talcum powder is good, have you tried that?

[Snags]

They cant be stopped under the front door even with lemon juice vinegar and cinnamon everywhere else vinegar has stopped them so far…… It did rain yesterday (yay) which probably washed away some of the deterrents, near the door and made the ants more desperate to get in out of the rain…….I will give talc a go on the door.

[Snags]

If I can find talc in the house????…No one seems to have it anymore

[Snags]

Found a nest under the avo tree that is feeding the bathroom invasion

[ballamara]

Then is it all out war on them now? Rhetorical question.

[Snags]

I watered the avo pot and that washed a lot of nest off the balcony along with lots of their eggs…..re vinegared the door they where getting in through and no ants in the bathroom this morning……They still are coming in under the front door but in a lot less numbers and they are making new paths to avoid vinegar….I just need to break their habit with more vinegar

[Snags]

Ant update is I have stopped them coming from some locations and they just form long lines and come from previously untreated locations,they are amazing creatures,,,,,they seem to start 2 stories down climb the brick wall set up base camp in a pot then form a orderly queue from there through the drainage holes on my sliding doors across the lounge around the edge of the kitchen and inside the cupboard to my compost bin if I leave anything sweet in it today it was rockmelon…….They just seem to wait for the smell to go or slightly change their track……I have added tee tree oil metho and vinegar with a few cloves to a spray bottle,it seems to work until they find a new entrance tomorrow …… it must be the unseasonable dry wet season thats allowing them to survive in the dry soil but need to come in to feed

[ballamara]

You have to give them top marks for determination .

[Snags]

They travel from over 30 meters away to get to a food source,the long way…..They are amazing

[Judi B]

they come in looking for moisture here and anywhere that has moisture they are in the thousands….. hubby started to wash his face with a face washer but had to take a phone call went back about 40min later and picked up the washer without looking and the washer had a funny smell ……………yep full of little black ants so had to get another washer

[Snags]

I have had them stopped for while now, except for a conga line this morning going to the bin for bacon fat….my fault….. bin day tomorrow

[AlisonC]

@snags Do you want to simply deter them or are you prepared to sacrifice the entire nest? If it is the latter option… perhaps you could try leaving a small unlidded container of icing sugar mixture to which you have added a teaspoon or two of borax in their path. Mix it thoroughly and leave it where they can find it. They take it back to the nest and then they all die. I have used this method (only when desperate of course) and can vouch for its effectiveness.

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