The Kintyre Forum

The idea of ants crawling all over us - as we slept on the futon - made my skin crawl and itch. Over this last three or four weeks - I've given them a chance of life - by sucking them up the vacuum. However as the days passed more and more ants appeared - from the direction of the skirting board behind the sofa. I have said to Josh my three year old Grandchild not to stamp or kill the wee creatures. I made him the lookout for the ants - a job he seemed to enjoy - Pa Pa there's an ant he would cry - trying to catch it in his hands. Anyway last week - a half eaten piece in jam - was inadvertently left out overnight.
I discovered the following morning - ants swarming all over - not only the bread - Josh's toys were covered also. I grabbed his table - ants and toys atop - and rushed into the bathroom dumping them into the bath. The shower made short work of the creatures - and to my mind they still had a chance. Alas over the next few days they have come back with what appears a vengeance. So I have reverted to kill them - I have refrained from killing living things for at least 15years now. However enough is enough - I've laid out some insecticide bait - apparently the worker ants - with only a few days left to live - go out of the nest in order to search for food - the Queen and infants stay within the nest. Of course I had laid the bait before reading up on the life of the red ant. Dilemma dilemma.

Oddly enough, just over the last few days I've noticed a few ants in the house. Didn't think much about it, but your post is making me wonder if there are more ants around than usual this year.

Anybody else noticed?

Me to and although loathe to kill them it has to be done

Hire an aarddvark. Cycle of life.
A little one never never killed anybody.

Remove the food source and they will leave.

play dean martin records really loudly !

if the problem persists, try some sydney devine

We were plagued with them for several years, nothing seemed to work to get rid, then I saw some "ant stations" in Wilkinsons and they worked. Within just a few days, no ants, and it`s stayed that way for 6 years, but they`re back again, and Wilkinsons no longer have those same ant stations, so back to trial and error again. Would appreciate anyone tellng me how THEY do it!

LANDROVER ROGER wrote:Remove the food source and they will leave.

Did give that some consideration - however with a three year old running about - it's virtually imposable to keep the floor food free.

£3.73 wrote:play dean martin records really loudly !

if the problem persists, try some sydney devine

That represents cruelty to wee creatures - surprised at you money.

hugh wrote:A little one never never killed anybody.

Thanks hugh that made me feel better

numberplease wrote:"ant stations" in Wilkinsons and they worked

We got some out of ASDA - might be the same type.

Couldn`t find anything in our Asda, will look again

Never heard of this, but apparently you draw a line and they won't cross it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ANT-KILLER-PEN-IN ... 7C294%3A50

The smart money is still on this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Encores-Sidney-De ... 7C294%3A50

Hope this helps.

hugh wrote:Hire an aarddvark. Cycle of life.

Do you know of anybody who hires aardvarks?

Emdee wrote"Do you know of anybody who hires aardvarks?"

No,but I would expect any company that does would be at the beginning of the directory.

We have the same problem here. It takes diligence to keep them at bay & like you we hate to kill ANY living things. HOWEVER, there comes a point...
That said, as soon as we got our 1st few warm days of spring the little buggers made their 2009 debut, & since this is the 3rd year we've had to deal with them, I am to that said Point & wanted to get a good jump on the situation before it got worse. I looked into professional help but quickly & easily decided against it as it's 1. costly 2. they have to come back *monthly* to re-spray 3. their products are very harsh (& dangerous to some pets...birds & ferrets, especially, which we have) 4. their methods are invasive 5. our water supply comes from a well, which I would be very worried about contaminating. SOOOO, I resorted to using Raid Ant KILLER (mua, ah, ah ), & it has worked GREAT so far. I use 'outdoor' around my doors & 'indoor' (which has a somewhat more 'pleasant' scent) inside, & only spray in the small area they seem to like (thankfully they've kept to that same area each year). I started by spraying each day for about 3-4 days straight then cut back to once every 2-3 days. I'm down to about once a week, & that's just to KEEP them away as we've not seen any inside since we started this, & the days are pretty consistently warm now.

I realize those sprays may not be an option for you, ionns, if only for the simple fact that you have a little one running around. I certainly wouldn't use this product if my son was still so young. And because I'd generally rather not rely on harsh chemicals, like Raid, as our permanent solution I did a little more research on some natural ones & I came across this web page with a plethora of suggestions (that may or may not work):
http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants.html
http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants1.html

There's also the option of an 'Ultrasonic Waves' device (which I plan to buy). They plug right into an outlet & there are many brands & price ranges. But note that these devices can also effect your pets by the sound they make (which people can't hear). Some pets cannot tolerate it. Here are a couple of pages with info:
http://www.safehomeproducts.com/shp2/es ... swers.aspx
http://www.epinions.com/content_1818796164

Hope everyone finds a solution! Ants can be SUCH a pest

EMDEE wrote:

hugh wrote:Hire an aarddvark. Cycle of life.

Do you know of anybody who hires aardvarks?

No. Gap in the market?
Hmmm?

The last time i had ants in my house it was during a family wedding but after a couple of days the left with my uncles.


If you want to get ants from your house without killing them.The best way is to get a piece of cloth about 3 feet square ,sew four bits of thread ,one to each corner and tie them loosley to a cetral point .Lay the cloth close to the area where you think the ants are hiding ,spread some jam or suchlike in the middle ,when you get up in the morning it will be covered in them little critturs,just lift the piece of thread and the whole thing will fold up trapping them inside ,take it well away from your home and either shake it out to use again or dump the lot.