Yikes! Ants!

Well a sure sign of spring is the bugs and unfortunately we have ants. My husband thinks they are in the walls :shock: in the utility room in the basement and wants to treat the room with some sort of ant killer that will be able to get into the walls. My concern is the kitties, they don't go in the room but with them being low to the ground I'm worried that they could be exposed to something nasty. Does anyone know of a safe way to get rid of ants, apart from stomping them?? I don't think something topical like boric acid will work as they are in the walls. I guess that's the price of having an old house! :x

 

If you go to some pesticide aisles look for "diatomatic earth/dirt"....it kills ants and other bugs with exoskelatons good. Basically it's just dirt so your kitties shouldn't be harmed any.

There's actually small "shards" of natural crystals or something that are found naturally and after an ant walks over or carries it, it works it's way underneath their exoskelaton and basically prys it off. They'll actually carry it into their mounds and stuff so it should work good for getting into your walls. Sounds gross, disgusting, and painful...but ick they're ants...I draw the line at animal cruelty with things that bite me. :roll:

You could also talk to your vet about it. I'm sure they get questions like that all the time.

 

Is it ant or termites in the walls? Ants don't typically live in the walls although they can go inside them. A couple of weeks ago loads of ants came in our house. They found some sweets that were in the garbage. I scooped as many ants as I could outdoors and sprayed Clorox bleach near their entry site and wiped the floor clean. Of course hubby placed ant killers (Combat?) at several strategic places. I haven't seen another ant in the house. Also I make sure there are no sweets and rotting meats in the garbage in the house. The ants will find them very easily.

 

I have heard that ants wont cross a line of chalk. Maybe you could put chalk around the walls to keep them from coming into the room?

 

Carpenter Ants live in walls and floors.

 

Thanks for all the input. I think it's carpenter ants as the neighbours had them and there are some big trees near the back of the house that apparently have a lot of ants in them.

 

I've got carpenter ants too. I get them every year but have'nt found a solution yet.

 

just going back over some old posts that somehow i missed. yuk!!! i hate ants. dont have any good advice...just wanted to say how much i hate them. it's like...when you have them...you find little wanderers...kill that one and somehow magically from out of nowhere, there's another one. hate em... :mrgreen:

 

Here's some articles/links on the diatomaceous earth....

http://www2.yardiac.com/long.asp?item_i ... omo=google
http://ighawaii.com/naturally/naturalanimal/de.html

The article even talks about how giving a small amount to dogs/puppies/cats/horses/sheep is healthy....hmmm.... :?:

http://www.hydromall.com/happy_grower16.html

Sounds interesting...

Good luck with your bugs.

 

WE have a severe case of fire ants down here. WE've lost 2 calves this year from them. As soon as they are born they attack them, inevidably killing them.

I hate ants. I was training a PErcheron for a lady, when he threw me. I landed on my tailbone breaking it and paralized from the waist down. 17 hours later I was walking again. (nerve damage, Drs called it the funnybone effect, you know how you bang your elbow, and your arm goes numb for a while? THats what happened to me, VERY LUCKY!!!)
ANyhow, I landed in a pile of fire ants, ofcourse I couldn't move, and got over 23000 bites on my left side alone. THey got into my ears, nose and everywehre!!!!! That made me sicker and hurt way more than my back.

I've found that the easiest way to rid of ants, get a mixture of 2/3 hot water, a few drops of Dawn dishwashing soap, and 1/3 diesel. (this is a gallon mixture) and put it in a pump up sprayer. Man it kills them instantly!!!!!!! The heat from the water activates the soap, the soap helps to break the oil from the diesel chemicals and the diesel oil sticks to the ants, and chemicals kill them!!!

Don't use this on a large area of grass!!! It will turn it brown. But spray it (until ground is saturated) on the mound or wall, or wehre ever you find them!