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Best Solution To Get Rid Of Ants?

SOLDIER

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
I've been having a recurring ant problem throughout my house, where the little buggers tend to crop up if even a tiny bit of open food is left out (like a ripened banana or a used glass). I've tried using over-the-counter bait traps, but they still persist even months later.

Coincidentally, I had heard on the recent Giant Bombcast that cinnamon oil was an effective deterrent that keeps ants away. I'm curious if anyone can vouch for that. It sounds like you sprinkle some of it on the counters and other areas that the ants tend to crop up.

The only concern, other than the potential stains this could cause, is with pets. According to Jeff, cinnamon oil can prove very harmful to cats. I own a couple of dogs, and while it's unlikely they would be able to reach the places I would pour oil on, I wonder if the aroma would mess up their senses or anything else.

Aside from that, taking other suggestions on the best products to stomp out the little bastards.
 
Maximum Spider

Maximum Spider

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,990
Cleveland, OH
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nicoga3000

nicoga3000

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,966
Yeah, those are awesome.

But you need to find the source...Where does the queen hang? Set traps near there. We had problems last year and those traps fixed it, but not until I discovered where they were originating from and took out the colony.
 
Euler007

Euler007

Member
Jan 10, 2018
5,042
captive said:
came to post this. Terro Ant bait traps. They work like poison crack for ants. Set one out in their path and within 30 minutes the crack heads will be swarming the trap and bringing the bait back to the hive.
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I can also confirm. I set a couple of these in the springs and all the hives within reach of my kitchen go down for the entire summer. The line of ants going back and forth is something to behold, it's 10X as effective as those round cans.
 
TreIII

TreIII

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,280
Columbia, MD
snacknuts said:
I have found these liquid ant bait things to be super effective at getting rid of them.
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Additionally, look into the Terro Ant Dust, too. Spread it around the perimeter of your dwelling, especially at entryways like doors and windows.

This two pronged approach always worked wonders for me when I was in a townhouse that was an end unit, and the little buggers always tried to begin their advance in spring.
 
Robochimp

Robochimp

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,677
Keep using the bait traps, I've never had those fail me. Check the perimeter of your house either put some bait traps out or spray.
 
Rocketz

Rocketz

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,918
Metro Detroit
Ortho Home Defense spray,

Find where they care coming in from and cover the area. Can be used inside and out and it's non‐staining, odor‐free and dries fast. Use it in my house and solves the problem in the spring.
 
Lucas M. Thomas

Lucas M. Thomas

Editor-in-Chief of Nintendo Force Magazine
Verified
Oct 30, 2017
2,290
Kentucky
Another vote for the Terro traps. Just be careful where you place them - you don't want to touch the liquid yourself or have its residue hanging around where it could contaminate anything else.
 
Unicorn

Unicorn

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
9,540
If you can find the hill outside, then put a bunch of oatmeal or oats out there. They eat it then it expands and kills them all - they take it to the queen and she does too.
 
Scarlet Spider

Scarlet Spider

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,746
Brooklyn, NY
Leave a piece of food on the floor and watch them. Follow them slowly, find their nest. Find their queen and capture her and a few workers. You'll notice with how big she is. Kill everything in the nest. Send me the queen so I can have my own ant colony.

Or use liquid ant bait.
 
Shadybiz

Shadybiz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,111
I've had good results with Boric acid (powder form). Careful with the pets though; you'll want to lay down a perimeter OUTside the house.
 
Chojin

Chojin

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,625
Hot lead down the colony. Makes pretty artwork. Probabaly cruel and unusual punishment though
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,845
I found their source and sprayed it to hell. They never came back
 
OP
OP
SOLDIER

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
Ordered the Terro liquid, thanks for the recommendations.

Where do I typically need to apply it? If the ants would crawl around my nightstand, for instance, would I pour it on the nightstand? Or the corners behind it?
 
blahness

blahness

Member
Oct 25, 2017
407
SOLDIER said:
Ordered the Terro liquid, thanks for the recommendations.

Where do I typically need to apply it? If the ants would crawl around my nightstand, for instance, would I pour it on the nightstand? Or the corners behind it?
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You don't pour the Terro liquid out of the traps, it is pretty sticky. Just open and set the trap near any ant entry point and they will migrate to it.
 
NolaDaControlla

NolaDaControlla

Member
Oct 27, 2017
359
Nashville
ReAxion said:
diatomaceous earth around your perimeters
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I second diatomaceous earth, it's super effective and non-toxic. We have an indoor doggie, so non-toxic is really important to us. You only need to sprinkle a little bit around their path/where they're getting into your house and within half an hour, you won't see a single one. We use it both inside and outside, as necessary.
 
Fisty

Fisty

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,220
Dont bother with that cinnamon oil shit, it doesnt work and it's not the year 1743. Use those Terro bait traps, that will get the bastards real good.
 
C.Mongler

C.Mongler

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,881
Washington, DC
snacknuts said:
I have found these liquid ant bait things to be super effective at getting rid of them.
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Another endorsement; these are the best ant control bait I've ever used.

SOLDIER said:
Ordered the Terro liquid, thanks for the recommendations.

Where do I typically need to apply it? If the ants would crawl around my nightstand, for instance, would I pour it on the nightstand? Or the corners behind it?
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Click to shrink...

No pouring involved; basically the plastic part is a holding well for the liquid bait. You open it up following the directions (I think it's something like you hold it vertically and take off the tab, and then gently lower it into a horizontal position so it doesn't leak out; been a minute since I've used them) and then place them where you're seeing lots of ants. Then you wait. After the first day, maybe even less, you should see ants start to flock to one or more of your traps. This is great news. Important piece of advice for success here: do not fuck with the ants once they engage with the traps. In the first few days it may actually seem like the infestation is getting worse; this is normal. Basically the ants signal back to the hive, "Hell yea boys, we found this sweet ass stash of sticky icky, everyone should come by and get some!!". The ants will spend the next couple days chowing down on the poison and stocking their hive with it. If you start to mess with them or kill them with spray or your foot or whatever, they might decide that the trap is a danger zone and they'll avoid it for something else that isn't immediately killing them. If after a couple days you're not seeing any activity at the trap, feel free to try and find a better position for it. Around day or three or four is when you should start to see results; at this point ants are going to start succumbing to the poison, and if you were patient and let nature work its course the entire hive is going to get poisoned and die off too.

Another word of advice: if you have any kind of insect infestation it's time to get meticulously clean. Food should be stored in airtight containers or in the fridge. Dishes should be cleaned and stored immedidetly. Don't give them any options for sustenance except for the poison.
 
HammerOfThor

HammerOfThor

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,860
Terro has never failed me. Just be prepared to see a bunch of them trailing to and from it. But the plus is you get to see their path so you can better identify where they're coming from.
 
ReAxion

ReAxion

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,882
NolaDaControlla said:
I second diatomaceous earth, it's super effective and non-toxic. We have an indoor doggie, so non-toxic is really important to us. You only need to sprinkle a little bit around their path/where they're getting into your house and within half an hour, you won't see a single one. We use it both inside and outside, as necessary.
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i also have a small dog. my approach is 3-prong.
terro on upper areas the dog can't get to, as a sucker punch to stun them.
fix water issues cuz that's what they showed up for in the first place when they found treats along the way.
diatoms to make sure they don't get up for awhile.
 

Deleted member 9486

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,867
If they are sweet eating ants (sounds like they are from your post) Taro drops work well. Put some out in cabinets or wherever you're seeing their trails and they'll get in it and carry it back to wherever they're living and eventually kill the queen and all of them.

That said, in my experience it's better to just get quarterly exterminator service. The rental houses we had that had those ants we were doing the taro thing every spring when a new colony would move in. Since we bought we just went with Arrow Exterminators and pay $90 every three months. They treat inside the house, around the outside of the house and in the crawl space. Haven't had any ants and the rare instance we see a roach or other bug that wanders in (palmetto bugs are just a thing you have to deal with occasionally in GA) they're dead or dying.
 
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