Getting Rid of Ants or How to Kill an Ant Invasi
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/ Home Sign Up! Browse Community Submit All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech How to Get Rid of Ants (or) How to Kill an Ant Invasion by ScruffyRasputin on December 4, 2007 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Intro: How to Get Rid of Ants (or) How to Kill an Ant Invasion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 step 1: What you will need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 step 2: Preparing the Poison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 step 3: Laying out the Mines (i.e. soda caps) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 step 4: The Waiting Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 step 5: Observe the Results + Cleanup + Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 step 6: Oh snap! The ants came back! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 step 7: Good Advice from Other Members: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 step 8: Success! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
description
Worth trying before you call the exterminator.
Transcript of Getting Rid of Ants or How to Kill an Ant Invasi
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
Home Sign Up! Browse Community Submit
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How to Get Rid of Ants (or) How to Kill an Ant Invasionby ScruffyRasputin on December 4, 2007
Table of Contents
License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Intro: How to Get Rid of Ants (or) How to Kill an Ant Invasion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
step 1: What you will need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
step 2: Preparing the Poison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
step 3: Laying out the Mines (i.e. soda caps) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
step 4: The Waiting Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
step 5: Observe the Results + Cleanup + Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
step 6: Oh snap! The ants came back! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
step 7: Good Advice from Other Members: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
step 8: Success! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)
Intro: How to Get Rid of Ants (or) How to Kill an Ant InvasionThis is a very simple solution that my dormmates and I used against an ant invasion of our hall. You'll think of it less as biological warfare when they're after yourfoodstuffs and crawling in your bed.
This guide is a great solution to taking care of the ants in your house/living space, especially if you don't know where they're coming from. It is low-mess and takes upvery little space.
Unfortunately...there's a bit of post-mortum clean-up.
Also includes other general solutions and tips.
Image Notes1. This is the enemy, men.
step 1: What you will needHere is your shopping list:
- a container of borax (you should be able to find this in the laundry detergent isle)- some jelly or jam (if you already have some, use that, as you don't need too much; if you need to buy some, get a small, cheap jar - ant's aren't picky - or somethingyou'd want to share with your toast)- container lid(s) (soda caps work great, as would any other low, small, and shallow container)- mixing bowl or cup (I recommend something disposable, because you probably don't want to use it again for eating/drinking)- a spoon (again, something disposable is good, so...plastic)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
step 2: Preparing the PoisonTake your cup or bowl, your spoon, and the borax and jelly. You'll want the solution to consist of no more than 5% borax. So, the easiest way is to take ten spoonfuls ofjelly and put them in the cup/bowl. Then, you'll want half a spoonful of borax. This recipe can be extended to twenty spoonfuls jelly and one of borax, if you need thatmuch.
Now, mix it in really well! You'll have to be deceitful - it's poison, after all.
step 3: Laying out the Mines (i.e. soda caps)Now that everything is mixed, you'll want to spoon the jelly into soda caps (like I said before, other shallow lids should work as well, but soda caps are small and easy toput out of the way, so that's what we used).
You don't need to use too many - my hallmates and I just used one or two caps per room with ant problems. Don't spread them out all over the floor - you'll just step onthem.
When you're done filling up the number of caps you need, place them somewhere on the floor, but out of the way (obviously in a room with ants). WE put ours in roomcorners, behind table legs, etc.
Image Notes1. hopefully you won't need this many caps
step 4: The Waiting GameNow you wait.
After a day or so you may start to notice ants swarming around the caps.
The goal is to have them take the delicious poison back to their home and feed it to all their buddies. So, if you see a lot of ants dying around the bottle caps, you mightwant to mix up a second batch with slightly less borax in it, so it won't be an instant kill.A few dead ants around the cap is probably to be expected, but not piles of them.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
Image Notes1. sit and wait
step 5: Observe the Results + Cleanup + WarningAfter a couple days to a week you should stop seeing ants, minus a few dead ones near or in the jelly caps. With any luck, the ants will have brought back jelly to theircolony and either have killed them off or convinced them that your house/room is NOT a four-star restaurant.
You can now throw away the cap of jelly (eating is not a reasonable means of disposal), sweep up the remaining dead ants, and get back to enjoying your life.
WarningYou may want to keep pets and children away from the jelly-borax caps, so they don't accidentally consume any of it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
step 6: Oh snap! The ants came back!Sometimes this happens.
Our whole dorm hall used this remedy, and only one room has had a reoccurring ant problem (it is also the messiest room, so cleaning, as much as it sucks, will probablyaid in your war against ants). That one room has continued to use borax and jelly to take care of the ants, because while it hasn't been a permanent solution for them, itkeeps the ants away for long periods of time (a month or two between invasions). But like I said, most of us have not had ant problems again.
So, what to do if they come back?
You can remake the jelly-borax solution (if you didn't have many ants dying near the soda cap last time, try upping the borax content slightly).
You can also try some of these things that have been suggested to me (though I haven't tried them myself):
- Mop your floors with a half cup to one whole cup of borax or baking soda per gallon of hot water. Again, keep young children and pets away from this floor. (thisprobably isn't a good solution if you have young children or wandering pets at all, because it is difficult to close an entire floor space, but if you are sans those varmints,this could be worth a try!)- You can draw a line/circle of white chalk or petroleum jelly (not the jelly we used previously) around a source of food for the ants or anything you just don't want ants on.Apparently they just don't like to cross the stuff. I have also heard that they just don't like crossing powders in general, but I don't know...- as should be obvious, clean your room(s), remove open food products (including dirty dishes), and take out the trash
Here is a link to a site with more nontoxic ant solutions. I have not tried them all, but what could it hurt?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
Image Notes1. OH SNAP!
step 7: Good Advice from Other Members:(it's useful to not have to sort through the comments)
Dec 10, 2007. PMflactemnad says:Borax works great for a long term kill, but when you just need the bugs to drop dead now try some of those orange oil cleaners. I dilute mine to 10% strength or less, andit drops bugs dead instantly! If you leave some of the sprayed residue on the surface ants usually avoid that too.
Dec 6, 2007. bleachworthy says:"nicely done, i have found that a simple scented bar of soap will kill off ants quite easily. they are attracted by the scent, and the lard content, and are quickly killed off bythe lye in the soap. if you lack a scented bar of soap, soak the bar of soap, and sprinkle sugar on it, then allow it to dry before use."
Dec 6, 2007. zer0vector says:"There is a product on the market called Terro which is basically a borax/sugar syrup mix, similar to the bait built here in case you don't have the time to make your own.They claim it's safe for pets:
Pets occasionally find the Terro and eat it. Our advice when this happensis to do nothing at all. The product is not toxic enough to cause a problem and the pet will be just fine.
Anyhow, it works well, check your hardware store if you want to find some."
Dec 5, 2007. scoleman says:"I'm sure this will work in the short run. To make a long term solution you need to look for and remove their source of water. Almost all infestations are because there is awater source to sustain the colony within the house/dorm itself. Occasional ants will come indoors, and if they find water, they move in. Check you roof, siding, windowframes for leakage as well as any old plumbing that may be leaking down to the foundation. It doesn't take much water to make a whole colony happy. Thanks for thetutorial on making our own ant bait!"
Dec 5, 2007. thomasedisonjr reminds us that due to the caustic nature of borax, to look for other solutions if there is the possibility of a pet or small child eating this borax-jelly mixture.
thanks guys!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
step 8: Success!Hopefully all this has helped, and you wont be living in the trenches of the human-ant battlegrounds any more.
Image Notes1. Take that, ants!
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Comments50 comments Add Comment view all 122 comments
KEYBOARDISBROKEN says: Apr 6, 2010. 4:56 AM REPLY Indianna Jones should of used this in his latest film
A good name says: Jun 22, 2008. 4:20 PM REPLYLol... one time when I was in the backyard with a lighter I tried to convince them that they should leave... It was cruel but the buggers needed to get out. Imanaged to get most of them out of the house but they still have a colony (I flood their hole every few days)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
headstorm says: Jun 30, 2009. 12:36 PM REPLYTry flooding it with gasoline, Ha it'll kill that part of your lawn, but it does the job. Plus, if you are still obsessed with fire, you can even spark up the gas.The ants are just as dead, but it could be twice as fun depending on your level of hatred.
draven216 says: Apr 5, 2010. 6:32 PM REPLY I was swarmed on the legs when i was about 3 or 5...... I'm saying my hatred level is pretty high
BHStibal says: Apr 4, 2010. 10:56 AM REPLY heat up some solder and dump it down the colony. not only will it burn them alive but if its done right you will have a cool sculpture if you dig it upcarefully
A good name says: Jul 5, 2009. 2:09 PM REPLY:|
shadowmaster113 says: Aug 19, 2009. 11:18 AM REPLYno fill it with vinegar and add baking soda
A good name says: Aug 26, 2009. 6:42 PM REPLYOr strap together a bunch of M16 firecrackers :D
REA says: Aug 26, 2009. 7:12 PM REPLYM80's are better. larger explosion.
mondaymonkey says: Dec 10, 2009. 1:19 PM REPLYMight as well just find a bunch of KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate), charcoal and suphur and fill a wooden barrel. Guarenteed to kill everyant (read: anything) within a massive radius
hi111 says: Apr 4, 2010. 5:35 PM REPLY i took a small bucket (3") and taped a 50 pack of fire crackers to the top and lit it up drooped it on the and hill and but a brick on itand they all died from the shock wave
shenker10 says: Apr 5, 2010. 5:26 PM REPLY i refuse to use a "trapped in their own nest" type deal. i now only use baited poison. only because last year i filled a wasp nest that was under my outdoorfront step with spray foam insulation.
well next day i came home and the house was FILLED with wasps. they dug themselves into the house.
that is why i will never use traps much again
pattyaitch says: Apr 4, 2010. 12:54 PM REPLYAnother way~~~ try this one first. Spread a row of cucumber peelings along their trail. Also, try putting a saucer with a spoonful of honey and tellthem~~aloud~~ "this is it. Eat it and leave, or face the consequences."To get rid of an ant hill, you need two ant hills. Take a shovelful of ant hill, ants and all from one nest to the other, then vice-versa. It's chaotic for a bit, but it'salso goodbye ant hill. I once tried this in Maylasia with some in the ground colonies that were close to our bungalow door. The ants all disappeared, pronto.
chubbyvegan says: Apr 4, 2010. 7:51 AM REPLYants do not like chalk, talc, or peppermint. just line entryways, like windows, doors, and cracks with any of the three and they will not come in. Then youwon't have to worry about chemicals in your food or have mass murder on your conscience.
eyebot117 says: Apr 4, 2010. 7:00 AM REPLYI'm not sure anyone has thought of this one, but a quick spray of Clorox cleaning agent kills them on contact. It seems like they die instantly... The drawbackbeing, that this doesn't get rid of all of them-but of course, if the stuff kills them on contact, God only knows what it'd do if they ate it.
WerdnaN says: Apr 4, 2010. 6:56 AM REPLY I just put down a small piece of dry ice next to the nest. They all try to attack it but freeze to death.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
Redrogue says: Feb 15, 2010. 2:47 PM REPLYHas anyone tried squeezing an orange peel while quickly igniting the oil spray with a lighter? It produces a miniature flame thrower perfect for burning ants.
stephenniall says: Apr 4, 2010. 6:40 AM REPLY I use deoderant and a Lighter ! or a bunsen burner to Melt the buggers
lunastyx says: Apr 2, 2010. 8:05 AM REPLY Thanks! I have used this mix a number of times since you posted it. It kills them but you have to be patient. If you cannot wait, use the bait to follow the antsback to their nest & blast them with bug spray. Also, instead of soda lids, I use the flat seals that are used when you you can & pickle things. They arebigger, hold more ants & are easier for the ants to get on & stay on.
blodefood says: Jan 4, 2010. 8:50 PM REPLYDiatemaceous earth is good for use indoors. It is a chalky powder from the skeletons of tiny sea creatures called diatoms. The ants get it on them enrouteto a food source and it goes back with them into the colony. To them the powder is kind of like humans eating fibreglass insulation. It breaks down theirskeleton and internal organs, they lose their body fluid and die.
Another plus of DE is that it is harmless to small animals and humans -- but avoid breathing in the dust or getting it in your eyes. If you have bought foodgrade DE then it is even safer. If a little is ingested by your dog or cat, it will actually add a bit of calcium to their diet.
Sprinkle along floor mouldings, in the path of the ants. You can also sprinkle it in an area on the floor before putting down the baits that ScruffyRasputin hasdescribed above.
Be very careful using it outdoors. You don't want to kill beneficial insects, too.
jany says: Mar 19, 2010. 5:41 PM REPLYusing FOOD GRADE DE, mixing a bit with the animal/pet food will clean out worms and parasites. Farmers mix it with animal feed to keep them free ofinternal parasites.
pecjames says: Jul 2, 2009. 11:51 AM REPLYTry sprinkling any artificial sweetener w/ aspartame in it on an anthill. It will wipe out the whole nest. Aspartame was developed as an insecticide originally, itis also a powerful neurotoxin and should not be consumed by humans.
antennas says: Jul 3, 2009. 8:34 PM REPLYOh get off aspartame. Odd how 200 countries are OK with it..must be a conspiracy. Ya that's it..
cmd353 says: Feb 23, 2010. 2:50 PM REPLYUnfortunately, it is a fact. I suggest the following (also found on google books):
Jonathan M. Borkum, Chronic Headaches: Biology, Psychology, and Behavioral Treatment , Routlege 2007, p. 235 - 236
It might change your mind :-)
However, given that fact, I would prefer the method described in this awesome instructable as a greener option.
JCO72 says: Sep 6, 2009. 3:08 AM REPLYput a bucket over the anthill, upside down, with a piece of dry ice under the bucket. The dry ice will sublimate to CO2 gass, which is heavier than air. The gaswill sink into the anthill, smothering the little buggers.
sharlston says: Aug 21, 2009. 11:56 AM REPLYya might want to metion pouring wax into there nest or; pouring petrol into the nest and burning it spraying compressed air upside down into the nests tofreeze them spraying them with oil putting fresh fruit with poison on every day caling a exterminator like me using nippon(ant poison) stamp on the littlebuggers
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
Goodluck says: Aug 3, 2009. 1:06 PM REPLYAn old neighbor taught me the best way to kill fire-ant colonies (I assume it'll work with any ants/insects). Find the biggest cooking pot imaginable. Fill withwater, bring to a boil. Slowly pour the boiling water over their mound starting near the edge and spiraling toward the center. Repeat as needed. The boilingwater kills instantly - even the eggs. The key is to use enough water to fully penetrate the nest. Obviously this is only do-able if you know where the colony islocated.
derekns74 says: Aug 2, 2009. 10:06 AM REPLYOutdoors, you can use a electric drill and a long bit you would use to go through a wall. A spade bit works best. Don't do it unless you know for certain thatyou are nowhere near a gas water electric phone etc buried service. Once you have a hole 12 inches deep, you can give them poison between the colonyand your house. Fill in the holes, and set a paver stone on top to keep animals from digging. If you don't wipe out the colony, you will at least cause them toexpand the other direction.
tiltmonkey says: Jul 30, 2009. 5:23 PM REPLYIf you want a remedy for ants that is safe around food or kids then try putting down some dry, powdered polenta. The ants know it's food and the queen eatsit but she can't digest it. She eats more and more and finally dies. No queen, no nest! Sounds really unlikely doesn't it? I read this on a gardening website, Itried it and it got rid of several nests of ants. It took a little time but at least it's non-toxic. Great for use in the veg garden.
Javin007 says: Jul 28, 2009. 1:20 PM REPLYA note on step 6, and the 5% number you use.
Professional products use slightly more than a 5% mixture (1 part borax to 19 parts bait) but wouldn't make much money if they got rid of the antspermanently.
Too many dead ants near the bait, you actually need to REDUCE the ratio. You shouldn't see but a dozen dead ants with the most severe infestation(assuming they didn't die by getting stuck in the bait).
To reiterate what I said in another "ant how-to post":
The reason for this is you risk what is called "budding." Generally, the in-house ants are the very tiny ones also referred to as "sugar" ants. Sugar ants do nothave a "queen" in the nest, but rather each female in the hive takes part in the egg laying (and all of the ants you see outside of the hive are female).
When the hive starts to have a large number of them suddenly dying off, they will "split" into smaller hives, infesting different parts of the house, allowing thehive to survive. This "budding" can actually cause a bigger ant problem, or later re-infestation. To make sure you kill the entire colony, you need to find abalance (from 5% to 10% has always worked for me. I only have to use it one time whenever I move) that kills them very, very slowly. Too little, and they willbe able to metabolize it, or reproduce faster than it can kill them (causing budding.) Too much, it'll kill them too quickly and they'll again, panic, and bud off.
For an example of a commercial product, look for "Terro Liquid Ant Baits" and take a look at the ingredients. I can tell you, this works, too. *never* spendyour money on pest control for ants when you can do it for pennies as this instructable shows. I moved into my newest apartment ten months ago. It had asevere infestation upon moving in. 5 days after using the borax solution, not an ant has been seen for nearly a year now.
freerunnin1 says: Jul 25, 2009. 9:58 AM REPLYuse a hoover :D
dauty says: Jul 19, 2009. 6:35 PM REPLYIf you can see the holes through which they are coming into the house, firmly rub chalk all around the hole in a solid block (i.e. not just an outline, but fill it in).Worked for me a couple of years ago (I watched them try to get through the chalk but for some reason they couldn't, and just pissed off) but sometimes nowwe get hundreds of drones coming into the house, so I'll put the advice to good use. Thanks.
Danielk says: Jul 14, 2009. 2:43 AM REPLYI found(after my dorm was attacked on multiple occasions), once you rid yourself of ants(I used the modded lighter flame thrower technique), they tend tocome back and use the same exact trails. Since I have carpet, I sprayed down copious amounts of Axe deoderant, engulfing their entire trail. I have yet tosee more than 4 or 5 ant scouts at a time. This has been a few months now. If the come back, I will have to try your awesome tutorial.
barbhug says: Jul 12, 2009. 10:03 AM REPLYTo keep ants out of the house, simply lay down a line of kosher salt across the door threshold and window sills. Ants will not cross it. I feed some feral catsand ants were getting in their food. I put a circle of salt, put the bowl on it and voile, NO ANTS
thepaul1993 says: Jul 8, 2009. 1:03 AM REPLYwhat about a army grade flame thrower?
lovingtheant says: Jul 4, 2009. 11:19 AM REPLYI think if you have lots and lots of ants, even more then the millions, that you should open an ANT FARM. I suggest you get right to work building them bedsand such and feed them lots of sweets. You can actually sell them to people that love making chocolate covered ants. You will make a profit for sure, maybesay 30 ants for 10.00 or so. Good luck
tristan993 says: Jul 1, 2009. 1:33 PM REPLYgod i hate ants so much. i actually get angry when i see them; i take great joy in killing them. its kind of like an anti-depressant
http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/
Gilrostwo says: Jul 1, 2009. 2:08 PM REPLYWhere I'm from, for a few weeks every year, there a SO MANY GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLARS! They're fun to crush.
tristan993 says: Jul 1, 2009. 3:37 PM REPLYhmm idk. caterpillars dont do it for me. i just hate how small ants are. good talking to you, fellow specific insect hater
Gilrostwo says: Jul 1, 2009. 5:27 PM REPLYInsect hater? Insects ROCK. I just hate infestations, like ants, locusts, GMCs, etc.
Punkguyta says: Jul 4, 2009. 11:15 AM REPLYI hear ya
thepelton says: Jul 2, 2009. 12:48 PM REPLYTry spreading diatomaceous earth in their trails. At microscopic levels, it has sharp edges that lead to open wounds on their feet. Maybe you could mix it withsome other stuff like boric acid or aspartame.
wperry1 says: Jul 2, 2009. 7:55 AM REPLYBorax works great for fleas too. You sprinkle it on your carpet and work it in with a broom then vacuum briefly so you get the loose powder off the top. Voila!no more fleas.
F1X0R says: Jul 2, 2009. 6:14 AM REPLYWhat you're really hoping for here is for the queen ant to get a dose of this. Once she's taken out there is no chance for the remaining ants. Indeed this is theonly way to deal with pharaoh ants. Because if you squash one, they'll be 10 to replace it.
goodgnus says: Jul 2, 2009. 12:07 AM REPLYIf you buy powdered boric acid you'll want a 1-2% ratio. 1 teaspoon per cup = 2%, 1 teaspoon per 2 cups = 1%.
Some ants prefer protein based bait over sugar based. In this case use peanut butter instead of jelly. For full effect make both available to the ants.
Instead of caps I use straws. I suck the bait into the straw (stopping before it gets to my mouth) and then cut it into 2" sections and tape it in place. Whenusing peanut butter you'll need to warm it up to make it thinner both when mixing in the boric acid and when sucking it into a straw.
I've used this technique several times to rid my house of ants. It is slow but it works permanently because it kills the entire colony not just the ants you see.
Wafflicious says: Dec 27, 2008. 12:34 PM REPLYPut borax in water than put that in a squirt gun... MWUAHAHAHAH they carry it back without knowing it!
alex-sharetskiy says: Jun 30, 2009. 11:24 PM REPLYdon't get it in your mouth!
Wafflicious says: Jul 1, 2009. 8:21 AM REPLYLOL
geeklord says: Jul 1, 2009. 7:47 AM REPLYBorax is the main ingrediant in that terro liquid ant killer. But i suppose this way you can make it more than 5% concentrated and use different baits. Goodible, might try this, I have had problems in the past.
alex-sharetskiy says: Jun 30, 2009. 11:28 PM REPLYnice and simple!
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