Ants in the house...ugh!

amother

Blue

Mon, May 18 2015, 2:02 pm

I have been using Raid ant and roach spray, but all it seems to be doing is getting rid of ants in one room, and ultimately finding them in another room. They started in the front room, and when we though they were gone, we found them in the bedroom. We sprayed Raid in there and found them the next day in our office. They seem to travel room to room but...
I did alot of research online, and many suggest a product called Terro Liquid Ant Baits. They claim that it works alot better than Raid. Also others have suggested Borax. I have searched for Borax everywhere and no one seems to have it. Has it been discontinued? I found Terro today at Target. If anyone can give me step by step instructions I would truly appreciate it. Am I correct that it comes with six pieces of cardboard and you put a drop or two of the Terro liquid on each cardboard? How often do you add more liquid? Does it dry up? Is it sticky? Before I open the box, I'd really appreciate if you could explain how it works and how to use it properly. Thanx!

blueberries

Mon, May 18 2015, 2:35 pm

Tear the "PLACE TERRO® HERE" cardboard squares from the home ant killer packaging along the perforated lines and simply apply the liquid ant killer directly from the bottle onto the square. Small pieces of paper, cardboard or foil may also be substituted.

Place this household ant killer where ants are seen, such as the edges of sinks, tubs, window sills, under food cabinets, along floors and baseboards, and in corners. Do not skimp on bait placements; the more bait placements, the better.

The key to effectively eliminating the ant infestation is to monitor the placements and ensure there is always a fresh supply of TERRO® Ant Killer for the ants to feast on. Depending on the size of the ant invasion, complete control may take up to two weeks.

Resist the temptation to interfere when the ants come in droves — your patience will pay off as you watch your ant infestation dwindle and then disappear.

Since invading ants usually have outdoor nesting sites, it often helps to put our best ant killer outside the home, close to where ants are found entering the structure. Ants typically follow defined trails from the nest to food or water, so placing the ant killer close to these trails will improve control.

http://www.terro.com/terro-liquid-ant-killer

amother

Blue

Mon, May 18 2015, 8:49 pm

Blueberries, thank you so much!
I read the directions, but somehow you made it easier for me to understand what is happening. I actually did not realize I was working with a liquid and not just an ordinary ant trap. I will keep you all posted...unless you'd rather not hear from me again.

sourstix

Mon, May 18 2015, 8:56 pm

I bought terro and it didnt do the job, I still have ants. outside and inside. now looking for something else. it came with the rectangular plastic peice you cut the bottom and put it down that was for inside. but I have acrawling baby so its not good. I also bought the ones for outside and I still have tons of ants digging up my front. so I dont know what to do.

FranticFrummie

Mon, May 18 2015, 9:24 pm

Do you have tiny ants, or carpenter ants? The tiny ones are attracted to grease and sugar, so keep your kitchen immaculately clean. They are super hard to get rid of.

I have carpenter ants, and they are even worse. The house I rent has massive dry rot all through the foundation, and colonies have set up all over the place, in areas where I can't reach them. The landlord will have to completely renovate when we move out. In the meantime, the ants keep sending out single "scouts" that I find in random places.

I was told that laying down baby powder where the walls meet the floor will stop them or at least slow them down. Ants are very clean, and are constantly grooming themselves. The baby powder chokes their digestive system and eventually kills them. You can try diatomaceous earth, as well. You can find DE at any hardware store, in the gardening section.

lucky14

Mon, May 18 2015, 9:35 pm

We got the terro liquid ant baits, the liquid is already in the plastic package thingy. You just cut a slit in it and set it down. We had a HUGE number of ants in our pantry, kitchen, and bathroom. They haven't appeared in the pantry since we put the baits down (it took really only like a day or two and then no more), nor on the kitchen counter. We just spot one or two every so often in the bathroom or dining room. But those things REALLY helped us out (and hopefully it'll stay this way).

FranticFrummie

Mon, May 18 2015, 9:49 pm

sourstix wrote:

frantic frummie how do I know the difference? they look like ants....

The tiny kitchen ants are about 4mm long. The carpenter ants are about 1cm long. Kitchen ants are usually brownish black, and carpenter ants are dark black and very glossy.

Kitchen ants build very elaborate tunnels in the soil around the foundation of your house, and they send scouts to look for food. As they go they lay down a scent trail, and that's why you'll see a single line of ants queuing up to get to the food, and another line going back to the nest to bring food home. It looks like a little ant freeway.

Carpenter ants tunnel into rotten wood, and further erode the structure of the joists and supports.

In both cases, if it gets bad enough, you might have to get an exterminator in to fumigate the whole building, and plan on staying in a hotel for a few days.

Either that, or start giving them names, and consider them "pets". LOL

das

Mon, May 18 2015, 9:53 pm

Here's your miracle cure. Learnt this from an exterminator's wife. Follow instructions, spray around perimeter of house and around every room and u wont see ants for a year. Respray once a year and thats it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ort.....52911

sourstix

Mon, May 18 2015, 9:56 pm

I just moved into this house! dh isnt concerned right now. he does know a thing or two about this stuff. so if he isnt doing extermination now I think its still in control. its better then it was. but not totally done. it was quite good in the house for a while and when there is alot of crumbs they come like flies. so keeping the floor clean is a biggie