For the third spring in a row we are seeing more ants indoors now that the season is here. They seem to be carpenter ants, and judging by the numbers found indoors the nest/colonies seems to be outside. For the life of us we can figure out where they are coming from or where they are going. We spray some pesticide ourselves but that is effective only for a short time. If anyone would like to share their experience/suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Ants
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For some reason carpenter ants have no interest in over-the counter liquid poisons in the spring. Their focus seems to be on colonization and the recovery of the dead bodies of older worker ants who abandon the nest. I have had some luck with liquid poison in the late fall when they are actively trying to store energy to sustain them over the winter. Another option is Borax. Pest control companies frequently spray the ground and exterior perimeter around the home with a 6-12" swath of Borax powder. It's an effective method to prevent carpenter ants from entering a home but won't kill those already inside. For Borax to work it must come in contact with the ant. To do that you need to find their nest and shoot the Borax down the ant tunnels leading in/out of the nest. You do this by putting the Borax in a pressurized garden pest powder sprayer. Both the sprayer and Borax are available at hardware/farm supply stores. I think Borax is even available at Wal-Mart. Good luck!
Check for old death trees or tree stumps. Ants like to nest on the, and they go into your house. If your house is made of masonry outside look for small holes. You can buy ready mix masonry from Home Depot to plug them. Make sure all pipes and windows are properly caulk.
They used to be a problem for me in the spring and I hired a pest control company to good effect for a few years.
Then the house next to me was a tear down and after the new one was built, my problem is gone.
Hope this helps.
I'll call the wrecking crew and get a quote for two house's (1 on left , 1 on right) to be torn down.... Reason: I have a spring Ant problem...
I heard this on a Saturday morning home Reno talk show a few yrs back and if works. Mix 1 part baking soda with 1 part icing sugar. I usually put the mixture in a bottle cap and lay them in various areas, like under a cabinet and behind the fridge. Since ants (and many other pests like earwigs) can't belch, they build up internal pressure from the soda and die. The icing sugar simply attracts them. This will work for about a yr, then at the first sight of an ant simply fill the lids again, if you can remember where you hid them. This works great in the garage as well.
Its somewhere around the house outside, you have to watch and find a few ones t..he nest is inside the ground..you may have to dig around that spot and spray. There should be an area where you would find more of them.
How to make an all natural ant killer....
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how...ant-killer-apartment-therapy-tutorials-189111
How to make an all natural ant killer....
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how...ant-killer-apartment-therapy-tutorials-189111
Thank you all for your helpful comments. I'd like to call a company to spray so at the very least we get fewer ants inside the house. However, I'm recieving resistance from the rest of the family on this. Just killed one walking all over my remote control, guess it doesn't like watching hockey.
I had an ant problem years ago, I used borax ant traps. It is a little tin trap you open and place near where ants are walking. They go in and pick up borax laced food and take it back to their ant lair and poison up their whole ant colony. You can get the ant traps at the dollar store.
IF they are carpenter ants they can cause huge damage to a building. I'm sure if you put one into a pill bottle or something of the sort, that someone in the entomology department (insects) at one of the Universities around Toronto can identify them for you. IF they are carpenter ants you might want to get in a commercial extermination firm.
Omega guyver, just to mention (not knowing the actual situation) that you may have more than one species of ants.
