Ant Problem

[DVC2004]

Any suggestions on how to get rid of ants? A few weeks ago I noticed a few ants in my kitchen around the cat food. Within a day or too there were many more. We bought those Raid ant traps which haven't seemed to do anything. I moved the cats bowls into the nearby bathroom. Now there are ants in there!
I have scrubbed everything down and I think thye may be coming in by our sliding door in the kitchen. Should I call an exterminator?
Would it pose any harm to my cats?

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

We have the same problem with our dog food. I usually spray Raid ant and roach killer around the outside of the house, usually by doors, etc. and this seems to work for the most part to keep them out. The DW will clean the house with a non-scented (especially avoid pine scented) cleaner. Good Luck..if you find something else that works, please share..thanks.

[starryeyes21]

When I was younger my mother would wage war against ants every single summer. Now that I am grown and married I find myself doing the same thing. Ants are attracted to food smells. I use natural remedies because Raid and chemicals make me nervous. But Raid sprayed around the house will work. Unfortunately, they love pet food. The best thing to do is to feed the cats and then pick up the food. You should also place it in a container that seals tight. This way they can't smell it anymore. After the food is off the floor you should give the floor a quick spray with cleaner every time. I use green works all purpose spray. I don't think that deters them, but it's just what I use. Ants follow smell trails they leave to and from the place where they are finding food.

Also, can you find the nest? If you can pour boiling water into it. I know....it sounds cruel and horrible but it works. What is does is kill the ants in the immediate area and collapse their tunnels. Then they are trapped inside. Its not permanent because if they are not all dead the pesky little buggers will, eventually, tunnel out.

Some people swear by spearmint. So, you could try placing a little spearmint mixed with water in front of the door. This may deter them form coming in. The best way to deal with ants is to remove the incitements from your home. I had a cat my whole childhood and I know he liked to nibble all day so this may be a tough adjustment for your kitties but sealing up the food might alleviate the problem.

[DizneyRox]

I would suggest getting in touch with a reputable pest management company. We pay about $100 a quarter and they come out, spray outside and inside of the house (around ground level) as well as handle any bees, wasps, etc. For that they will also handle mouse problems, etc.

It's turned out pretty good for us, no real problems to speak of, not so many spiders around the house, definitely no ants, etc. Won't really help with mosquitos, gnats, fruit flies, and some of the other flying pests, but that's understandable.

As far as the cat food/dog food goes. Store it in sealed containers and you should not leave food down all day for animals. Having set eating times will eliminate the food from sitting around attracting bugs. They will learn to eat when its time to eat.

[MNNHFLTX]

Before you go the exterminator route, try out a product called Terro, available at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. We buy the baiting stations. You snip a little piece of plastic off, which allows the ants to crawl in. They take the bait back to their colony and it wipes it out. We've had a problem maybe a couple of times a year, but the Terro takes care of things, usually within 24 hours. The one precaution I would take, though, is to be cautious about placing the baiting stations around the cats. Our cats have never bothered them, but I still try to place them away from their food and under something, if possible (we place it under the dryer). You don't want the cats playing with it!

[TheMartellFamily]

Since we live only a few miles from you, we also have a problem. What we do is ant powder, or spray and place it around the house, outside. We do this around the base (foundation), infront of doors, by window wells. We get the outside ant killer from Wall Mart or Home Depot. We were told that because of the kind of soil found in our area, we will always have this issue. We just work on it in the spring and it does get better. Are they the small or big black one?

[DVC2004]

Since we live only a few miles from you, we also have a problem. What we do is ant powder, or spray and place it around the house, outside. We do this around the base (foundation), infront of doors, by window wells. We get the outside ant killer from Wall Mart or Home Depot. We were told that because of the kind of soil found in our area, we will always have this issue. We just work on it in the spring and it does get better. Are they the small or big black one?

They are the small ones. Wow, this is the first time in 10 years we have had them but they are numerous!

[wdwnutz]

This year we used Ortho Home Defense that comes in a gallon bottle with a sprayer. You spray a perimeter around the rooms that have the ants and also around the perimeter of the house. When we saw ants (mainly the kitchen) we would just spray and follow the trail. It seemed to work pretty well. We also use the the small bait traps.

[beksy]

I'm having the same problem. I live/lived in VA all my life and we have had cats without any ant problems. I moved to Morgantown, WV for law school and I have ants. I hate bugs, any bugs, especially spiders :faint:, but basically if it crawls (or slithers :medic:) I am not happy. I quickly learned even a crumb would bring the little pests in and was very careful about cleaning up, always doing the dishes, etc. Then I got a kitten. For four months I didn't have one problem leaving her food down all the time. Then one morning I woke up to her meowing like crazy and refusing to go near her food (and this cat can EAT!). I looked and there were ants in her bowl and all around it. :bug: Turns out my dare-devil kitty is terrified of creepy-crawlies too! I'm still working to find a solution so I'm open to any ideas, especially if they are cat-friendly since I seem to have the cat that can magically get anywhere! :teleport: Does anybody know if those pest-control things that you plug into the walls work (and if so if they will work on ants?)? Thanks and I share your irritation!

[MickeyMousse]

I hope this can work for your problem....

My grandfather was one of those down home kind of guys and never used store bought, manufactured bug sprays, etc.....He would make us laugh with his homemade concoctions!

When I moved into my first house we had a problem with those big carpenter ants coming inside. It was gross! My DH bought baits, traps and nothing really helped. Grandpa laughed at us and said for us to pour a line of salt around the area we thought they were coming in from (we ended up doing about an inch from the foundation of the house to be sure!) and it worked! They eat the salt and explode..... We didn't see an ant from that point on.

[DizneyRox]

Does anybody know if those pest-control things that you plug into the walls work (and if so if they will work on ants?)?
No, they don't... They will however probably drive you buggy with the noise they make.

[Kathy Jetson]

My mom has inside cats and some stray outside cats. She puts their food bowls in a plate with water filled in the plate. The ants won't go in the water and she doesn't have a problem with them anymore.

[Jeri Lynn]

This post made me chuckle, I am ant crazy. Our camp in Maine starting getting ants in March...I would sit in the bedroom and try and find out where they were coming from, of course they never came out when I was watching.

I sprayed and put ant cups out, the next time we went up there were still some but not as many. These were the black ants, not the little brown sugar ants....we sprinkled stuff all around the perimeter of the camp and underneath (no cellar), when we were up last weekend there were probably about 50 big black ants (with wings) and all dead, or dying...I bought new ant cups, sprayed what spray I had left around and I just bought a big bottle of spray and more stuff to put around the house on our next trip up. If that doesn't kill them I will call an exterminator....those kind of services aren't the easiest to find up there.

My family thinks I am nuts, but I don't like ants, I'd rather have mice!!! At least they are cute!!!

Good Luck with the Ants, hopefully I'll have good luck getting rid of them too!!

[DisneyDog]

I would just call an exterminator. They can take care of it right away. And the stuff they use is probably much safer than the stuff you would use yourself, which is stinky and gets everywhere.

[Altair]

Before you go the exterminator route, try out a product called Terro,

This will do the job.:thumbsup:

[murphy1]

I heard of a mixture you can make with Borax and something else, and it worked, I think it was mixed with water and dish soap.

[brownie]

Ants are attracted to food, so the first step is to clean really well, which sounds like you have done.

We had a similar problem a couple years ago. Our cats' food dish sits by our front door, and ants were coming in under the door, even though I had it sealed as best I could. I used Ortho's Home Defense to create a barrier and it worked great. We haven't had a problem since. The ants seem to really hate this stuff. It's supposed to last up to 12 months and is supposed to be safe around pets. I'd try using it around the outside of your home first.

[illini]

If you call an exterminator, make sure they use child- and/or pet-safe products.

Totally by accident, I found out that vinegar will keep them away. We were having a problem, and then I switched to using vinegar to clean the kitchen (environmental reasons, not due to ants). Ants disappeared. They reappeared in the bathroom a few months later and then I read online that vinegar takes care of them. I used a vinegar/water solution on our counters and the ants are gone now. It's cheap and it's safe.

[Greenlawler]

We also wage war with ants.....we have tried...Terro, Vineger, spotless kitchen, outdoor sprays, Raid, spearmint, even called the exterminator but their prices were outrageous I would rather fight the ants.

Oh well any other ideas would be fun to try, but I think we have mutant ants.

[Wells]

I agree with the previous posters that recommended Terro. It has always worked for us within a matter of days. Borax is the active ingredient, they take it back to their nest and share it with the colony. We just place it openly in the area where we see the most ants. Within a few hours there are a lot of ants eating it and taking it back to the nest, it’s hard to resist spraying or stomping on them, but you must let them be for it to work. We also have cats and One more thing, Terro only works on sweet eating ants, if these are large black carpenter ants, you will need a professional exterminator.....

[DVC2004]

Thanks to all for the great suggestions. We used Terro- both the outdoor powder and the spray. I have not seen an ant for days! It really seemed to work. The day following the application I saw two or three, then the day after that none. Thanks again!

[Granny Jill A]

Before you go the exterminator route, try out a product called Terro, available at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.

We've had exceptionally good luck with Terro Ant Baits as well. Every year we get those pesky little ants, and every year the Terro ant baits take care of the problem. We use both the indoor and outdoor kind. I prefer it to sprays.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

Another cheap solution is to put baby powder where they are coming in. For some reason, they won't cross baby powder or talcum powder etc.