Ants in the house

[DaveM]

Over the last month or so our house have been invaded by these tiny little ants. As we have cats I am finding it very hard to get rid of these little pests. We have used baby powder and it seems to work well but having large amount of baby powder sprinkled all over the house floor is getting a bit much. So today I am on the hunt for some type of pet friendly way to get rid of these ants

 

[hemibee]

A couple old home ant remedies:

1.Spray the ants with soapy water
2.Place a cucumber peel or sliced cucumbers at the ant point of entry, bitter cucumbers work better
3. Sprinkle some cayenne pepper around the point of entry

Don't know if these will help but they seemed to work back on my grandparents farm.


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[Silli]

Dave.... I have this problem too, big time!
Hemi..... ty for the tips.

 

[hemibee]

I hope they work for you, if not let me know and I'll find out if any of the family remembers any other old home remedies we used on the farm.


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[hemibee]

Just remembered another trick they used, coffee grounds spread around the door sills and kitchen floor around the cabinets.


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[DaveM]

Yes all of the above and they say citrus peels as well. Well we have just washed the inside of our house with a mixture of lemon cleaner, consecrated lemon juice and Dettol. Also they say take take a mixture 50/50 of water and cider vinegar and spray that around the places where they are coming from. Will do this later today

 

[CarlS]

Dave, you can try an ant bait. Theoretically, the ants take this back to the colony and it wipes out the colony. You can buy such commercially or concoct your own. The main ingredient is boric acid. You do have to keep then away from pets; but if you follow the instructions, you will place them in locations where the pets can't get to them.

 

[Dilligaf]

All the tips so far help but you must find the nest and kill the queen. If the invasion is massive you need a professional to inject into the nest.
Also examine your home for entry points and seal them with spray foam.

 

[DaveM]

I tried them and normally they would work but not this time. The ants were thick all over them but they just kept coming. These are the ones I was using and as I say normally they worked very well

The house now smells like a fish and chip shop

 

[CarlS]

Usually those things are very effective. You might try a different brand, if available, and see if another brand works better. The ingredients vary by brand.

 

[DaveM]

I did look today but it seems that is about the only brand that we get

 

[CarlS]

Do a search and see what recipes you can find for concocting your own. You will find some that are easy to do.

 

[DaveM]

Well today we spend most of the time with silicon sealing up any crack or gap we could find all round the inside of the house. Just sprayed the outside with ant killer all round as well

 

[CarlS]

I hope that does the job!

 

[DaveM]

Well it is starting to look much better so I hope it has

 

[CarlS]

That is a very good sign!

 

[DaveM]

Patch up a few more cracks so I think I may have them sorted now

 

[CarlS]

You are being unkind to ants. They need food and a warm cozy place to live.

 

[DaveM]

I know and I feel so bad for them

 

[CarlS]

You should; winter is coming on!!