ANTS!!! At what point should I call an exterminator? archived

We have an ant problem every Spring – not uncommon, I know. But it seems to get worse every year, and this year, I’m really worried that it’s out of control. It started two weeks ago when I came home to find my toaster and counter completely covered with hundreds and hundreds of ants. I’ve been trying all of the non-toxic methods and it seems to work in specific areas, but as soon as we let our guard down, we end up with a swarm. And with a 2 year old and a dog, crumbs, sticky fingerprints, and chew toys with peanut butter residue are an everyday occurrence! Lately, the ants have gotten into things I would never even think about. For instance, I left my zipped diaper bag on the dining room floor one night, and there were stray Cheerios and crumbs in there. The next day it was swarming with ants. Last night I left a new, sealed loaf of bread on the counter, today there were tons of ants inside it. Yesterday, I kept scratching an annoying itch on my leg, only to find that it was an ant in my pants, biting me!!

Naturally, I’ve been avoiding chemicals because of my son, dog, and for ecological reasons, but now I’m starting to consider it. At what point would you go for it? Has anyone had a situation this bad that got dramatically better with non-chemical methods? I’m having a hard time finding entry points, so I can’t address it at the source. I think they’re coming in through the floorboards, but this is only a springtime occurrence. I would think that if they were nesting that we’d see them year-round, no? Also, last summer we ripped up the floors of our kitchen and bathroom during renovations – nothing!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If there are hundreds, I would call an exterminator asap. Last year was the first spring in our home and we had a lot of ants. I put down those ant traps where they bring the bait back to the nest and I think they were gone within 2 weeks, more or less. But our situation was not nearly as severe as yours. Personally, I would be too grossed out and call as soon as humanly possible, especially with a 2 year old. But I get grossed out by bugs of all kinds. This year I have an 11-month-old so I am going to be proactive in putting the traps down.

Good luck!

Edited to add that I would probably use the chemicals at this point. I totally get what you are saying about the chemical thing. Maybe that is something that you can ask an exterminator about?

Dego- what you have written sounds serious to me. With a child and a dog -first off, the most important thing is to not have any crumbs anywhere and forget the peanut butterchew toys....that being said, I think that you have to call in an exterminator- preferably a green one.

Well, I haven't even tried putting down the traps because I thought even THAT was too "chemically". I've been doing only natural methods. Maybe I should give the traps a try for a few days???

Oh, "green exterminator"! Really? Hadn't thought of that and didn't even know they existed!

We had an ant problem last year, just int he kitchen. Doesn't sound like it was as bad as yours, but this stuff worked wonders - http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Ant-Killing-Gel-27grams/dp/B000BQT5IG

With a dog and a two year old you could probably put it up on the counter, where the counter meets the backsplash, and the kiddo and dog wouldn't be able to reach it. The key is to let the ants go after you put it down. You'll see them acting drunk. They take it back to the nest, and after just a couple days we didn't see any more.

I had ants invade this week. I used Raid Ant Bait. The directions say it is good to 3 months. It has been very successful in getting rid of the ants. I would say that I have seen a 99% decrease in 3 days. It was about $5 for an 8 pack at Home Depot. I am very happy with the results.

http://www.killsbugsdead.com/fop_ab.asp


Also, did you know that when ants die they emit a smell for their friends. This lets their friends know that that they are dead so that their buddies will drag them off the the ant graveyard. This is great for this Raid slow acting poison. As the ants are slowing being killed they are dragging away the mess of dead bodies. So I don't have to deal with the ants, or even cleaning up the dead ones.

This thread is making me itch. I'm sorry to hear about your ant situation. I would do whatever it took....immediately.

Oh, and when my ant problem was bad I wiped every space in my kitchen (counter, sink and stove) with clorox clean-up. I found that the more "green" cleansers did not keep them away but that bleach did. :confused:

we've had "pavement ant" problems for years. THey have enormous nests - it is disgusting. I would call an exterminator and get a contract with them- he can often find a few of their trails (marching two by two is the truth!), but short of finding nests, he can spray perimeter of basement and then spray around outside of house - like a barrier. Then, repeat this MONTHLY! No joke.

THese ants got in our outdoor electric unit for some lights and BROKE it! They swarm. They were in my garden under plants. Mostly they live outside in the dirt, but they are attracted to food - those scout ants are very good at finding it! And when they come in side, it just creeps me out! They like water too so sometimes made it into the bathrooms.

It is much more in control now since our regular summer treatments. Good luck.

Don't use Raid, that stuff just doesn't work - well it kills on contact and that's it. They have to take the poison back to the nests.

Posted By: mayor_mccheeseAlso, did you know that when ants die they emit a smell for their friends. This lets their friends know that that they are dead so that their buddies will drag them off the the ant graveyard.


I read somewhere that they carry the dead ants back to the nest and put them on the pile with the other corpses.

Dotty, I guess that is more accurate. For me dead ant pile = ant graveyard.

OK, thanks everyone! I think I'm going to give ant baits a try up on the counters so the kid and dog can't get to them - that's where most of the ants are any way. I'm on my way to Home Depot!

Mellie, my sister also suggested bleach, so I'll do that tonight as well.

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll ship my son and dog off to the grandparents for a few days and call in the big guns!

I'll keep you posted! Thanks!

We have had a similar ant problem in our upstairs bathroom every year, and have controlled it with the bait traps. This year, though, the problem got much worse and we called in an exterminator (Buckingham). They identified the ants as carpenter ants, and told us that there must be moisture entering the house somewhere, since carpenter ants are attracted by moisture. They did spray for the ants (a poison that they take back to the nest). But mostly told us to get a roofer or carpenter in to look for where the water is entering and fix it, or else the problem will keep coming back. So even if you want to avoid the chemicals, it might be worth it to bring an exterminator in to identify what kinds of ants you have, and what may be attracting them.

Good luck!

We had a fly infestation last year. i called Buckingham and they were very helpful over the phone. He seems to be very honest. he actually suggested I hold off on having him come in and made a few other suggestions. So, you might want to at least give him a call.

We have a yearly infestation as well. There is no way possible that you are going to eliminate the ants by hiding food or using Raid or ant traps. Call Buckingham once the ants appear in the spring and then when they appear again, usually about every 4-6 weeks. The exterminator will spray both inside and outside. They live in huge underground colonies which can not be fully eradicated.

When I was cleaning out my attic a few years ago, I found a check made out to Buckingham from 1985 - it cracked me up. When we moved in, for the first year we thought we could get rid of the ants ourselves, but with no luck. I called Jerry, thinking that we had the hugest ant problem in the world, he just laughed and said he "knew our house well"

I have a toddler, and a cat and have never had any poison issues. I put the cat upstairs and then we leave the house for a couple hours while the spraying is going on.

DegoDiva,

We've had a much smaller invasion, but many different species (big, little, winged, unwinged). We had Terminex come last year, and it didn't work. So, this year I've been using a mixture of sugar, water, and boric acid powder in some bottle lids around the kitchen & bath. They're supposed to drink it, take it back to the nest and the boric acid hopefully makes it to the queen and stops the ant production. It takes a week or two to take out the hive, so it's not immediate. But if it makes it to the queen it's much more long term! I haven't seen any ants in our bathroom in a week.

If you want to try this, I have a bottle of Boric acid you are welcome to take most of. I've only used a little bit to make a batch I keep in a bottle, and I refill the lids each night with the mixture, or just add water, as the water evaporates.

You don't want your dog or kiddo to eat it though.

When my now in-college kid was crawling, I had a carpenter ant problem. Worried about the kid ingesting the toxic stuff, I had a company do non-toxic methods for 9 months. At that point, still seeing ants, I asked for (and got) my money back. Jerry Buckingham walked around the house and outside, spraying as he went, and that was the end of the ants. 973 762 6760

Sprouty, I may take you up on that if the traps don't work!

soresident, thanks for Jerry's number. I've worked with him when we had other outdoor issues, so I know he's the best! If I end up going that route, he's the one I'll be calling.

I've never had hundreds of ants, but I see them every spring. Two years ago I started using Raid Outdoor Ant Spikes and it takes care of them right away.

There are all sorts of ant remedies on the Internet. An interesting one is ground black pepper or ground (cayenne) red pepper. (Fire ants might consider it dessert!) Although with pets and small children, using pepper could be a problem.

I remember my ex MIL had an ant problem. Like clockwork, at the first sign of spring, the little buggers would march into her house like a military regiment. If nothing else, you've got to give them credit for their industriousness.

Then there's always the ultimate solution . . .

[IMG]http://www.junglewalk.com/animal-pictures/622/Giant-anteater-4059.jpg[/IMG]

Dego Diva, your invasion sounds so West Coast! Good luck. The little kitchen ants are probably harmless but annoying.

Sprout I suggest you track where the ants are going. You may have a colony living in your woodwork, and the best thing to do--though I am no expert on this, only having researched it--is to cut out the colony, inside some beam or something in your house. Of course, an exterminator will never tell you this, as they prefer to make yearly visits to bandaid the problem. (you exterminate in conjunction with extracting the colony, I think)

Good luck to you both!

For the first time since living here -- had an ant problem.

I put boric acid along the perimeter walls of the kitchen -- the ants stopped, but then found another way in.

The regular ant traps did nothing over several weeks. Then I got the "Hot Shot" "Ultra Liquid Ant Bait" (from Home Depot) -- within about 4 -5 days the ants were done. At first I thought they would not work (many dead ants around the traps, so I didn't think the poison was making its way back to the nest) -- but then, literally, one day, not a single ant anymore.

With cats in the house, I didn't want to spray anything. The hot shots could go inside the kitchen cabinets, where the cats couldn't get to them. Its $5 for a pack -- one pack did the trick. at that price, I'd get enough to place all around the areas that you have ants.

/p

Thanks Pete - those are the ones I got this weekend!

And Tom, thanks for that link because I've been meaning to look that up. I want to shoot some boric acid back behind my kitchen cabinets, under my stove, and under my tub (it has a removable panel). I was worried about its safety though, so your link is very helpful!

Buckingham Pest Control is the best....had them at my house two weeks ago after we had battled a carpenter ant infestation for a month using Raid and Boric Acid (which did alleviate the problem somewhat, but not completely). I have only seen 2-3 ants since his visit and will be having him come back again in May for a second spraying (for good measure). Jerry is very reasonable, honest, and lives in the area; definitely give him a call.

I think your son would have to ingest about a cup of it for it to be fatal. Can you imagine him eating a cup of boric acid or some other powder like salt? I think in the time that takes, you'd catch him at it.

Reingold Daughter 1.0 even had to use it as an eye wash. It's fairly benign stuff!

DegoDiva - resistence is futile if you have the tiny ants which crawl in from evey crevice in your house. Here is what we tried - boric acid, cayenne pepper, ant traps, more ant traps, duct tape on the woodwork where they crawled in through the crawl space. Nothing worked except Jerry and his ant magic. Take a park trip when the spraying is being done otherwise, pretty much every cabinet, every item in your panty will be infested by these little devils. You will go to open what you think is a sealed cereal box or bag of bread and find the ants waiting for you Get the spraying done, put all your food in sealable bins and relax until the first frost which is when they all go away.


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