ants,ants and more ants

mralgae · Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:20 pm Post subject: ants,ants and more ants

sorry if this is in the wrong forum but i cant find a general bug forum to place it in.

any way as the title suggests i am over run with ants in one part of the garden and around the back door area.

for the last 3 weeks i have been using nippon powder which didnt seem to work so went back to the tried and trusted nippon gel. BUUUUUUT the little beggers seem to be feeding on it and builing up a bigger army every day. every day there is more and mor of them and they just keep on coming back no matter what i do. as a last resort i have been using boiling water but this onlt quells them down for about 15 mins and hey presto another damned army of them turn up.i am at my wits end as they have now started at the back door in just the same amount as over by the path.
i know where the nest is and place the gel all along the path where they run and also at the entrance to their den.

please can any one suggest anything else i can try before they take over and do what ever ants do...... Sad

Protein · Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 9:32 pm Post subject:

i know you may think I am balmy, but I do wish I had an ant colony in my garden... granted if they were nesting under my patio or marching toward the jam jar, I would be less enthused.

If you have a Chinese / Oriental store near you, pop in and ask them for Ant Chalk - draw a line on the ground around doors - they apparently won't cross the this line.

Or here is a link to an American site which suggests things like vinegar, black pepper, cinnamon, mint, cayenne pepper, and more...- http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants.html

Foxylock · Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:52 am Post subject:

I know a woman who swears that ants hate talcum powder and wont cross a line of it. Its worth a shot.

cuemaster · Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:01 pm Post subject:

used to have an ant problem in London, poured hot strong coffee and they go away for a few weeks, they hate the smell. Look for the entrances to the nest and pour the coffee down there

mralgae · Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:56 pm Post subject:

wow thanks for all your replies, got some in the press so will start giving some a go tomorrow. not today as i have already had to boil the beggers this evening. found another nest tonight so that makes 3 nests i have to deal wih...... Sad

mralgae · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:09 pm Post subject:

well i can defo vouch for vinegar but unfortunately it has a major down side to using it.

in using vinegar it does keep them form the area you pour it BUT all it does is to move them down the line. i tied this today and oohh boy did i get a BIG shock. it made them disappear only to mass move down the path, this time in their thousands, yes i said thousands inc 100s of the flying ones also.
we have been at it for the last 4 hrs trying to kill them with some level of sucsess.
there has to be an under ground tunnel from the lawn/path area for as we stopped them at the lawn they then came out up by the back door area. so i lifted the tread board at the door and got another big shock. two wholes leading down to the wall and out into the back wall of the house.
so boiled the beggers agin and again and now going to fill in the wholes to stop them getting into the kitchen at least. dont you just love the summer.... Smile

Sive · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:48 pm Post subject:

I will NEVER use cobblelock paving again We had it on our last house and it was the most perfect nesting ground for ants...we would find little mounds of sand that ants had deposited after excavating their underground tunnels. When they were established there, they decided there was better foraging indoors. And whenever I decided to live and let live they would go too far and I'd have to get the poisonous powder out yet again. They normally confined themselves to the kitchen, but one night we returned home late after a family party with a small amount of chocolate cake, wrapped in foil, in a basket which we left in the hall....probably 25 feet away from their normal stomping ground...through another room and a closed door.
You guessed it, in the morning the cake was a mass of ants.......I'm afraid the powder came out again.........

mralgae · Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:05 pm Post subject:

@ sive: my heart goes out to you, i know exactly what you must have gone through.
in the last few hrs since writing my last post they are still amassing by the 100s. i boil them and about hr later the re-mass and seem to double in not only size but quantity as well.
like sive they now seem to have moved indoors, i thought i had them sorted out and was about to fill in the wholes they run threw and they came out in force again.
i have lifted the running board at the door ro find a load of wholes that they are using to get in from out side but i cant fill them in yet as i now know they are under the tiles of the kitchen floor and if i fill them in before i get rid of them all they will only find another route into the house, so i am having to wait till tomorrow to make sure they are all gone before i seal everything up......