Have had problems. Found an almost too easy to be true recommendation to use 1 part borax and 1 part powdered sugar, sprinkled lightly along their path. Appears to be working magically after a couple days! Best yet, fairly safe solution using products I already had on hand. BAM!
My Ballard Forum » Reader Recommendations
Little Black Ants
(15 posts)-
Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredPosted 1 year ago # -
gracie
onlineMemberGood to know - come spring/summer have an ongoing problem with those little things on my sidewalk. I didn't want to use anything poisonous because of my dog. Now if we could get rid of the rats that are showing up outside in the neighborhood. Kind of creeps me out when I pull down our street & see one of those things scurrying across the road.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredGood luck with both! Though natural, Borax isn't safe to ingest, so you still want to keep it away from pets, but it only requires about 2 teaspoons across their trail to do the trick.
Posted 1 year ago # -
charliecooper
offlineMemberI use Borax in two different ways, at the same time:
1) Mix sugar and Borax into water. When it has dissolved in the water, place it across the ant trail.
-and-
2) Mix peanut butter with Borax. Place the mixture on wax paper. Put it near any ant trail and wait.
Using both of these options at the same time is very effective.
Posted 1 year ago # -
lakreitz
offlineMemberResurrecting this thread. Black ants attacked our house and zeroed in on the cat food. My cats were crying as if starved even though their bowls were full. When I looked closely, the ants were all over their dry food. Yuck. No wonder the cats were freaked out.
I remembered the moat trick someone suggested in another ant invasion thread. Most awesome tip ever! My cats' food bowl is now sitting in a pie pan of water and we have no ants in the house. The ants gave up after just a day.
Posted 10 months ago # -
gracie
onlineMemberI got rid of ants in the sidewalk but they are still in the grass. Not keen on using sprays but how do I get these jerks to go bye-bye. I discovered them last weekend when I sat a drink down on the grass next to my lawn chair - they were all over it.
Posted 10 months ago # -
lakreitz
offlineMemberGracie - The black ants seem more determined than the brown ones. Today, just one lone kitty kibble was on the floor, and the ants mobbed it. They'd been away from the house for several days. I was hoping they'd given up on me.
I am using Grants Kills Ants in the yard. The bait is inside grey plastic stakes. I only placed them out a few days ago, but almost instantly the black ants are all over the stakes. Several years ago, during the brown ant invasion, I noticed that brown ants weren't interested in this type of bait. Look for a trail of ants. Place the stakes adjacent to their path. Hopefully this will knock down the problem in your yard and keep your lawn chair safe.
Posted 10 months ago # -
gracie
onlineMemberThey are little brown ants. The other bug that drives me nuts - earwigs. Every day there is one (or more) on the chaise lounge. Have to break out the Vaseline. That's how I got them to quit crawling up the legs of lounge. The ants in my grass can't see them until they crawl up a drinking bottle or any food item/dish I put on the ground - even for a quick moment. I found their "nest" by the porch & stairs & got rid of that. Maybe I'll have to go after there again. They are just icky.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Anonymous
offlineUnregisteredYep, they *LOVE* the cat food. Need to try the moat trick. Good call! The Borax + powdered sugar works well, but is kind of sticky to clean up afterwards.
Posted 7 months ago # -
gracie
onlineMemberMy issue is having something safe out there because my kitten is VERY Curious and into everything. When I'm eating outside, or cooking outside, I've started calling her "Hoover" - because she is right there picking it up & eating it. She tries to eat EVERYTHING, if I let her.
Posted 7 months ago # -
enatai70
offlineMemberMy house is 92 years old and for the past YEAR has been so g d infested with these f'n black ants I am ready to move out. Too bad I own the place. Called Cascade Pest Control and they came out and killed all the ants you could see which of course meant nothing went back to the nest to kill larvae. The walls are weeping ants, i am not kidding. Thank god the house has 2 bathrooms because I have ceded the one that is infested the worse to the ants. I have had Progressive pest Control come and is now treating it. IT IS AWFUL. It's great if the borax spray is working for you but I would like to let you know that it can get much Much MUCH worse so YMMV on that. My suggestion is call a professional. I know everyone likes to keep it cheap and green and cat/eco friendly but this is seriously a bummer situation I'm in and it's way beyond borax and peanut butter, I wish I would have called someone 6-9 months ago instead of trying to do hippie cures.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Mondoman
offlineMemberI heard once that they're sometimes looking for water, which would make sense this year. Maybe once it rains a day or two, you'll be able to convince them to go live elsewhere.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Neged
offlineMemberAre you all talking about carpenter ants?
I had a problem with them before. Someone must have some neglected woodstuffs that is housing their main nest.
If they are they large black ants with the mean looking pincers, they're carpenter ants. They nest in wood (though they don't feed off the stuff), and are attracted to moisture and wet wood. They swarm and try to make satellite nests in the hottest days of summer, but they can invade sovereign houses at any time really.
First thing to do would be to inspect anything made of wood. Look at any trees or wooden structures in search for ant galleries. If you find some, spray some highly toxic stuff at them.
Next would be to check for leaks or wet wood inside or around the house. Even if you just have a 2x4 laying around that got wet in the rain, check it. Replace/remove any wet wood.
Then the house should be checked carefully and sealed. Look for any gaps in the siding, any open windows, anything. Seal everything, possibly paint the house if you can. The paint might clog some hard to spot gaps. The roof is the hardest part to inspect. It is easier to make sure that nothing hangs above it.
Find out where they come from. If your house is badly infested, then all you have to worry about is sealing its outermost layer as above. Then just treat the house a few times. They will have nowhere to run if they made nests inside. If they come from outside, then you have more work to do. Find out what time they come out, and then go looking for a trail. I had ants line up in a neat little trail so that they can climb all up in my air ducts, which they used to spread all over the house. About a dozen trips around the house later (at varying times), I found where they came into the house from. Spray poison into whatever hole they're coming in from, then seal and paint it. Cheese cloth keeps them out well too, if you want to seal any other openings that you don't want to poison.
After you have made an effort to seal the house, and to locate any other ant locations, it is time to call pest control. You have to do all the above steps before you call pest control, because I have called them before and they did not seem very bright. It is your property, you know it better. If you don't have some intel to give to the artillery, they wont hit much.
Watch the guys as they spray their poison. Pay attention to any tiny spots that they missed, that you will need to watch later.
If you are a natural at tracking the enemy, you will be able to somehow locate a nest, or at least a satellite nest. If you can pinpoint these locations to the pest control, they will be able to use the more concentrated powerful stuff that will wipe the nest. Otherwise they will just spray some stuff at the ground that will wash with the first rain. Or if working on a house, they will just drill into the siding and spray stuff into the insulation. This wont help if the ants are spreading through the ducts.
If you have trouble locating where they come from, try sealing certain suspected entrances/exits with cheese cloth to see if any ants get caught in there. This is how i found the ants coming out of duct vents, which lead me to inspect the outside of the house too.
This post has turned way longer than intended, but my g*d, do I hate such ants.
Remember to look for wet wood, gaps between wood, and to follow ant trails. You might be surprised to where they lead. And for the love of g*d, if you find a nest in a tree or something, pour some high octane crap on it and burn it down.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Cate
offlineMemberWhy just light a match when you can use a blowtorch?
Posted 7 months ago # -
enatai70
offlineMemberThe ants in my house and I think what the thread was initially addressing are what some people call "sugar ants" or piss ants or more officially, odorous house ants *not* carpenter ants.
Posted 7 months ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.