Tiny ants, part II

[OhioGuy]

Ok, I've tried using pulverized limestone, plus a number of other suggestions, like pepper powder, and cinnamon. It really did little more than make a mess of my kitchen, and the area right outside our house. The ants are still all over the kitchen.

At this point, I would simply like to know what sort of granular pesticide I can buy to put on the soil near our house to make sure that any ants nearby in the soil are killed, and stay killed. It looks like Diazinon has been withdrawn, and that would have been my first choice in the past.

[OhioGuy]

Ok, I've tried using pulverized limestone, plus a number of other suggestions, like pepper powder, and cinnamon. It really did little more than make a mess of my kitchen, and the area right outside our house. The ants are still all over the kitchen.

At this point, I would simply like to know what sort of granular pesticide I can buy to put on the soil near our house to make sure that any ants nearby in the soil are killed, and stay killed. It looks like Diazinon has been withdrawn, and that would have been my first choice in the past.

[Ernie Willson]

AFAIK the best option you have is TERRO. I had the same problem and it solved it. It'll cost you though..about $0.59 in your local supermarket. Works like gangbusters. Best stuff I've ever seen.

As for Diazanon..I don't know the story, but in the past, it has been my observation that if it works the government will outlaw it...and the better it works, the faster it will be outlawed.

EJ > Ok, I've tried using pulverized limestone, plus a number of other

[Billy]

[Billy]

In article ,

TERRO is a commercial name for "Sodium Tetraborate, decahydrate" 5.4% The functional part of the name is Tetra-BORATE as in boric acid. See:

Ecological Information Diazinon is highly toxic to birds, fish, and other wildlife. Avoid exposure to waterfowl. Highly toxic to bees exposed to treatment ot to residues on blooming crops or weed. Do no apply this product where fish, shrimp, crab, and other wildlife are important resources. is one time that Ernie's observations are crap. TERRO looks good but you can probably make it yourself, cheaper.

Ernie Wills> AFAIK the best option you have is TERRO. I had the same problem and it

[Frank]

Haven't tried it on ants, but diatomaceous earth spread along their paths or around anthills might do the trick. DE is an accepted organic insecticide. It works not by poisoning them, but by chewing holes in their exoskeletons, killing them by dehydration. Won't harm anything larger than insect size.

[OhioGuy]

I ended up trying Ortho Max Bug B Gone for Lawns - season long pest control. It was $14, but if we no longer have ants on our plates, silverware and toothbrushes, it will be worth it.

[Ernie Willson]

Billy,

As I said TERRO has been the best stuff I can find. It is a boric acid solution with a sweetener added. Cheaper than dirt. A year supply cost me less than a buck.

What do you suggest as a better/cheaper/safer alternate?

EJ > >

[hubops]

Sorry - but I missed Part 1. Have you identified the exact ant that you have ? If they are pharoah ants - very tiny ants - then normal methods do not work. Pharoah ants require special tactics. You can google this. John T.

[Billy]

The EPA is one branch of government that works fairly well, except under "The Worst President Ever"(Clean Air, and Clean Water Acts were dirty jokes). So the next time you want death, ask for it by name, "Monsanto".

Diazinon MANUFACTURER The SOLARIS Group of Monsanto Company P.O. Box 5008 San Ramon, CA 94583-0808

Another blow against the planet from Monsanto.

[Billy]

You got the URL and I'm happy you don't have the diazinon that you would have preferred.

[Billy]

Bifenthrin

INFORMATION: Bifenthrin is highly toxic to fish and aquatic arthropods and LC50 values range from 0.0038 to 17.8 ?g/L. In general, the aquatic arthropods are the most sensitive species. Care should be taken to avoid contamination of the aquatic environment. Bifenthrin had no effect on mollusks at its limit of water solubility. Bifenthrin is only slightly toxic to both waterfowl and upland game birds (LD50 values range from 1,800 mg/kg to >2,150 mg/kg).

-----

It's not rocket science.

[Ernie Willson]

Billie,

I'm still waiting for your suggestion for something cheaper and more environmentally friendly than TERRO.

Please show me where I recommended using Diazinon for these ants. Please get your facts right Dunce.

EJ > >

[Billy]

That is a tacit endorsement. You didn't say, "Oh my god, that stuff is poison." No, you used your best "Tea Party" speak to say it must be good because the government outlawed it.

Don't waste you rhetorical slithering on me. You obviously have (or had) no idea or concerns over the effect of biocides on the biosphere, Jerk.

[Garrapata]

The trouble with diazinon and similar pesticides is they kill too quickly. you need something that they take back to the nest and gets distributed to all of them. I've been out of the business for a while and haven't kept up with what is available but boric acid powder mixed with sugar or grease is an old standard and I have had good luck with Grant's ant stakes

[dr-solo]

you need to determine what kind of ants, then get one of those poisoned bait tins or whatever they will eat. has everyone seen the new fly they are using against fire ants? zombiiiiiieeees.. INgrid Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago

[basilisk]

I live close to one of the release sites in Alabama, The phorid flies haven't wiped the fireants out but the mounds are having unusual die offs.

I have high hopes that it will at least make the ants manageable.

basilisk

[dr-solo]

Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago

[brooklyn1]

Corn starch... ants eat it, can't digest it, and die.