First I would see what the ants were coming to then I would take it away and put Grants ant traps in it=92s place. The ants would eat the poison and die off in a few days. Now they still eat the poison but I think they developed an immunity to it because they=92re not dying anymore. Anyone else have the same problem? Maybe if I injected some kind of poison through a long thin tube directly into their nest. Any ideas?
Hi Molly, Go here for instructions on making and using borax to kill them. Works extremely good especially when you have no idea exactly where the nest is. The ants themselves will take it back to the nest and wipe it out in 2 or 3 days. Works for us!
Inside or outside? It makes a difference 'round here for me.
Hydramethylnon has a half-life of about 10 days in soil or water. Grants recommends replacement every 3 months indoors and every 6 weeks outdoors.
I have no idea what is in Grant's ant traps...there are baits composed of sugar syrup and boric acid that work very well. My ant problems (indoors) have always been seasonal...once I put out bait along their trails, the ants were gone. If ants persist indoors, I'd look very hard at changing food storage and doing very thorough cleaning. Outdoors? Not much reason to treat ants outdoors unless they are biting ants (like fire ants) or carpenter ants infesting damaged landscaping or structural wood. Ants and other critters may invade homes when there are weather extremes...looking for water during drought or flooded out of normal nests due to flooding.
Talstar One. -----
- gpsman
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Throw a couple of granules of sugar on the floor, when they come out to get it, smack em with a BFH.
I bet they just stopped eating the bait in those traps. Try to figure out what they are eating now and bait them with that. About 12-15 parts foodstuff to 1 part boric acid will do the trick. I went through several things until they were finally gone.
I get to use my Monthly Dumb Question Coupon:
Where do I buy borax? I'm sure I could just go to some stores, and look around, but I live in the country, and I'd like to save on gas, and find out before I go driving all over.
I remember Boraxo soap from when I was a kid. I think they sponsored Death Valley Days, with Ronald Reagan as announcer. Did I remember that right?
Steve
visit my blog at
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No- you remembered it like I did. I have called 20 Mule Team Borax 'Boraxo' on occasion-- but when I just googled it, I see Boraxo is a different [but similar] product.
You find both in the laundry section. They just recently updated 20 Mule team Borax box- but it still has the Wagon Train on it.
Jim
Just about any supermarket. ______________
Boraxo is borax with soap added.
I've used Terro with very high effectiveness it's a syrup-like clear liquid - I think it has Borax and sugar in it.
Drug stores should have borax. Any hardware that sells insecticide probably has some brand of borax/sugar bait.....it is an old generic formula and inexpensive. If the ants are "grease ants", need to mix bait with something fatty....rich pastries are fantastic (not kidding) and easy to mix with the bait.
You can't just throw bait down anywhere and expect the ants to lap it up. If you watch ants, you will see they follow a (scent) trail, so place the bait near their trail.
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If you want it to kill ants, it's not quite the right stuff. You really want Boric Acid, which is readily available by Internet order. About $1/lb, last I checked.
Wasn't that 20-Mule Team Borax?
That is why I said you figure out what they are eating and bait them with that. The scouts will go looking for what they have been eating and there will be a new trail from there very quickly. Ants can get very selective after being baited for a while. I haven't seen a sugar ant around here for years so sweet baits like Terrio, Amdro etc are useless. The good news is a grand kid can leave a gum drop on the floor and the ants won't bother it.
If ants don't take to Terro alone quickly, I get fatty/greasy food to put the Terro on (per label instructions). Works for me.
Amdro is fantastic for fire ants....pretty cool to watch them go for the bait, which happens quickly. One needs to take care not to disturb the nest with it or they will avoid it. Also needs to be no rain for a day or two. Disturbing any ant nest or trail is likely to cause them to avoid bait....carpenter ants go running for the hills with the babies when their nests are disturbed.
Borax works for me at 2-4% in sugar syrup. I can prepare a tablespoon at a time with sugar, borax, a tiny bit of water, and a microwave. The hard part is guessing how much borax.
I'm not sure why they usually say boric acid. A slightly acidic environment removes the sodium from borax, turning it into boric acid.
Of the four hosts, Reagan was the worst; he lasted only 1 season. I preferred The Old Ranger, who hosted the first 13. I wish the Old Ranger could have replaced the Lone Ranger so Tonto wouldn't have had to roam the west with a babbling idiot.
Did you know that "tonto" is the Spanish word for stupid?
Then there is that "kemo sabe" stuff for the Lone Ranger himself. I'm betting that it is mangled Spanish..."quien sabe" means "who knows" in Spanish and is a reasonable reply for the ever present question of, "Who was that masked man?".
"Kimosabe, wake up. What you see?"
"I see millions of stars, Tonto."
"Hmmm, what that tell you, Kimosabe?"
"Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically, it appears to be approximately quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful, and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Tonto?"
"Hmmm, me think someone steal tent."
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