little black ants

[allan]

spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

I'm not a bug person but Down in the south we call them, Piss ants. They live outside and come in by way of a hole somewheres on that side of the house and when they smell food or certian types of soap. they will come in and get it to carry back outside to their mound. The mound is on that side of the house where you see them in the house. Spray for ants on that side of the house.

Now you could get here a better 50 cent name for them by some of the other members here. OR

this will talk about your piss ant.

TURTLE

[John/Charleston]

I used to get them in a house I lived in and I'm not too keen on chemical pesticides. What seemed to work was to buy boric acid powder (it's often sold as roach powder) and mix it with honey to make a paste. The little black ants are also known as "sugar ants" and they seemed to gather around it and take it in as food to take back to their nest. For some reason it seemed to work for a while but eventually (months later) they would come back and I'd repeat the process. Better than chemicals imo.

[Lar]

In article , allan says... :) spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry :) room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths :) on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas. :) :) It can depend on the species of ants you are dealing with on what to do for them. Squeeze one and if it gives off a perfume smell they are called odorous house ants. they don't build a nest in the ground like other ants but nest in loose organic matter or under objects near the home, or even in the organic matter in the gutters. Keeping this type of debris clean and dry can keep them away. You might try the terro and see if they go for it, but it can be experimenting a bit to find something they will fee on. There are a number of other dark ants they could be which usually have a shallow dirt nest or maybe are under rock or stepping stones. terro will probably work well, though the nest are easily removed with the mildest of insecticides.

[Jeff]

Also live in the DC area. Terro seems to work best. I believe it is corn syrup with boric acid. Anyway put a piece of masking tape where you see the ants and place a few drops of Terro on it. Ants will feast on it in great numbers, let them do their thing. Keep adding Terro as they eat it. After a few days they will disappear.

It is an endless battle, but at least you can win for awhile.

[Avery]

Since when has boric acid NOT been a chemical.

[Stormin Mormon]

Well, you can either ignore them, encourage them, or discourage them.

Ignore: Just pile some stuff in the corner, and they can march behind the stuff. Encourage: Put out jelly donuts, and other moist foods with high sugar content. Discourage: Log on to

and buy a couple bottles of "Liquid ant bait" and use it as the instructions say.

Now, as to my carpenter ant problem, I chose to discourage them. And the liquid ant bait was very effective.

[George E. Cawthon]

I think he meant insecticide, which it is not. It works by physical action not chemical. Besides it is not toxic; standard chemical for washing eyes.

[Martin]

Anything that kills an insect is by definition an insecticide.

How does it work by physical action?

When those worker ants take it back to the nest, if they don't die on the way from eating too much, they feed it to the queen who is poisoned by it and the nest ultimately perishes. As to toxicity, a small amount ingested can be very serious for small children. In eyewashes it is applied externally, not ingested.

[John/Charleston]

Sigh. Ok, not-toxic-to-mamals chemical. I suspect my point was clear without policing.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) I think he meant insecticide, which it is not. It :) works by physical action not chemical. Besides it :) is not toxic; standard chemical for washing eyes. :) :) BA is probably one of the oldest insecticides that is used today. It will be on the higher side of toxicity of the pest control solutions used around the home. Hydrochloric acid is also found in eye washes, but I wouldn't called it a safe chemical.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) I've never heard of it being used as an internal insecticide, but boric acid :) will dehydrate bugs if it comes in contact with their bodies in large enough :) amounts. I suppose it has a similar effect internally. :) :) Boric acid's first mode of action is of a stomach poison (ant baits)...why you need to be careful around kids with it..there is no antidote for borate poisoning.

[Olaf]

I've never heard of it being used as an internal insecticide, but boric acid will dehydrate bugs if it comes in contact with their bodies in large enough amounts. I suppose it has a similar effect internally.

[Martin]

There are a number of authoritative publications that define boric acid as an insecticide. This is from

"As an insecticide, boric acid acts as a ?stomach poison? for ants, cockroaches, silverfish and termites, and is most commonly used in a bait formulation containing a feeding attractant or as a dry powder. The powder can be injected into cracks and crevices, where it forms a fine layer of dust. Insects travel through the powder, which adheres to their legs. When the insects groom themselves, they ingest the poison, which causes death due to starvation and dehydration 3-10 days later. Boric acid can also abrade the exoskeletons of insects.(5) As long as the material is not allowed to become wet, its continuous presence ensures that hatching insects, which sprays commonly spare, are exposed and die as well. Many insecticidal formulations contain a desiccant to protect the boric acid from airborne moisture. These formulations can be effective for more than a year.(3)

[George E. Cawthon]

You are right, technically, anything that kills insects, including water, could be called an insecticide. But the term is usually restricted to compounds used specifically for that purpose. I doubt that most people call gasoline an insecticide.

I think you got at least part of your answer on the physical action --dehydration-- but it also plugs up their breathing apparatus. Ajax, comment, and talcum powder work well that way also. Put little rings around the food, so that they have to crawl through it. Works on roaches fairly well.

Never thought about the poisoning aspect, but it makes sense. Boron in small amounts is an essential element for mammals and plants, but the difference between the requirement and toxic level is small. Boraxo or 20 mule team borax (washing borax) should also work well on ants. More fun to poor gas on them tho.