What's the best way to eliminate ants ?

You'll never eliminate ants, there are far more of them than there are humans.

Mary

I was really concerned about the ones all over our patio !.

woodglass...

Don't invite the neighbours round next time.

Squish every one you see

In message , Mary Fisher writes

Yes. Apart from that they are probably useful.

Ants invading the house are in a different category.

We have found intercepting their route with a few drops of liquid Nippon on a square of card is effective. It takes time as I suspect the chemical has to reach the queen or kill off most of the larvae (Mary will know).

My mother used to mix Borax with sugar for the same effect.

regards

That'll keep him occupied and out of the way for ever. Still, everyone needs a hobby.

Mary

Sorry, I don't know the constituents of Nippon.

Mary

Take one sun, leave to rise.

Someone once observed that if you look closely at ants with a magnifying glass on a sunny day it can be noticed that sometimes they spontaneously disappear.

How about a blow lamp ?

Tim Lamb typed

I think Nippon is borax & sugar...

No it's Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (plus a few more).

Nippon is very effective at this time of year. Less so when the nest is well established and there are lots of other food sources around. So get some asap.

Malc

Borax and sugar IIRC.

To stop them entering the house, spray a product called Dethlac around possible entry points. It leaves a layer of insecticide and any insect crawling over it picks up enough to kill it (the insect).. I know that it is effective, although it may not be too eco-friendly

Malcolm

How come no one's mentioned boiling water? Or am I getting mixed up with weeds?

Didn't you get the memo? Geeze; _boiling_ water! Think of the 'Carbon' footprint involved in boiling water - five hundred and twelve BThU ,IIRC, just to change one pound of water at 211.9999 Fehrenheit to one pound of steam at 212 .0 Fahrenheit - [I expect some new-fangled person will be along in a mnute to 'Europeanise' that into Kilwatts and kilogrammes.]. Any way your post has been intercepted by Cheltenham and you've been reported to the Intergovernmental something-or-other on Climate Change - expect a lamp-post near you to give you a stern 'telling-off'. For your own good, naturally.

wrote

I've used leaded petrol - push funnel into ground above nest, pour in eggcup-full of leaded, the fumes sink and poison them.

I was very successful by using boiling water with loads of salt. I.e. VERY salty boiling water. Pour it on the ground where the ants appear to be living. They will seek out a more desirable neighbourhood.

dave cowell, Germany

Brian Sharrock wrote: