Caryl Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 For the first time ever, we have ants in the house. I have no idea where they are coming in, or why. I have seen the occasional ant outside, or had one come in with a sprig of parsley or whatever but now they are appearing in large numbers. I thought this was an upper North Island problem, never had them this far south before! They are nowhere near food and I thought that is what they liked - sugar and sweet stuff. I came home the other day to find the bench island swarming with them. Since then, they keep appearing in weird places (so far, thank goodness, nowhere near the pantry). Squishing them does not work as they seem to be fairly unsquishable. I have sprayed with fly spray but that leaves residue on all surfaces. Those of you who have had a long standing battle with them - what is the best product to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danval Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 Hey Caryl. We have had this problem before. We have successfully used Raid liquid ant bait in the past but for a very large infestation, we had to call in the experts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Have used the Yates ant bait before, and also used 'home made' wasp bait - 1 drop of frontline in washout 250 ml of liquid sugar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Nelson has a bad problem, mainly in Stoke the region I live in. I have found the raid bait stations work fantastic if they get inside. There is also a outdoor barrier product that you spray around doors and windows. I found that it works really well keeping all sorts of things outside, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Living in what I term the 'ant capital' on NZ I have bait stations scattered around the living areas. I use raid and put it inside coke caps where I see them. If you can trace the path back to their nest a really good dose of fly spray in the cracks will get the rest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Thanks all for your suggestions. I cannot see where they are coming in as when I find them they are usually running around in circles :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 They generally follow a scent trail so you can track them back to where they are coming from. They don't only eat sugar, They cleaned up all the dead fish on the floor of a well known breeder here after the shakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 I went to the supermarket and got some Raid Liquid Ant killer, as it was half the price of the other gel stuff and they didn't have anything else. Got home to find - no ants. :dunno: Poured a little into a milk bottle lid and left it on the bench. :yaw1: Waited a while and finally found an ant scuttling along the bench, nowhere near the bait. :dnc1: "Here little ant, have a sniff of this stuff". 8) Nope, not interested. :cry1: Moved cap in front of ant. It went around it. :roll: Tipped cap so ant could see and smell contents. Not interested. :facepalm: Picked up ant and dropped it in. Not sure if was interested or not but apparently they can't swim! :dead%fish I now have 5 ants, discovered over the course of the afternoon, floating in the bait but none got in there by themselves. Seems my ants are either stupid or they do not know they are supposed to be attracted to it! :dno: Perhaps they all have hay fever and their little ant noses are blocked &c:ry Or, to paraphrase a friend of Stella's, perhaps it is ant ramadan :gigl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 If I find ants in the house I fly spray them and clean them up then use No Bugs spray and spray it along the window sills and door frames. They don't like stepping on it, and it's usually through various cracks or gaps in those areas that I find them getting in. I think that bait stations attract in ants that might not have otherwise been thinking of coming in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Leave the ant bait out overnight in the container or place the container just near where you see them. They will come to it but probably not while they are being watched Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Better on the bench, than in your pants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 best anti ant poison is the one they eat and bring back into their nest and feed their young ones and the ant queen, that will kill the whole state (I don't know what it's called but it is normally some sort of a powder) at least that's what we've used in Italy back in the days. fly spray and traps do only kill the ones around, what you want to kill is the whole state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 :best anti ant poison is the one they eat and bring back into their nest and feed their young ones and the ant queen, that will kill the whole state (I don't know what it's called but it is normally some sort of a powder) at least that's what we've used in Italy back in the days. fly spray and traps do only kill the ones around, what you want to kill is the whole state.Borax? Ants are random little beasts. Millions on my fence coming from the camellia bush.. .(so it seems they like certain camellias) yet hardly ever come inside. Probably find most ant baits contain borax. Borax itself is cheap and apparently good for treating borer, cockroaches, ants and so on. Mix with icing sugar for ant control ... I purchased some recently but like you haven't seen the ants since. Is possible my flame thrower could of signalled to them I was declaring war 8) :sml1: Farmlands should stock borax... under $20 for a large jar. Comes with instructions .... or direct from the source http://www.0800466464.co.nz/pest-contro ... -1-kg.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Caryl: Couldn't help but laugh when I read your post :happy2: Do you have Ants or Ants carrying eggs?? Had terrible ants in one property that we lived at. Put the dishwasher on one night, it got to the hot rinse cycle, next minute Ants running everywhere, ended up taking the dishwasher outside into the carport, took the outer shell off and OMG full of ants and eggs YUK YUK YUK :sick: Little blitters had got inside the outer shell somehow :an!gry The ant bait in the yellow tube was what we found worked best, it contains Borax which the ants will take back to the nest and feed to the Queen, apparently causing their stomachs to burst :roll: which in turn or course kills them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 The yellow tube was the other option the supermarket had but trying Raid for now. Came home from work at lunchtime to discover they have found the pantry. Raid is now smeared everywhere in the hopes they will take it back to the mothership. Luckily the lid was securely on the honey container! I am wondering if the neighbour disturbed them when she did the garden along the south side of the house the other day (it is outside the dining, kitchen windows). They are not used to someone gardening! Still can't see any obvious trail of where they might be coming in and they still seem to just run about randomly, not in a nice line to and from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 If you leave them long enough, they will form a trail. The random ones are scouts. Once you see the trail, follow them back to find out where they're coming from. No use picking them up or trying to break their trails as they follow an exact path marked down by the scouts. Just leave the scouts to do their thing. They'll find the bait eventually. My mum in Nelson had them really bad a few years ago. One day I managed to collect 2 ice cream containers of raining ants with the help of 2 big cans of fly spray. If you have kids around and see them outside on concrete, a fun trick is to get some thick chalk and draw a circle around them. The ants won't cross it and will just stay running around in the circle for hours, or until one of them builds up enough courage to just go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 they also don't like stepping on salt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotealotl Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Don't tread on an ant he's done nothing to you There might come a day When he's treading on you Don't tread on an ant you'll end up black and blue You cut off his head Legs come looking for you :dnc1: :dnc1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 If these ones are scouts, they must be having a jamboree! They are everywhere! Will check my bait stations in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danval Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Just been reading an article from Rudd the bug man... He says the best bait for ants contains "Fiprinol". And suggests checking out www.wetandforget.co.nz and www.flybusters.co.nz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 No sign of any more ants since using the bait :happy1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.