Tiny ants in the kitchen

[aquariuscsm]

The other night I noticed these tiny ants in our kitchen. They're coming in somewhere around the edge of the window and making a trail up the wall and back down to the baseboard. We never leave food out or dishes in the sink. My question is, how do I get rid of them without using any poisons? We have pets, so I'm wanting to avoid those kind've products. Does anyone make natural based products that aren't hazardous to humans and animals?

 

[spasm3]

You can't.
Spray outside around the window and foundation with Taurus SC at the lower recommended concentration. That way it gets carried back to the colony.

 

[PimTac]

Sounds like you have something dead somewhere.

Twenty Mule Team Borax.

Get Rid Of Ants With This Natural Ant Killer

Springtime brings beautiful weather and the arrival of ant season. There are a large variety of ants that invade our homes and yards each ye...

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[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Purchase some ant hotels and put them around the baseboard. Ants carry poisoned bait back to colony and hopefully the whole colony doa.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! I'm writing these down on my grocery list.

 

[JustinH]

Been in Central Texas and South Texas, ants are terrible.

The only product that works to kill them and deter them is Bifenthrin.

It is safe when dry around cattle, so it is safe to kids and pets just keep them away while it is wet.

I have only had to spray inside my home once in five years.

But if you already have ants in the house, you will need a few sprays in the house.

Then you need to spray the entire foundation of the house and ground nearby about once a month.

BIfenthrin is order online, I haven't seen it locally. It is a cream white product, you pour about 1 ounce into a 1 gallon spray bottle and spray the whole yard as well, including any active ant mounds.

It controlls mosquitoes also, and other pests (spiders, etc).

I told my neighbor about it when he had a terrible ant problem, his wife baked me cookies a couple weeks later and said thanks so much we have zero ants.

Most pest control companies use this chemical FYI.

Nothing at Home Depot or Lowes will compare!

 

[aquariuscsm]

I tried fire ant killer (fire ants are BAD here so we always keep it on hand) and the little f'ers just walked right through it and seemed to enjoy it haha!

 

[Lyman]

We have the little ants here. They come in looking for water. When it starts heating up every year we get them. I think out house is on top of an ant hill at times. I use borax and make little ant baits.

 

[dinofish]

Put up two of Spectracide Ant Shield Outdoor Killing Stakes on either side of any outdoor opening. Your pets cannot access what is inside the stake.

Also, remember that ants are an indication of the problem, not the problem. With normal ants, they are coming in for food. With foraging ants like carpenter ants, you have wet wood somewhere.

 

[csandste]

Terro ant killer if they're sweet eating ants. Syrup with diatomaceous earth. They wolf it down and it rips their ant guys to shreds.

 

[Tow motor]

Both Terro and Bifenthrin are great suggestions. Terro is cheap and works well. 7.9% bifenthrin can be found on the shelf at Tractor Supply if you have one nearby. Bifenthrin also has a great residual effect.

 

[JTK]

Terro, borax, comet cleanser, ant traps etc, has never done squat for me for ant control.

Bonide spray outside the home or just in areas away from where pets can get, gets them every time.

I recently discovered little ants had set up shop in a electro/mechanical lamp timer I had plugged into an outlet in our back room! Took me a bit to track the little buggers around. GROSS!

 

[Donald]

Purchase some ant hotels and put them around the baseboard. Ants carry poisoned bait back to colony and hopefully the whole colony doa.

+1

I just bought some today. You want to kill the colony not the individual ants that wander out.

Obviously kids or pets should not eat or chew them.

 

[DBMaster]

Here's another vote for Terro. When I lived in Corpus Christi, where ants are really bad, it was recommended to me by a native. When you see the ants feeding on it you just leave them alone. It can take a few days or a couple weeks. The problem with a lot of insecticides is that the queen survives and they just move. Terro is really just sugar and borax so it's pretty safe around kids and pets.

 

[Aredeeem]

Had good luck with Bifen outside and REAL good results with Terro indoors. Couple of drops of Terro are completely encircled by ants in a few hours. Leave them alone and let them take that borax home with them. Takes about a week to see results, sometimes less.

 

[opus1]

For whatever reason, the Raid ant-bait stations weren't working in the basement this year so I tried a bait station from Maggie's Farm. The stuff worked like a charm. I like that the packaging is clear so you can see how much of the product is left.

 

[IveBeenRued]

I think that many people on here are over thinking the issue. I doubt that OP needs to go buy concentrated Bifenthrin and mix his own solution. Ortho Home Defense contains Bifenthrin already mixed down to a safe concentration for use around people and pets and is available at Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowe’s for around $13/gallon. I use one 24 fl oz. bottle of Ortho around the inside and outside of my 1400 sq ft home every summer at a cost of $6/year. I don’t buy the gallon size because I don’t want the unused poison stored in my basement.

I’ve also had great luck with Terro and Raid ant bait as long as the ants live long enough to make it back to their colony, otherwise it just it just seems to attract more.

 

[Fattylocks]

I had good luck with the little terro bait stations back in my rattley old house in northern IL.
Moved south a bit and put a half a dozen out the first day I moved in.
So far so good.

 

[aquariuscsm]

For whatever reason, the Raid ant-bait stations weren't working in the basement this year so I tried a bait station from Maggie's Farm. The stuff worked like a charm. I like that the packaging is clear so you can see how much of the product is left.

I bought the Andro ones at Walmart and it just looks like they're going around them. It was the only ones Walmart had. Looks like HEB sells the Maggie's. I might go grab some of those.

 

[wag123]

If the ants you are dealing with are crazy ants, good luck getting rid of them.
Bifenthrin controls them inside the house and around the foundation but needs to be reapplied regularly.
They nest outside deep in the ground and their nests can contain hundreds of millions (or even billions) of ants with tens of thousands of queens. There isn't currently a bait available that can kill them in their nest. Dursban would control them in the yard but has been banned.