Tiny ants in the kitchen

[WylieCoyote]

I bought a bunch of Terro liquid ant bait cartridges and put some in the corners of the kitchen counters, as well as down by the baseboards, and the ants have not returned. Tiniest ants I've ever seen. They first appeared on the bedside table, which makes no sense, as there is NEVER any food in that room. Then they appeared in the pantry, and on the counter by the coffee pot. Haven't seen one in a few months now.

 

[DBMaster]

How can you tell what kind of ants they are? The ones I have been battling for months are about the size of fire ants but the bodies are partially dark brown and partially red. I find them roaming around individually, randomly, in all parts of the house. I had Terro baits set up on a windowsill where there were more of them. They fed at the stations for weeks. I cleaned up the dead ones (I've cleaned up piles of bodies from the carpet under that windowsill three times.) and the detritus last weekend, including a dirt trail along the bottom of the window. I hadn't seen any actively feeding for a while, but now they seem to be back. I've sprayed outside, along the door sills, and along the window bottoms, inside and out. I've also used Orthene in several areas as well. I am getting to the point at which I may call an exterminator.

 

[spasm3]

I am getting to the point at which I may call an exterminator.

The exterminator will probably spray either termidor( outside spray only) ( Taurus SC is a generic version) or Onslaught which can be used inside as well. Or both. The Termidor/Taurus SC sprayed at the lower concentration, gets carried back to the colony. Its undetectable by the ants, and its basically fipronil.

 

[wag123]

How can you tell what kind of ants they are? The ones I have been battling for months are about the size of fire ants but the bodies are partially dark brown and partially red. I find them roaming around individually, randomly, in all parts of the house. I had Terro baits set up on a windowsill where there were more of them. They fed at the stations for weeks. I cleaned up the dead ones (I've cleaned up piles of bodies from the carpet under that windowsill three times.) and the detritus last weekend, including a dirt trail along the bottom of the window. I hadn't seen any actively feeding for a while, but now they seem to be back. I've sprayed outside, along the door sills, and along the window bottoms, inside and out. I've also used Orthene in several areas as well. I am getting to the point at which I may call an exterminator.

You likely DO have crazy ants in the DFW area.
How you can tell that you have crazy ants...
1. They run around like crazy, hence the name crazy ants. They don't walk straight in straight lines like other ants.
2. I understand that there are 3 different species of them. The ones that I have seen around here are black (or very dark brown) and not much larger than a pin head. I believe that they are longhorn crazy ants. The description of one of the species, the Rasberry (or Tawny) crazy ant, is larger and red in color and sounds like it could be your ants.
3. When you kill them with poison they die in large numbers. When crazy ants are dying they give off a pheromone that attracts more of their brothers, which then die. The tiny ones that I have here can look like a pile of coffee grounds when they die.

 

[opus1]

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.

In my case, I put it directly in their travel path and not only did they *not* go in, they climbed over the top to get to the other side. Not even the professional courtesy of pretending to check it out.

 

[Silver]

Diatomaceous earth

 

[DBMaster]

You likely DO have crazy ants in the DFW area.
How you can tell that you have crazy ants...

3. When you kill them with poison they die in large numbers. When crazy ants are dying they give off a pheromone that attracts more of their brothers, which then die. The tiny ones that I have here can look like a pile of coffee grounds when they die.

That's exactly what they looked like on my light carpet. I had heard that crazy ants were driving out the fire ants around here. I think persistence is the key here. Since the vast majority that I still find are dead I'll keep at it for a while longer.

 

[Boomer]

Borax is lethal to insects as it deactivates an enzyme that is required for their metabolism. Harmless to humans. This is one reason why blown-in cellulose insulation is good for preventing insect infestations. Most of the time it is fire retarded with a boron chemical package and bugs avoid it!

 

[wag123]

That's exactly what they looked like on my light carpet. I had heard that crazy ants were driving out the fire ants around here. I think persistence is the key here. Since the vast majority that I still find are dead I'll keep at it for a while longer.

The good thing about crazy ants is that they eradicate fire ants, carpenter ants, termites, white grubs, and all other insects living in their space. The bad thing about crazy ants is that they also kill honey bees, get into electrical/electronic equipment shorting them out, and you can't get rid of them.

 

[Aredeeem]

Ya. That’s what I’ve got in my lawn. I’ve tried everything, Bifen solution poured directly on ant hills. Spectracide and Roundup version spreader applied and watered in. and the latest Niban granules. Nothing works. These guys must be as you described.

 

[spasm3]

Here is a kit, for crazy ants.

Rasberry / Caribbean / Tawny Crazy Ant Kit

Rasberry / Caribbean / Tawny Crazy Ant Kit

www.domyown.com

 

[wag123]

Ya. That’s what I’ve got in my lawn. I’ve tried everything, Bifen solution poured directly on ant hills. Spectracide and Roundup version spreader applied and watered in. and the latest Niban granules. Nothing works. These guys must be as you described.

I wasn't aware that they had gotten that far north.
The ONLY thing that I have found that works on ant hills in the yard is Orthene powder.

 

[wag123]

Here is a kit, for crazy ants.

Rasberry / Caribbean / Tawny Crazy Ant Kit

Rasberry / Caribbean / Tawny Crazy Ant Kit

www.domyown.com

Fipronil can't be sprayed in the house. Bifenthrin can be sprayed in the house and is what the professional exterminators use.

 

[spasm3]

Fipronil can't be sprayed in the house. Bifenthrin can be sprayed in the house and is what the professional exterminators use.

The exterminator will probably spray either termidor( outside spray only) ( Taurus SC is a generic version) or Onslaught which can be used inside as well. Or both. The Termidor/Taurus SC sprayed at the lower concentration, gets carried back to the colony. Its undetectable by the ants, and its basically fipronil.

Correct, if you see my post above, i stated outdoor use. You need to treat outdoors as well as indoors.

Here are the products recommended for crazy ants.

Rasberry Crazy Ants

Rasberry Crazy Ants

www.domyown.com

How to use / Treatment methods are here if you scroll all the way down the page and click "read more" under the house illustration.

The indoor CimeXa dust in the kit , will remain active for 10 years in crevices and so forth.

Rasberry / Caribbean / Tawny Crazy Ant Kit

Rasberry / Caribbean / Tawny Crazy Ant Kit

www.domyown.com

 

[Duffyjr]

Any body else start itching or feeling like something was crawling on you after reading this and watching them videos. I swear I felt things crawling up my legs.

 

[aquariuscsm]

That's exactly what I have, crazy ants! As soon as I saw that video I immediately recognized them. And they're also going inside the electrical outlet that shared a switch for the garbage disposal.

 

[DBMaster]

If I don't stop seeing them soon I'll be calling a local pets control company that is very honest. I want only the ants addressed and nothing else. After living in Corpus Christi I thought that I had become an expert at ridding myself of ants. These little invaders are probably beyond my capabilities.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

I started getting tiny ants in my kitchen every spring. Terro liquid baits didn't seem to work, and I didn't want to use poison inside.
I got a bag of diatomaceous earth and tried to apply it with a plastic squeeze bottle. The ants clearly didn't like it, but the bottle didn't work very well.

I finally got a duster like the one below and did the whole house--around counters and cabinets, where the plumbing goes into the wall, behind switch and outlet plates and under baseboards. I also dusted around the door and window frames, concrete steps, and the foundation outside. Maybe it's just luck, but this is my second summer without ants in the kitchen. They are still active just outside the house, around the steps and in patio cracks.

Bellow Hand Duster

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'm thinking about just spraying bleach everywhere. It's only been since Saturday (not sure how long it takes for the traps to work) but they seem to be actually ENJOYING those traps!

Where do you get the diatomaceous earth stuff? Is it harmful to pets?

 

[Lubener]

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?

They are looking for food and water. If you look outside around your house, I would bet you will find their nest under a rock or something. If you can do it safely, put a few drops of Terro in your kitchen where you see them. Don't disturb them and let them have their way around the Terro and they will bring it to the nest and the colony will perish.