In article , Dan_Musicant wrote:
On Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:17:20 GMT, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:

:Examine the trails, really, really carefully. Where are they coming
:from and where are they going to?
:
:Very often, they are seeking water. They will find tiny leaks
:in pipes/faucets/drains long before they become visible to the
:human occupants. In that case, plug the leak before you have to
:deal with mold, rot and other issues. If they've found a food
:source, move the stuff to an airtight container.
:
:Personally, I spray the outside of my house every 2-3 months
:using a professional-grade spray. That's essentially solved
:the problem for me. And although I don't really like using
:these chemicals, at least they're used outside. Without that,
:the ants *will* come indoors and I'll have to start using
:chemicals inside and that's worse.
:
:You can find gallon sized ant sprays at Home Depot and some
f these are approved for indoor as well as outdoor use.
:Ortho is one such brand. In my experience, these are very
:effective, but not for very long. The ants are back within
:a few weeks and that's why I use a more potent/persistent
roduct. Nevertheless, something like the Ortho should get
:rid of the ants for the Thanksgiving holiday.

What exactly are you using and where do you get it? Thanks.

"Suspend SC". It's not available retail but you can find it
on-line. e.g.:

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/suspend.htm

I spray the outside of the house -- a narrow 6-12 inch
border around the perimeter every 2-3 months in the
summer and 3-4 months in the winter. Also around the trunks
of some shrubs and trees that touch the house.

A one pint bottle will protect my 2500 sq ft single
family home for about 2.5 years.

It's solved my problem for the last couple of years. I
have seen the ocassional scout ant but that really is
all we've seen inside the house.

I treat this stuff with considerable respect -- only
spray when the kids are away for a few hours, on a calm
day, while wearing gloves etc. The spray nozzle is set to
wet a small area without any fine mist so I'm in control
of where it ends up.

I've been in the Bay Area for about 14 years and each
home I've owned has had ant problems -- even a 4th floor
condo! The Suspend SC really does seem to keep 'em outside.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
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