jay-n-123 wrote:

I've found that Ortho Home Defense and Hot Shot Home Insect Control don't
seem to kill ants (the ants are still alive and kicking after several
minutes of contact)....am I correct in thinking these products are totally
useless?

Since the aforementioned clear non-repellent products don't seem to work, my
prevention strategy is to spray outside of building (where wood meets
concrete) once a month with ordinary home and garden aerosol (which DOES
kill ants). I do this mainly to prevent foragers from wanting to venture

A really, really bad idea. Have you read about honey bees disappearing?
There are loads of BENEFICIAL insects that we NEED around and dumping
poison to keep them from getting into the house is a very bad choice.

I would start by locating nests, if you have carpenter ants in/on the
house. If you have trees, shrubs or wood fence infested, then take care
of the problem - get rid of dead/damaged wood and the carpenter ants
will go.

If they do forage into the house, clean it up, seal up entries best you
can and use baits in the house. They forage in evening and it is easy
to find trails to bait or to locate the nest.

into my townhouse, since the ants dislike the smell of the insecticide. I
try to direct spray so it gets a little bit underneath the siding. So far
this strategy seems to be working.

Was wondering if there is anything that would repel ants besides home and

Bugs belong outdoors. Seal up fine openings around windows, doors,
plumbing entries, etc. Keep wood painted and in good repair. Keep
landscaping off the house = trim tree limbs hanging onto roof, keep
gutters clear of debris, keep shrubs from touching wood structure. Then
inspect very thoroughly at least once a year for signs of termite tubes
or boring insects.

garden insecticide? (looking for something besides insecticide which would
have a smell that would repel ants, but which would not cause any damage to
the wood or siding, and which would be totally harmless to humans). Does
something like that exist?

No. It's spring, we just had company - lots of sweets sitting on the
counter or getting spilled. Ants all over the counter, as expected.
I'm going out to get a little bottle of boric acid ant bait. Ants will
be gone tomorrow.

During unusual weather conditions, lots of pests come indoors that
normally would not. During a drought, I couldn't walk outside with food
or drink and not have hornets coming after it..even tried to get at my
eyes!
Thanks,

J.