spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

"allan" allan at his dot com wrote in message
...
spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

This is Turtle.

I'm not a bug person but Down in the south we call them, **** ants. They live
outside and come in by way of a hole somewheres on that side of the house and
when they smell food or certian types of soap. they will come in and get it to
carry back outside to their mound. The mound is on that side of the house where
you see them in the house. Spray for ants on that side of the house.

Now you could get here a better 50 cent name for them by some of the other
members here. OR http://www.pestproducts.com/****ant.htm this will talk
about your **** ant.

TURTLE

Also live in the DC area. Terro seems to work best. I believe it is corn
syrup with boric acid. Anyway put a piece of masking tape where you see the
ants and place a few drops of Terro on it. Ants will feast on it in great
numbers, let them do their thing. Keep adding Terro as they eat it. After
a few days they will disappear.

It is an endless battle, but at least you can win for awhile.


"allan" allan at his dot com wrote in message
...
spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 20:59:13 -0400, allan allan at his dot com
wrote:

spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

I used to get them in a house I lived in and I'm not too keen on
chemical pesticides. What seemed to work was to buy boric acid
powder (it's often sold as roach powder) and mix it with honey to make
a paste. The little black ants are also known as "sugar ants" and
they seemed to gather around it and take it in as food to take back to
their nest. For some reason it seemed to work for a while but
eventually (months later) they would come back and I'd repeat the
process. Better than chemicals imo.

In article , allan allan at
his dot com says...
spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.


It can depend on the species of ants you are dealing with on what to do
for them. Squeeze one and if it gives off a perfume smell they are
called odorous house ants. they don't build a nest in the ground like
other ants but nest in loose organic matter or under objects near the
home, or even in the organic matter in the gutters. Keeping this type
of debris clean and dry can keep them away. You might try the terro and
see if they go for it, but it can be experimenting a bit to find
something they will fee on. There are a number of other dark ants they
could be which usually have a shallow dirt nest or maybe are under rock
or stepping stones. terro will probably work well, though the nest are
easily removed with the mildest of insecticides.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

Well, you can either ignore them, encourage them, or discourage them.

Igno Just pile some stuff in the corner, and they can march behind the
stuff.
Encourage: Put out jelly donuts, and other moist foods with high sugar
content.
Discourage: Log on to www.gardensalive.com and buy a couple bottles of
"Liquid ant bait" and use it as the instructions say.

Now, as to my carpenter ant problem, I chose to discourage them. And the
liquid ant bait was very effective.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"allan" allan at his dot com wrote in message
...
spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

Avery wrote:
On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:30:44 -0400, John/Charleston
wrote:


On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 20:59:13 -0400, allan allan at his dot com
wrote:


spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

I used to get them in a house I lived in and I'm not too keen on
chemical pesticides. What seemed to work was to buy boric acid
powder (it's often sold as roach powder) and mix it with honey to make
a paste. The little black ants are also known as "sugar ants" and
they seemed to gather around it and take it in as food to take back to
their nest. For some reason it seemed to work for a while but
eventually (months later) they would come back and I'd repeat the
process. Better than chemicals imo.



Since when has boric acid NOT been a chemical.

I think he meant insecticide, which it is not. It
works by physical action not chemical. Besides it
is not toxic; standard chemical for washing eyes.

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Avery wrote:
On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:30:44 -0400, John/Charleston
wrote:


On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 20:59:13 -0400, allan allan at his dot com
wrote:


spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

I used to get them in a house I lived in and I'm not too keen on
chemical pesticides. What seemed to work was to buy boric acid
powder (it's often sold as roach powder) and mix it with honey to make
a paste. The little black ants are also known as "sugar ants" and
they seemed to gather around it and take it in as food to take back to
their nest. For some reason it seemed to work for a while but
eventually (months later) they would come back and I'd repeat the
process. Better than chemicals imo.



Since when has boric acid NOT been a chemical.

I think he meant insecticide, which it is not. It
works by physical action not chemical. Besides it
is not toxic; standard chemical for washing eyes.

Anything that kills an insect is by definition an insecticide.

How does it work by physical action?

When those worker ants take it back to the nest, if they don't die on the
way from eating too much, they feed it to the queen who is poisoned by it
and the nest ultimately perishes. As to toxicity, a small amount ingested
can be very serious for small children. In eyewashes it is applied
externally, not ingested.

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 08:45:43 GMT, Avery wrote:

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:30:44 -0400, John/Charleston
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 20:59:13 -0400, allan allan at his dot com
wrote:

spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

I used to get them in a house I lived in and I'm not too keen on
chemical pesticides. What seemed to work was to buy boric acid
powder (it's often sold as roach powder) and mix it with honey to make
a paste. The little black ants are also known as "sugar ants" and
they seemed to gather around it and take it in as food to take back to
their nest. For some reason it seemed to work for a while but
eventually (months later) they would come back and I'd repeat the
process. Better than chemicals imo.


Since when has boric acid NOT been a chemical.

Sigh. Ok, not-toxic-to-mamals chemical. I suspect my point was
clear without policing.

In article ,
says...
I think he meant insecticide, which it is not. It
works by physical action not chemical. Besides it
is not toxic; standard chemical for washing eyes.


BA is probably one of the oldest insecticides that is used today. It
will be on the higher side of toxicity of the pest control solutions
used around the home. Hydrochloric acid is also found in eye washes,
but I wouldn't called it a safe chemical.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

"Martin" wrote in message
. ..


How does it work by physical action?



I've never heard of it being used as an internal insecticide, but boric acid
will dehydrate bugs if it comes in contact with their bodies in large enough
amounts. I suppose it has a similar effect internally.

In article ,
says...
I've never heard of it being used as an internal insecticide, but boric acid
will dehydrate bugs if it comes in contact with their bodies in large enough
amounts. I suppose it has a similar effect internally.


Boric acid's first mode of action is of a stomach poison (ant
baits)...why you need to be careful around kids with it..there is no
antidote for borate poisoning.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Well, you can either ignore them, encourage them, or discourage them.

Igno Just pile some stuff in the corner, and they can march behind the
stuff.
Encourage: Put out jelly donuts, and other moist foods with high sugar
content.
Discourage: Log on to www.gardensalive.com and buy a couple bottles of
"Liquid ant bait" and use it as the instructions say.

Now, as to my carpenter ant problem, I chose to discourage them. And the
liquid ant bait was very effective.

--


"allan" allan at his dot com wrote in message
...
spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.


There are a number of authoritative publications that define boric acid as
an insecticide. This is from http://www.beyondpesticides.org/
"As an insecticide, boric acid acts as a
“stomach poison” for ants, cockroaches,
silverfish and termites, and is most
commonly used in a bait formulation
containing a feeding attractant or as a dry
powder. The powder can be injected into
cracks and crevices, where it forms a fine
layer of dust. Insects travel through the
powder, which adheres to their legs. When
the insects groom themselves, they ingest
the poison, which causes death due to
starvation and dehydration 3-10 days later.
Boric acid can also abrade the exoskeletons
of insects.(5) As long as the
material is not allowed to become wet, its
continuous presence ensures that hatching
insects, which sprays commonly spare,
are exposed and die as well. Many
insecticidal formulations contain a
desiccant to protect the boric acid from airborne
moisture. These formulations can be
effective for more than a year.(3)

Martin wrote:
"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...

Avery wrote:

On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:30:44 -0400, John/Charleston
wrote:



On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 20:59:13 -0400, allan allan at his dot com
wrote:



spring in Wash Dc and I get little black ants in kitchen and laundry
room making a trail if there is any food in the sink, even to cloths
on the washer. Both next to an outside wall, any ideas.

I used to get them in a house I lived in and I'm not too keen on
chemical pesticides. What seemed to work was to buy boric acid
powder (it's often sold as roach powder) and mix it with honey to make
a paste. The little black ants are also known as "sugar ants" and
they seemed to gather around it and take it in as food to take back to
their nest. For some reason it seemed to work for a while but
eventually (months later) they would come back and I'd repeat the
process. Better than chemicals imo.



Since when has boric acid NOT been a chemical.

I think he meant insecticide, which it is not. It
works by physical action not chemical. Besides it
is not toxic; standard chemical for washing eyes.


Anything that kills an insect is by definition an insecticide.

How does it work by physical action?

When those worker ants take it back to the nest, if they don't die on the
way from eating too much, they feed it to the queen who is poisoned by it
and the nest ultimately perishes. As to toxicity, a small amount ingested
can be very serious for small children. In eyewashes it is applied
externally, not ingested.



You are right, technically, anything that kills
insects, including water, could be called an
insecticide. But the term is usually restricted
to compounds used specifically for that purpose.
I doubt that most people call gasoline an
insecticide.

I think you got at least part of your answer on
the physical action --dehydration-- but it also
plugs up their breathing apparatus. Ajax,
comment, and talcum powder work well that way
also. Put little rings around the food, so that
they have to crawl through it. Works on roaches
fairly well.

Never thought about the poisoning aspect, but it
makes sense. Boron in small amounts is an
essential element for mammals and plants, but the
difference between the requirement and toxic level
is small. Boraxo or 20 mule team borax (washing
borax) should also work well on ants. More fun to
poor gas on them tho.