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#1
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ANTS IN THE DISHWASHER
For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black,
sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks |
#2
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The dishwasher!
Dishwashers are usually sealed pretty well or you will experience water leaks. The drain sounds like a possible entrance place since it is about the only opening into a dishwasher assuming it is mostly closed though I can't figure how they would get into it. Dishwasher drains usually are a flexible tube or hose that goes to the drain for your sink above the trap. If that is your case try putting some sugar in the sink to see if they show there and check your under sink areas real good with a flashlight and remove the bottom access panel to your dishwasher to see if you can see anything under there. You say you spray around the exterior. I don't know if you mean the foundation also. My foundation is about six inches above ground level and I spray it all around the house top to ground level and make sure that there are no plants or weeds that grow up the side of it. I suppose if you have any cracks in it they still may be able to get in underground. If you can view your foundation walls in the basement or crawl space then check that out and try to seal or spray any cracks. Be careful and read instructions and warnings for any pesticide particularly if you have children or pets that you care about. I buy ant killer concentrate that I can put in my weed sprayer tank so that I can make a few gallons economically and have plenty to spray. It has helped control ants when we have problems but we do not have near the problem you seem to have. My wife and daughter would go absolutely nuts if they saw ants in our dishwasher! A good pest control place will usually give you a guarantee of their job for a reasonable timeframe though be careful to not sign a contract that requires regular visits for a year unless that is what you want. Good luck. --- Steve wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks |
#3
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wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. I don't understand what the fact that the exterminator was fat has anything to do with your problem. |
#4
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JerryL, 8/22/2005, ,6:07:30 AM,
wrote: I don't understand what the fact that the exterminator was fat has anything to do with your problem. Maybe when he bent over a larger crack developed. -- "The harder I work, the luckier I get." -- Gary Player |
#6
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#7
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I can only see three ways into a dishwasher, through the drain as mentioned
below, through a bad door seal, or the door was not fully closed, or one other way since the ants may be looking for water, they may enter through the vacuum breaker on the water inlet. This is open to the air, after the electric water valves, to prevent siphoning soiled water back into the water supply. There is an inlet for air and the ants may be using it to enter. "Steven L Umbach" wrote in message ... The dishwasher! Dishwashers are usually sealed pretty well or you will experience water leaks. The drain sounds like a possible entrance place since it is about the only opening into a dishwasher assuming it is mostly closed though I can't figure how they would get into it. Dishwasher drains usually are a flexible tube or hose that goes to the drain for your sink above the trap. If that is your case try putting some sugar in the sink to see if they show there and check your under sink areas real good with a flashlight and remove the bottom access panel to your dishwasher to see if you can see anything under there. You say you spray around the exterior. I don't know if you mean the foundation also. My foundation is about six inches above ground level and I spray it all around the house top to ground level and make sure that there are no plants or weeds that grow up the side of it. I suppose if you have any cracks in it they still may be able to get in underground. If you can view your foundation walls in the basement or crawl space then check that out and try to seal or spray any cracks. Be careful and read instructions and warnings for any pesticide particularly if you have children or pets that you care about. I buy ant killer concentrate that I can put in my weed sprayer tank so that I can make a few gallons economically and have plenty to spray. It has helped control ants when we have problems but we do not have near the problem you seem to have. My wife and daughter would go absolutely nuts if they saw ants in our dishwasher! A good pest control place will usually give you a guarantee of their job for a reasonable timeframe though be careful to not sign a contract that requires regular visits for a year unless that is what you want. Good luck. --- Steve wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks |
#8
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That is good to know. I thought of a bad door seal but I thought that would
probably also leak , but maybe not or he has not noticed a very small leak yet. I know those ants are very small and don't need much room. I suppose a marginal seal could also expand when the hot water hits it to seal it during most of the wash. -- Steve "EXT" etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM wrote in message anews.com... I can only see three ways into a dishwasher, through the drain as mentioned below, through a bad door seal, or the door was not fully closed, or one other way since the ants may be looking for water, they may enter through the vacuum breaker on the water inlet. This is open to the air, after the electric water valves, to prevent siphoning soiled water back into the water supply. There is an inlet for air and the ants may be using it to enter. "Steven L Umbach" wrote in message ... The dishwasher! Dishwashers are usually sealed pretty well or you will experience water leaks. The drain sounds like a possible entrance place since it is about the only opening into a dishwasher assuming it is mostly closed though I can't figure how they would get into it. Dishwasher drains usually are a flexible tube or hose that goes to the drain for your sink above the trap. If that is your case try putting some sugar in the sink to see if they show there and check your under sink areas real good with a flashlight and remove the bottom access panel to your dishwasher to see if you can see anything under there. You say you spray around the exterior. I don't know if you mean the foundation also. My foundation is about six inches above ground level and I spray it all around the house top to ground level and make sure that there are no plants or weeds that grow up the side of it. I suppose if you have any cracks in it they still may be able to get in underground. If you can view your foundation walls in the basement or crawl space then check that out and try to seal or spray any cracks. Be careful and read instructions and warnings for any pesticide particularly if you have children or pets that you care about. I buy ant killer concentrate that I can put in my weed sprayer tank so that I can make a few gallons economically and have plenty to spray. It has helped control ants when we have problems but we do not have near the problem you seem to have. My wife and daughter would go absolutely nuts if they saw ants in our dishwasher! A good pest control place will usually give you a guarantee of their job for a reasonable timeframe though be careful to not sign a contract that requires regular visits for a year unless that is what you want. Good luck. --- Steve wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks |
#9
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wrote in message oups.com... Big deal. I can do that with Raid. I applied Ortho Home Defense Max (big jug for about $7 at HD) last spring. I did all the baseboards and under kitchen cabinets inside and sprayed it all around the foundation and vents out side. Haven't seen a critter inside since and the stuff is odorless. RM~ PS, We do rinse all containers before putting them in the trash can. |
#10
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log on to www.gardensalive.com and look for liquid ant bait. comes in two
ounce bottles. Follow the directions. Worked for me. -- Christopher A. Young Do good work. It's longer in the short run but shorter in the long run. .. .. wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks |
#11
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wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks I believe you had this problem before. Here is some question: Are you positive the they are ants? Are the ants dead? If the ants are dead Try not washing any coffee related items in the dishwasher especially the filter. Have you ever pulled the dishwasher and inspected under it for any water leaks. water damage? This would indicate a leak witch could be a passage for the Ants. While the washer is out if you do see any water leak indication or if you don't go and buy a new dishwasher because if ants are getting in it there is something wrong. |
#12
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"Sacramento Dave" wrote in message
... wrote in message oups.com... For the last 2 years our house has been under assualt by small black, sugar-eating ants. I reluctantly called a pest service last year. They sent this fat guy with a big tank of bug spray on his belt. He proceeded to spray my kithcen floors and counter. Big deal. I can do that with Raid. This year my son and I launched a counterstrike. We hit them outside, setting up baits of sugar and following their trails to several colonies, most nearly the base of large trees. We put diazanon granules all over the yard and sprayed around the exterior of the house regularly. But alas they are tough. We won some battles but the ants are still winning the war. Now we notice that when we open the dishwasher there are thousands of them. Are they coming thru the dishwasher drain? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is the 21st century and we should be able to beat these little *******s. Thanks I believe you had this problem before. Here is some question: Are you positive the they are ants? Are the ants dead? If the ants are dead Try not washing any coffee related items in the dishwasher especially the filter. Have you ever pulled the dishwasher and inspected under it for any water leaks. water damage? This would indicate a leak witch could be a passage for the Ants. While the washer is out if you do see any water leak indication or if you don't go and buy a new dishwasher because if ants are getting in it there is something wrong. I don't know why everyone is talking about possible leaks and bad seals. I mean, most of the time the dishwasher door is unlatched and there is plenty of space for ants to come in, no? |
#13
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#14
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"jstp" wrote in message ... "Sacramento Dave" wrote in message ... I don't know why everyone is talking about possible leaks and bad seals. I mean, most of the time the dishwasher door is unlatched and there is plenty of space for ants to come in, no? Goggle "Latch the door" |
#15
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You're right, JerryL.
When I spoke to the receptionist for the exteminator on the phone I told her I wanted my single story gutters sprayed as well as the exterior foundation and my crawlspace. She said fine. Not any easy job but I was waiting with my checkbook. About 2 hours later this obese gentleman drove up in a 1988 Oldsmoblie carrying a tank and came to my door with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was arrogant as hell and seemed miffed that I wanted my whole house sprayed on the FIRST trip. After he sprayed my kitchen floor and counter he told me that would be $140. I gave him a check for $75 (which was still outrageous) and told him if he had a problem with it tell his boss to call me. The guy was about 5'11" and weighed 340 lbs +. I would have paid the extra $ 65 just to see the fat ******* squeeze thru my crawlspace door. And forget about him climbing a ladder to spray my gutter. So my point is this guy was not physically able to do the job I requested when I made the appointment. |
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