My huge mulberry tree did not fruit this year. As a result about a billon
hungry little black sugar ants that used to feed on the fallen berries came
into my house searching for food. These little black ants with banded
abdomens that smell like citronella when crushed are cunning. They travel
long distances upside down and sideways, making it almost impossible to
track their entry points. I tried a lot of commercial stuff without
success.

Then, reading through old posts I saw that Norminn and some others
recommended Terro. I was out looking for a replacement toilet seat that
mysteriously cracked last night. At least two things a day break down
around here. Anyway, I got a pack of 9 traps from TruValue (about $5) and
set three out where I had been seeing the occasional ant.

Four hours later two of the traps were filled with ants and a huge parade
was leading to each trap. I could see them, lined up like little cows at a
cattle trough, sucking the clear poison until their abdomens were swollen.
When one left the "feed line" another moved right in to take it's place.

It was "Ant Crack." They walked through the Combat traps and ignored the
Raid bait. But they couldn't get enough Terro. They were climbing all over
themselves to get at it. This morning, only a few stragglers remain.
Hopefully, this will put an end to them.

Good tip, Norminn (and many others, going back to 2000).

FWIW, in today's NYT there's an article about a woman who poisoned herself
to death trying to rid her house of bedbugs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/ny...han-bites.html

When Lilah Gray started getting bitten by bedbugs, all she could think of
was getting rid of them. Her husband sprayed and saturated their double-wide
trailer home in Rocky Mount, N.C., with pesticides. But convinced that she
could still feel the bugs crawling on her, Ms. Gray soaked a napkin with Hot
Shot Bedbug and Flea Killer and applied it directly to her chest, then
soaked her hair in pesticide and put a plastic bag over it.

Well, there's no accounting for stone cold crazy. Don't we have posters
here from Rocky Mount?

--
Bobby G.

"Robert Green" wrote in
:

My huge mulberry tree did not fruit this year. As a result about a
billon hungry little black sugar ants that used to feed on the fallen
berries came into my house searching for food. These little black
ants with banded abdomens that smell like citronella when crushed are
cunning. They travel long distances upside down and sideways, making
it almost impossible to track their entry points. I tried a lot of
commercial stuff without success.

Then, reading through old posts I saw that Norminn and some others
recommended Terro. I was out looking for a replacement toilet seat
that mysteriously cracked last night. At least two things a day break
down around here. Anyway, I got a pack of 9 traps from TruValue
(about $5) and set three out where I had been seeing the occasional
ant.

Four hours later two of the traps were filled with ants and a huge
parade was leading to each trap. I could see them, lined up like
little cows at a cattle trough, sucking the clear poison until their
abdomens were swollen. When one left the "feed line" another moved
right in to take it's place.

It was "Ant Crack." They walked through the Combat traps and ignored
the Raid bait. But they couldn't get enough Terro. They were
climbing all over themselves to get at it. This morning, only a few
stragglers remain. Hopefully, this will put an end to them.

Good tip, Norminn (and many others, going back to 2000).

FWIW, in today's NYT there's an article about a woman who poisoned
herself to death trying to rid her house of bedbugs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/ny...bugs-may-be-mo
re-dangerous-than-bites.html

When Lilah Gray started getting bitten by bedbugs, all she could
think of was getting rid of them. Her husband sprayed and saturated
their double-wide trailer home in Rocky Mount, N.C., with pesticides.
But convinced that she could still feel the bugs crawling on her, Ms.
Gray soaked a napkin with Hot Shot Bedbug and Flea Killer and applied
it directly to her chest, then soaked her hair in pesticide and put a
plastic bag over it.

Well, there's no accounting for stone cold crazy. Don't we have
posters here from Rocky Mount?

--
Bobby G.





It was "Ant Crack."

chuckle I'm sold. I'll try it next time needed.

On 9/25/2011 8:33 AM, Robert Green wrote:
My huge mulberry tree did not fruit this year. As a result about a billon
hungry little black sugar ants that used to feed on the fallen berries came
into my house searching for food. These little black ants with banded
abdomens that smell like citronella when crushed are cunning. They travel
long distances upside down and sideways, making it almost impossible to
track their entry points. I tried a lot of commercial stuff without
success.

Then, reading through old posts I saw that Norminn and some others
recommended Terro. I was out looking for a replacement toilet seat that
mysteriously cracked last night. At least two things a day break down
around here. Anyway, I got a pack of 9 traps from TruValue (about $5) and
set three out where I had been seeing the occasional ant.

Four hours later two of the traps were filled with ants and a huge parade
was leading to each trap. I could see them, lined up like little cows at a
cattle trough, sucking the clear poison until their abdomens were swollen.
When one left the "feed line" another moved right in to take it's place.

It was "Ant Crack." They walked through the Combat traps and ignored the
Raid bait. But they couldn't get enough Terro. They were climbing all over
themselves to get at it. This morning, only a few stragglers remain.
Hopefully, this will put an end to them.

Good tip, Norminn (and many others, going back to 2000).

FWIW, in today's NYT there's an article about a woman who poisoned herself
to death trying to rid her house of bedbugs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/ny...han-bites.html

When Lilah Gray started getting bitten by bedbugs, all she could think of
was getting rid of them. Her husband sprayed and saturated their double-wide
trailer home in Rocky Mount, N.C., with pesticides. But convinced that she
could still feel the bugs crawling on her, Ms. Gray soaked a napkin with Hot
Shot Bedbug and Flea Killer and applied it directly to her chest, then
soaked her hair in pesticide and put a plastic bag over it.

Well, there's no accounting for stone cold crazy. Don't we have posters
here from Rocky Mount?

--
Bobby G.


Best bait I ever used was from an exterminator. I happened to be going
into a commercial building where I was working and the exterminator was
doing the monthly followup. I mentioned we were getting invaded by ants
at home who were not even interested in the bait I used.

Guy gave me a sealed bag with 6 plastic bait "trays". There was a
divider inside with a different appearance glob of material on each side.

I put two out. The next morning there were enough ants by each to carry
the bait away. Two days later the ants were gone. I looked at the bait
and the "type A" bait in one side was completely gone and the "type B"
bait in the other side was untouched.

"George" wrote in message
...
On 9/25/2011 8:33 AM, Robert Green wrote:

stuff snipped

Best bait I ever used was from an exterminator. I happened to be going
into a commercial building where I was working and the exterminator was
doing the monthly followup. I mentioned we were getting invaded by ants
at home who were not even interested in the bait I used.

I got a bottle of chlordane from an exterminator 20 years ago. I would
dilute it, trickle it around the perimeter of the house and did not see a
termite until the year after it ran out. Now, of course, the EPA has banned
it because builders would flood the ground with 500 gallons of it at a time.
One gallon protected my house for 15 years. So you can see that those 500
gallon dumps were overkill and ended up in the aquifers. Now I use stakes -
far more expensive and far more work than a walk around the house with a
milk jug with a small hole punched in the bottom. God I hate being forced
to pay for the actions of a few morons.

Guy gave me a sealed bag with 6 plastic bait "trays". There was a
divider inside with a different appearance glob of material on each side.

I put two out. The next morning there were enough ants by each to carry
the bait away. Two days later the ants were gone. I looked at the bait
and the "type A" bait in one side was completely gone and the "type B"
bait in the other side was untouched.

I believe it. When I had a steady stream of them I placed Combat traps
right in their path. The walked in and out without slowing down. The Terro
stuff, on the other hand, seemed to draw every ant from the tri-state area
(hyperbole alert - I recall reading that ants and termites make up most of
the planet's animal biomass. Every ant from the tri-state area could easily
be tons of ants. Any "antomologists" out there?

--
Bobby G.

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:15:51 -0400, George
wrote:

On 9/25/2011 8:33 AM, Robert Green wrote:
My huge mulberry tree did not fruit this year. As a result about a
billon
hungry little black sugar ants that used to feed on the fallen berries
came
into my house searching for food. These little black ants with banded
abdomens that smell like citronella when crushed are cunning. They
travel
long distances upside down and sideways, making it almost impossible to
track their entry points. I tried a lot of commercial stuff without
success.

Then, reading through old posts I saw that Norminn and some others
recommended Terro. I was out looking for a replacement toilet seat
that
mysteriously cracked last night. At least two things a day break down
around here. Anyway, I got a pack of 9 traps from TruValue (about $5)
and
set three out where I had been seeing the occasional ant.

Four hours later two of the traps were filled with ants and a huge
parade
was leading to each trap. I could see them, lined up like little cows
at a
cattle trough, sucking the clear poison until their abdomens were
swollen.
When one left the "feed line" another moved right in to take it's
place.

It was "Ant Crack." They walked through the Combat traps and ignored
the
Raid bait. But they couldn't get enough Terro. They were climbing all
over
themselves to get at it. This morning, only a few stragglers remain.
Hopefully, this will put an end to them.

Good tip, Norminn (and many others, going back to 2000).

FWIW, in today's NYT there's an article about a woman who poisoned
herself
to death trying to rid her house of bedbugs:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/ny...han-bites.html

When Lilah Gray started getting bitten by bedbugs, all she could
think of
was getting rid of them. Her husband sprayed and saturated their
double-wide
trailer home in Rocky Mount, N.C., with pesticides. But convinced that
she
could still feel the bugs crawling on her, Ms. Gray soaked a napkin
with Hot
Shot Bedbug and Flea Killer and applied it directly to her chest, then
soaked her hair in pesticide and put a plastic bag over it.

Well, there's no accounting for stone cold crazy. Don't we have
posters
here from Rocky Mount?

--
Bobby G.


Best bait I ever used was from an exterminator. I happened to be going
into a commercial building where I was working and the exterminator was
doing the monthly followup. I mentioned we were getting invaded by ants
at home who were not even interested in the bait I used.

Guy gave me a sealed bag with 6 plastic bait "trays". There was a
divider inside with a different appearance glob of material on each side.

I put two out. The next morning there were enough ants by each to carry
the bait away. Two days later the ants were gone. I looked at the bait
and the "type A" bait in one side was completely gone and the "type B"
bait in the other side was untouched.

That is the secret. You have to bait them with what they are eating.
Terro is sugar based and if you have sweet eating ants it works great.
If they stop eating sugar you have to get creative. Use what you
seeing them eat and bait with that. The poison is usually boric acid
in all of the baits you see, mixed about 12 to 16 to one with the bait
food.

Yep, that's what's in Terro. Boric acid. Not a single ant today, but two
traps full of ants drowned in corn syrup. I should post a picture of them
feeding. Lined up just like cattle.

--
Bobby G.

On 9/25/2011 3:56 PM, Robert Green wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 9/25/2011 8:33 AM, Robert Green wrote:

stuff snipped

Best bait I ever used was from an exterminator. I happened to be going
into a commercial building where I was working and the exterminator was
doing the monthly followup. I mentioned we were getting invaded by ants
at home who were not even interested in the bait I used.

I got a bottle of chlordane from an exterminator 20 years ago. I would
dilute it, trickle it around the perimeter of the house and did not see a
termite until the year after it ran out. Now, of course, the EPA has banned
it because builders would flood the ground with 500 gallons of it at a time.

Or homeowners, someone I knew was building a house and got a 55 gal drum
from somewhere and used the entire drum for their house. I read the
instructions and it was probably sufficient to treat 200 similar sized
properties.

One gallon protected my house for 15 years. So you can see that those 500
gallon dumps were overkill and ended up in the aquifers. Now I use stakes -
far more expensive and far more work than a walk around the house with a
milk jug with a small hole punched in the bottom. God I hate being forced
to pay for the actions of a few morons.

Guy gave me a sealed bag with 6 plastic bait "trays". There was a
divider inside with a different appearance glob of material on each side.

I put two out. The next morning there were enough ants by each to carry
the bait away. Two days later the ants were gone. I looked at the bait
and the "type A" bait in one side was completely gone and the "type B"
bait in the other side was untouched.

I believe it. When I had a steady stream of them I placed Combat traps
right in their path. The walked in and out without slowing down. The Terro
stuff, on the other hand, seemed to draw every ant from the tri-state area
(hyperbole alert - I recall reading that ants and termites make up most of
the planet's animal biomass. Every ant from the tri-state area could easily
be tons of ants. Any "antomologists" out there?

--
Bobby G.

clipped

Good tip, Norminn (and many others, going back to 2000).

Glad it worked. I haven't had huge ant problems, and they seem to be
only seasonal when they show up; true in Fla. and "up north". Part of
the problem, always, has been leaving food available in the kitchen;
gotta clean up when seeking the "cure". Occas. the only problem has
been a coffee cake or stick of butter left on the counter - in Fla., the
buggers have no trouble finding sweets.

Terro instructions used to be, for grease ants, mix a tad of terro with
fatty food - nice, rich bread or cake seems to be the right recipe.

We had our Florida condo treated for roaches (seemed to move in when
upstairs neighbor left)...$500 worth of peanut butter and boric acid,
applied with cake decorating-type syringe. Worked beautifully )

When serving guests, I ALWAYS serve what I expect they like to eat )

FWIW, in today's NYT there's an article about a woman who poisoned herself
to death trying to rid her house of bedbugs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/ny...han-bites.html

When Lilah Gray started getting bitten by bedbugs, all she could think of
was getting rid of them. Her husband sprayed and saturated their double-wide
trailer home in Rocky Mount, N.C., with pesticides. But convinced that she
could still feel the bugs crawling on her, Ms. Gray soaked a napkin with Hot
Shot Bedbug and Flea Killer and applied it directly to her chest, then
soaked her hair in pesticide and put a plastic bag over it.

Faced with bedbug infestation, I'd be tempted to try the same )

Well, there's no accounting for stone cold crazy. Don't we have posters
here from Rocky Mount?

--
Bobby G.



For the first time in my life, I read the instructions on a tube of
toothpaste. Crest something-or-other with fluoride...says, if ya'
swallow "more than is used for brushing", to get medical help immed. or
call poison control center. Gulp!

Norminn wrote in
:

clipped

Good tip, Norminn (and many others, going back to 2000).

Glad it worked. I haven't had huge ant problems, and they seem to be
only seasonal when they show up; true in Fla. and "up north". Part of
the problem, always, has been leaving food available in the kitchen;
gotta clean up when seeking the "cure". Occas. the only problem has
been a coffee cake or stick of butter left on the counter - in Fla.,
the buggers have no trouble finding sweets.

Terro instructions used to be, for grease ants, mix a tad of terro
with fatty food - nice, rich bread or cake seems to be the right
recipe.

We had our Florida condo treated for roaches (seemed to move in when
upstairs neighbor left)...$500 worth of peanut butter and boric acid,
applied with cake decorating-type syringe. Worked beautifully )

When serving guests, I ALWAYS serve what I expect they like to eat )

FWIW, in today's NYT there's an article about a woman who poisoned
herself to death trying to rid her house of bedbugs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/ny...dbugs-may-be-m
ore-dangerous-than-bites.html

When Lilah Gray started getting bitten by bedbugs, all she could
think of was getting rid of them. Her husband sprayed and saturated
their double-wide trailer home in Rocky Mount, N.C., with pesticides.
But convinced that she could still feel the bugs crawling on her, Ms.
Gray soaked a napkin with Hot Shot Bedbug and Flea Killer and applied
it directly to her chest, then soaked her hair in pesticide and put a
plastic bag over it.

Faced with bedbug infestation, I'd be tempted to try the same )

Well, there's no accounting for stone cold crazy. Don't we have
posters here from Rocky Mount?

--
Bobby G.



For the first time in my life, I read the instructions on a tube of
toothpaste. Crest something-or-other with fluoride...says, if ya'
swallow "more than is used for brushing", to get medical help immed.
or call poison control center. Gulp!


Gotta remember there are those around that inhale/ingest stuff from air
conditioners (is it?) to get a buzz.

On Sep 25, 3:56*pm, "Robert Green" wrote:
Now I use stakes -
far more expensive and far more work than a walk around the house with a
milk jug with a small hole punched in the bottom. *God I hate being forced
to pay for the actions of a few morons.

3 quarts of Talstar One should last a typical homeowner a lifetime.

As a former PCO I use it and Tempo 20 WP to control insects around
this house, and pool, and acre of deck/s, situated practically in the
woods.

Both are unrestricted pesticides available to homeowners.
-----

- gpsman

"gpsman" wrote in message
...
On Sep 25, 3:56 pm, "Robert Green" wrote:
Now I use stakes -
far more expensive and far more work than a walk around the house with a
milk jug with a small hole punched in the bottom. God I hate being forced
to pay for the actions of a few morons.

3 quarts of Talstar One should last a typical homeowner a lifetime.

As a former PCO I use it and Tempo 20 WP to control insects around
this house, and pool, and acre of deck/s, situated practically in the
woods.

Both are unrestricted pesticides available to homeowners.
=============================================

http://www.google.com/search?q=Talstar+One

Thanks. Stuff isn't cheap but I'd better score some before it, too, is
banned.

--
Bobby G.



- gpsman