Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.

On 7/27/2016 11:20 AM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.


We've used several things. Ant bait sprinkles where the ants take it
back to the colony and the entire colony gets poisoned. I've also used
Simple green and sprayed the area they are coming in from, the places I
see them, and I've sprayed their trails. It kills them on contact, and
interrupts the scent trail the ants follow.

--
Maggie

On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 09:20:13 -0700, "Snuffy \"Hub Cap\" McKinney"
wrote:

Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.

Perimeter sprays have a limited effectiveness for ants. They will
exploit a hole in your perimeter and once they lay down a train,
something as seemingly innocent as a limb of a bush touching the house
can become a super highway.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 09:20:13 -0700, "Snuffy \"Hub Cap\" McKinney"
wrote:

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Not exactly. Pool DE is heated -- making DE fossils round.

Ants will cross real harvested DE, natural, will cit their exoskeleton
and ants dehydrate. Roaches too.

On 7/27/2016 12:20 PM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.


We were having trouble with ants but have seen none since getting
perimeter treated with Termidor for termite defense. I had been
treating myself for years and had kept them at bay but neighbors on two
sides got them and I was seeing them in decayed roots a few feet from my
house.

I tried commercial perimeter ant treatments but they were ineffective.
I had used to spray with Diazinone but but EPA has removed it from the
consumer as they have a lot of other effective treatments for other
insect pests. Some are not even commercially available anymore.

On 7/27/2016 1:17 PM, Frank wrote:

We were having trouble with ants but have seen none since getting
perimeter treated with Termidor for termite defense. I had been
treating myself for years and had kept them at bay but neighbors on two
sides got them and I was seeing them in decayed roots a few feet from my
house.


Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

On 7/27/2016 1:53 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 7/27/2016 1:17 PM, Frank wrote:

We were having trouble with ants but have seen none since getting
perimeter treated with Termidor for termite defense. I had been
treating myself for years and had kept them at bay but neighbors on two
sides got them and I was seeing them in decayed roots a few feet from my
house.


Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

I knew about chlordane but it has been banned a long time. I see
Termidor available on line. Terminex did my treatment for about $1,100.
They drilled holes in porch, driveway and deck to inject in ground all
around the house. Bayer sells a treatment you can trench around your
house like you used to do for chlordane but I think they say it is only
good for a few years and I don't know if it effects ants. I had used
one of their sprinkle treatments, said good for a year, in area I was
seeing termites before deciding to quit worrying and get commercial
treatment and yearly warranty which I believe is about $250. I had a
wood pile a few feet from the house that got termite infected. The wood
was wet and they just got in on top and it was probably not a problem as
there was not easy access to soil as it was on my patio but Terminex
came out and treated anyway as part of the contract.

In article ,
says...

On 7/27/2016 1:17 PM, Frank wrote:

We were having trouble with ants but have seen none since getting
perimeter treated with Termidor for termite defense. I had been
treating myself for years and had kept them at bay but neighbors on two
sides got them and I was seeing them in decayed roots a few feet from my
house.


Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

Best stuff there was to get rid of bugs. Too bad it was banned many
years ago. Probably why they got rid of it. Why spray once and be done
for 15 to 20 years when you can come back every year and spray something
else.


---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:41:50 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

Best stuff there was to get rid of bugs. Too bad it was banned many
years ago. Probably why they got rid of it. Why spray once and be done
for 15 to 20 years when you can come back every year and spray something
else.

It was banned because it actually was "too good" It lasted for
decades. That was not a problem if you were careful to sequester it
somewhere that it would not leach into the environment but people were
just spraying it everywhere and it was showing up in the water.

On 7/27/2016 2:21 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:41:50 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

Best stuff there was to get rid of bugs. Too bad it was banned many
years ago. Probably why they got rid of it. Why spray once and be done
for 15 to 20 years when you can come back every year and spray something
else.

It was banned because it actually was "too good" It lasted for
decades. That was not a problem if you were careful to sequester it
somewhere that it would not leach into the environment but people were
just spraying it everywhere and it was showing up in the water.


Not only that, but it vaporized and moved through foundations, so
people were breathing it indoors when they'd applied it outdoors.
Long-lasting, vaporizing, carcinogenic, too high risk.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:27:23 -0500, Moe DeLoughan
wrote:

On 7/27/2016 2:21 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:41:50 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

Best stuff there was to get rid of bugs. Too bad it was banned many
years ago. Probably why they got rid of it. Why spray once and be done
for 15 to 20 years when you can come back every year and spray something
else.

It was banned because it actually was "too good" It lasted for
decades. That was not a problem if you were careful to sequester it
somewhere that it would not leach into the environment but people were
just spraying it everywhere and it was showing up in the water.


Not only that, but it vaporized and moved through foundations, so
people were breathing it indoors when they'd applied it outdoors.
Long-lasting, vaporizing, carcinogenic, too high risk.


Like I said, it was not properly sequestered. If you applied it under
the visqueen under your slab, it would stay there and keep killing
termites and ants for decades. I am not sure the "vaporization" thing
was that big a deal. If it was properly sequestered, that vapor would
be contained too.

"Muggles" wrote in message ...
On 7/27/2016 11:20 AM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.


We've used several things. Ant bait sprinkles where the ants take it
back to the colony and the entire colony gets poisoned. I've also used
Simple green and sprayed the area they are coming in from, the places I
see them, and I've sprayed their trails. It kills them on contact, and
interrupts the scent trail the ants follow.

--
Maggie

Thanks, I wonder if I put full strength simple green in one of those containers you connect to the hose and spray the yard how good that would do? I spray fruit trees with liquid dishwashing detergent that way and it does a good job with most pests.

I'll try the Home Defense and some powder since I have some already.

On the inside, Terro liquid works great for me. I squirt some near where they are coming in and they push and shove to get at it to eat. Then I replenish it and within a day or two, they are gone. I always wonder if it really does kill ants back in their nest. In fact, once I tried mixing some up boric acid in glycerin myself but the ants just ignored it.

"Moe DeLoughan" wrote in message ...
On 7/27/2016 2:21 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:41:50 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

Before it was banned, I bought some chlorodane. I used it in my old
house and this house when we moved here. Never saw a bug anywhere for
as long as I had it. Good stuff I'll have to look into the termidor.

Best stuff there was to get rid of bugs. Too bad it was banned many
years ago. Probably why they got rid of it. Why spray once and be done
for 15 to 20 years when you can come back every year and spray something
else.

It was banned because it actually was "too good" It lasted for
decades. That was not a problem if you were careful to sequester it
somewhere that it would not leach into the environment but people were
just spraying it everywhere and it was showing up in the water.


Not only that, but it vaporized and moved through foundations, so
people were breathing it indoors when they'd applied it outdoors.
Long-lasting, vaporizing, carcinogenic, too high risk.

Got to be real careful with pesticides. I researched Parkinsons disease once when a family member had it, and learned that the highest incidence was in people who grew up in rural areas on working farms. Strange because of the relative clean air & water. One theory was that it could have been exposure to pesticides. Never did see any conclusive evidence though.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2016 13:21:28 -0700, "Snuffy \"Hub Cap\" McKinney"
wrote:

"Muggles" wrote in message ...
On 7/27/2016 11:20 AM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.


We've used several things. Ant bait sprinkles where the ants take it
back to the colony and the entire colony gets poisoned. I've also used
Simple green and sprayed the area they are coming in from, the places I
see them, and I've sprayed their trails. It kills them on contact, and
interrupts the scent trail the ants follow.

--
Maggie

Thanks, I wonder if I put full strength simple green in one of those containers you connect to the hose and spray the yard how good that would do? I spray fruit trees with liquid dishwashing detergent that way and it does a good job with most pests.

I'll try the Home Defense and some powder since I have some already.

On the inside, Terro liquid works great for me. I squirt some near where they are coming in and they push and shove to get at it to eat. Then I replenish it and within a day or two, they are gone. I always wonder if it really does kill ants back in their nest. In fact, once I tried mixing some up boric acid in glycerin myself but the ants just ignored it.

Terro Classic is sugar based. If ants eat sugar, they will usually eat
Terro. You could make up some concentrated simple syrup (sugar and
water boiled down to a goo) with boric acid in it. Use about 12 parts
sugar and one part BA.
The problem with any bait is ants just stop eating whatever the "food"
is in the bait after you kill enough colonies.

Baits are the only thing I have ever been successful with but my ants
are getting to be such picky eaters that I can't really find anything
they eat. I am leaving stuff laying around, just daring them to find
something they like. Then I will have them ;-)

On 7/27/2016 12:32 PM, Muggles wrote:
On 7/27/2016 11:20 AM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.


We've used several things. Ant bait sprinkles where the ants take it
back to the colony and the entire colony gets poisoned. I've also used
Simple green and sprayed the area they are coming in from, the places I
see them, and I've sprayed their trails. It kills them on contact, and
interrupts the scent trail the ants follow.


+1

This by far has been the most effective solution for me in past years. I
use the Terro ant bait and soon after laying the traps the first notice
of them in the house, I never see them again.

On 7/27/2016 4:24 PM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:

Got to be real careful with pesticides. I researched Parkinsons disease once when a family member had it, and learned that the highest incidence was in people who grew up in rural areas on working farms. Strange because of the relative clean air & water. One theory was that it could have been exposure to pesticides. Never did see any conclusive evidence though.


If it can kill a bug, rough of it will probably have some affect on
pets or people. Good or bad. Warfarin kills rats, but it helps keep my
wife alive. Depends on how you use it.

i use Boric acid, and mix it with Powered sugar & water to

make a paste,
and put it as close as possible to where the ants are coming into the house
[also simply wherever you see the ants, outdoors]

it eventually works, with some trial and error

don't like using it indoors; you want to kill them at places before they come in

hope it doesn't somehow kill other things

marc

On 7/27/2016 3:21 PM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
"Muggles" wrote in message ...
On 7/27/2016 11:20 AM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
Let's hear some stories about what works. They only come inside when it get hot or when the yard is flooded for one reason or another.

I picked up a gallon of Home Defense $5 special to try out. Anything else work better?

I have heard ants won't cross diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the base. Is that true? The price is low.

Also heard to use grits, that ants will eat it and it expands and kills them. I don't want to try that thinking it might attract mice, etc.



We've used several things. Ant bait sprinkles where the ants take it
back to the colony and the entire colony gets poisoned. I've also used
Simple green and sprayed the area they are coming in from, the places I
see them, and I've sprayed their trails. It kills them on contact, and
interrupts the scent trail the ants follow.



Thanks, I wonder if I put full strength simple green in one of those
containers you connect to the hose and spray the yard how good that would
do? I spray fruit trees with liquid dishwashing detergent that way and
it does a good job with most pests.

I used about a 3 parts simple green with one part water on ants and it
killed them on contact. I've also used it on aphids on my citrus trees
in our green house. Spray it on and let it set a few minutes and then
wash it off along with the dead aphids.

I'll try the Home Defense and some powder since I have some already.

On the inside, Terro liquid works great for me. I squirt some near where
they are coming in and they push and shove to get at it to eat. Then I
replenish it and within a day or two, they are gone. I always wonder if
it really does kill ants back in their nest. In fact, once I tried mixing
some up boric acid in glycerin myself but the ants just ignored it.


We've used the boric acid to get rid of other bugs and it does a pretty
good job of it, I think.

--
Maggie

wrote in message ...
i use Boric acid, and mix it with Powered sugar & water to

make a paste,
and put it as close as possible to where the ants are coming into the house
[also simply wherever you see the ants, outdoors]

it eventually works, with some trial and error

don't like using it indoors; you want to kill them at places before they come in

hope it doesn't somehow kill other things

marc

Good idea, will try that.

Spraying the entry points and putting some kind of ant powder in the nest area seems to have done the trick for most of the problem. Still seeing some inside and can't find outside where they are coming in.

For that bunch, I ended up squirting some Terro on the counter and the little rascals fight to get to it and start eating. After a few hours there was a huge number eating. The next day there are still some. I cleaned off the old stuff and put new down and the crowd came back. After 3-4 days, no more ants showed up.

Terro is mostly glycerin (sweet) and boric acid. When the ants were around I tried mixing my own, but there must be something else in Terro because they would not go after pure glycerin or the mixture.