We are getting plagued by ants. In previous years I have used a product
called Ant Bait at the 3 locations that they could get into the house.
Front door, patio door and an air brick under the kitchen units.

However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am loath
to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it means
cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.

I have just come from another forum that has stated that talcum powder
will stop the ants from crossing it. I find this very hard to accept.
Has anyone any knowledge of this and does it work? More importantly, why
does it work?

Dave

Dave wrote:

I have just come from another forum that has stated that talcum powder
will stop the ants from crossing it. I find this very hard to accept.
Has anyone any knowledge of this and does it work? More importantly, why
does it work?


I've not heard of using talc against ants, but a sprinkling of the borax
I use for laundry, works very well.

"Dave" wrote

We are getting plagued by ants. .......snip

Best results so far have been with Nippon ant gel.
Put on bit of plastic or tile close to established run.
This they take back to nest, but it does take some time for the numbers to
dwindle.

Phil

In message , Dave
writes
We are getting plagued by ants. In previous years I have used a product
called Ant Bait at the 3 locations that they could get into the house.
Front door, patio door and an air brick under the kitchen units.

However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am
loath to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it means
cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.

I have just come from another forum that has stated that talcum powder
will stop the ants from crossing it. I find this very hard to accept.
Has anyone any knowledge of this and does it work? More importantly,
why does it work?

I presume that the powder's so fine that it clogs them up

There have been a number of threads about ants recently


--
geoff

Dave wrote in
:


However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am loath
to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it means
cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.

I use one of the proprietary antkilling powders Antstop, Doff (I wouldn't
like to say what's most effective, as well as baits.

They are messy, but when I see evidence of ants I powder the floor, the
floor/wall junctions, under kitchen units etc, and leave it there for
days/weeks.

Over several years, this has reduced my ant problem form great heaving
masses flying off from three inside rooms (I guess they're in the cavity
walls, to one small ant attack this year.

I think it's worth it, but I haven't got a SWMBO to tell me it isn't!

mike

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from Dave contains these words:


We are getting plagued by ants. In previous years I have used a product
called Ant Bait at the 3 locations that they could get into the house.
Front door, patio door and an air brick under the kitchen units.


However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am loath
to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it means
cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.


I have just come from another forum that has stated that talcum powder
will stop the ants from crossing it. I find this very hard to accept.
Has anyone any knowledge of this and does it work? More importantly, why
does it work?


Never heard of this use of talcum powder, and won't the rain wash it
away, presuming that it's put _outside_ the door?

A mixture of borax and sugar (taken back to the nest for food) will
supposedly kill the entire nest,

Prolly what ant bait is :-)


and I've heard tell that ants won't
cross a strip of copper wire...

This sounds like the copper strip that slugs will not pass.

I have lots of copper wire/tape and I will report back as to it's value.

Dave

TheScullster wrote:

"Dave" wrote


We are getting plagued by ants. .......snip


Best results so far have been with Nippon ant gel.
Put on bit of plastic or tile close to established run.
This they take back to nest, but it does take some time for the numbers to
dwindle.

Yes, that is how ant bait works. Two weeks later, no ants :-)

Wife thinks that they have become immune to it though :-(

Dave

raden wrote:

In message , Dave
writes

We are getting plagued by ants. In previous years I have used a
product called Ant Bait at the 3 locations that they could get into
the house. Front door, patio door and an air brick under the kitchen
units.

However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am
loath to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it
means cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.

I have just come from another forum that has stated that talcum powder
will stop the ants from crossing it. I find this very hard to accept.
Has anyone any knowledge of this and does it work? More importantly,
why does it work?

I presume that the powder's so fine that it clogs them up

Now that's something I never thought about. We have a nest just outside
of our patio door and they come inside when ever they can. I'll put
some talc down, next time they try, to test this theory :-)

Dave

mike wrote:

Dave wrote in
:


However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am loath
to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it means
cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.


I use one of the proprietary antkilling powders Antstop, Doff (I wouldn't
like to say what's most effective, as well as baits.

They are messy, but when I see evidence of ants I powder the floor, the
floor/wall junctions, under kitchen units etc, and leave it there for
days/weeks.

Over several years, this has reduced my ant problem form great heaving
masses flying off from three inside rooms (I guess they're in the cavity
walls, to one small ant attack this year.

I think it's worth it, but I haven't got a SWMBO to tell me it isn't!

Interesting and noted for the future, for future use. This is one of
those suck it and see things.

Thanks

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
...
mike wrote:

Dave wrote in
:


However, this year, we can't stop the ants at the patio door. I am loath
to use a spray that kills those that transgress, because it means
cleaning them up after they are dead. I would rather kill the nest.


I use one of the proprietary antkilling powders Antstop, Doff (I wouldn't
like to say what's most effective, as well as baits.

They are messy, but when I see evidence of ants I powder the floor, the
floor/wall junctions, under kitchen units etc, and leave it there for
days/weeks.

Over several years, this has reduced my ant problem form great heaving
masses flying off from three inside rooms (I guess they're in the cavity
walls, to one small ant attack this year.

I think it's worth it, but I haven't got a SWMBO to tell me it isn't!

Interesting and noted for the future, for future use. This is one of those
suck it and see things.

Thanks

Dave

I follow advice I was once give - "If you see ants outside then deal with
them otherwise they get inside"

Anne Jackson wrote in
:


They are messy, but when I see evidence of ants I powder the floor,
the floor/wall junctions, under kitchen units etc, and leave it there
for days/weeks.


I think it's worth it, but I haven't got a SWMBO to tell me it isn't!

If you _had_ a SWMBO, the dust wouldn't be allowed to lie around for
so long! It'd be hoovered up, double-quick!

I shoulda made clear I don't powder the whole floor, usually you can tell
where they're coming from, so I do all edges, holes, thereabouts.

And the use of baits seems to help, but by the time you see a lot of ants
it's too lait for that; so now I have them in areas I know have been
active from springtime.

From what I _have_ seen of ladies and ant swarms, I think theyd be glad
of my methods, but if I can repeat an old graffito which I saw for myself
on Liverpool street underground station:

Wall poster: "ACCOUNTING FOR WOMEN"

Unknown author "There's no accounting for women"



mike

raden wrote:

I presume that the powder's so fine that it clogs them up

There have been a number of threads about ants recently


That must have been about silk worms, surely.
;-)

On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:47:12 +0100, Dave
wrote:

We are getting plagued by ants. In previous years I have used a product
called Ant Bait at the 3 locations that they could get into the house.
Front door, patio door and an air brick under the kitchen units.


I live in the country and there are lots of the big reddish ants that
bite around. For the first time in 25yrs I found some very small ants
in the kitchen and some of the red ants coming up behind the skirting
board.

I bought a gallon of paraffin and went around all the relevant points
outside the house as well as pouring some behind the skirting board.
I also bought one of those Nippon baits but it is totally covered so
there is no way of seeing if anything is going on.

Anyhow after a couple of days there was just the odd small straggler
and after a week or so no sign of any at all and has been so for the
past month or so.

The house stank for a week but all ok now too.


--
AnthonyL

On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:14:20 GMT, lid (AnthonyL)
wrote:

On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:47:12 +0100, Dave
wrote:

We are getting plagued by ants. In previous years I have used a product
called Ant Bait at the 3 locations that they could get into the house.
Front door, patio door and an air brick under the kitchen units.


I live in the country and there are lots of the big reddish ants that
bite around. For the first time in 25yrs I found some very small ants
in the kitchen and some of the red ants coming up behind the skirting
board.

I bought a gallon of paraffin and went around all the relevant points
outside the house as well as pouring some behind the skirting board.
I also bought one of those Nippon baits but it is totally covered so
there is no way of seeing if anything is going on.

Anyhow after a couple of days there was just the odd small straggler
and after a week or so no sign of any at all and has been so for the
past month or so.

The house stank for a week but all ok now too.

Or you just got used to it. This has got to be bad advise for many
reasons but if your house burned down any insurance wouldnt pay out as
soon as they discovered the accelerant traces.

In message , PJ
writes
raden wrote:

I presume that the powder's so fine that it clogs them up
There have been a number of threads about ants recently


That must have been about silk worms, surely.
;-)

There's a ba doom tish due there, I think

--
geoff

In message , Anne Jackson
writes
The message from mike contains these words:

From what I _have_ seen of ladies and ant swarms,
I think theyd be glad of my methods,

Well, I can't answer for *ladies*, never having had
any desire to be one, but as a female I have no fear
of ants. I don't even dislike them...they're not
'dirty' creatures (like flies), merely a minor nuisance.

But then, I keep snakes as pets, and ride a motorbike... ;-)

A real one ?

--
geoff

Anne Jackson wrote in
:


Well, I can't answer for *ladies*, never having had
any desire to be one, but as a female I have no fear
of ants. I don't even dislike them...they're not
'dirty' creatures (like flies), merely a minor nuisance.

But then, I keep snakes as pets, and ride a motorbike... ;-)

Well, I ride a bike - Guzzi 750 - in fact I haven't got a car, but I've got
to admit that hundreds of thousands of ants swarming and flying indoors
gives me the horrors.

If they just wandered around getting a living like the siverfish, woodlice,
spiders, crane flies etc I waouldn't mind....

mike

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from mike contains these words:


From what I _have_ seen of ladies and ant swarms,
I think theyd be glad of my methods,


Well, I can't answer for *ladies*, never having had
any desire to be one, but as a female I have no fear
of ants. I don't even dislike them...they're not
'dirty' creatures (like flies), merely a minor nuisance.

I am of the same opinion, I just wish that I could convince my wife of
that. We have lots of ants in our back garden, the normal ones and lawn
ants. Left to her, she would nuke the lot. I think that they play an
essential part in the environment.

But then, I keep snakes as pets

Wife docent like them either :-(
I think they are fascinating creatures. I once went to a hot house in
North Somerset and had one draped over my neck. Its head was about a
foot above my supporting hand, with its tail trailing on the floor at
the other side of me. (It was a constrictor as well) The man who
introduced it to me said that it just thought of you as a warm tree, at
which point, it lost all its rigidity and relaxed around my shoulders,
an amazing feeling though. The highlight of the day was when a tarantula
was brought out of its box and was persuaded (after a huge dig in my
back from my wife) to walk onto my hand. It was a bit reluctant, as I
had used that hand to splash some smelly body stuff on that morning. It
felt just like having a pet mouse on my hand. Cold little feet, but just
a few more of them :-)

But this is not addressing the ants that are congregating at the corner
of a room. There must be well over 500 there, after I sprayed and
vacuumed everyone up last night. They don't tend to venture too far, but
the corner of the skirting is black for about half an inch each
direction :-(
It's as if they are feeding on the decorators caulk I put in the corner
earlier this year.

Dave

S Viemeister wrote:
Dave wrote:


I have just come from another forum that has stated that talcum powder
will stop the ants from crossing it. I find this very hard to accept.
Has anyone any knowledge of this and does it work? More importantly,
why does it work?


I've not heard of using talc against ants, but a sprinkling of the borax
I use for laundry, works very well.


I have been down in Portsmouth for the last 6 days and our son phoned me
up to say that they were back again. I had been vaccing them up every
time they got a few of their friends together. I had an ant bait in the
corner, as well :-(

They were down to single figures just before I went South. So I expected
them to be gone when I came back.

Our son went and got some talc and very liberally spread it in the
corners affected. The fist was in the corner of the dining room and the
other was behind the same wall, but in the kitchen.

I am very happy to say that there are now no more ants :-)
I just wish that I could have seen how they reacted though.

Dave