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View Full Version : Help me with my ant problem before my husband poisons the kitchen

illinoismommy
05-03-2007, 04:31 PM
Isn't Raid a really bad and nasty thing for us to put in our kitchen? Or anywhere for that matter? Isn't that just POISON!?!?!? I have uneasy feelings about poison in my house especially around my children. But we have ants, little tiny ones and tons of them. We've been struggling with them for a week now. It is IMPOSSIBLE to keep every crumb off the floor, etc, because I have a toddler, hello!?!? What can I do!?!? Fast!! My husband will be here by 8pm and I am sure he will be itching to get that can of Raid out..... I sorta flipped out on him last weekend when he almost sprayed it within 2 feet of our baby's bottles :jawdrop
Beauty4Ashes
05-03-2007, 04:33 PM
Okay, do you have any borax/boric acid? Or peppermint essential oil or peppermint plants? Borax/boric acid is much less toxic than raid, and ants don't like peppermint because I think it throws them off the trail of their queen. hth. good luck.
illinoismommy
05-03-2007, 04:35 PM
I've never even heard of that acid :( no peppermint around here right now.... oops baby crying ill be back
Iarwain
05-03-2007, 04:53 PM
Two suggestions - least toxic is diatomaceous earth. It can be dusted lightly anywhere ants walk. Second is that I have found some liquid ant bait at Wally World that works GREAT! It is a poison, but at least it's not sprayed everywhere. You put a few drops on a scrap of cardboard in strategic places and they take it back to their nest and share with the whole colony. The ants love it and I've had great luck with it. I forget the name of it, but it's pretty cheap and works better than Raid. Raid only kills the ones that happen to come in direct contact with it. The liquid stuff takes out the whole nest and you can put it certain places where the ants walk, but away from the childrens' reach.
illinoismommy
05-03-2007, 05:12 PM
my husband says he has bought ant traps that they go into, get out bits of poison and take it back to their colony :scratch
Iarwain
05-03-2007, 05:18 PM
Those work too. My mom uses them. I think the liquid works better and faster but the store bought ones have the advantage of being enclosed so it's harder for a kiddo to get into them.
Herbwifemama
05-03-2007, 05:35 PM
Try some yeast mixed into applesauce- they'll eat that, and the yeast will explode their bellies- not toxic. :)
Ali
05-03-2007, 06:09 PM
I don't use Raid in the house because the spray goes everywhere and the fumes - whew!! I'd go for an exterminator before using a can of raid. I think the ant bait is a good idea, just be sure to keep it out of reach of little ones (shut in the pantry, etc).
jenn3514
05-04-2007, 11:27 AM
We've had luck with peppermint oil, and baby powder. They breathe the powder and it clogs their lungs. My gma used to swear by cucumber peels. She would lay them around wherever she wanted to keep the ants out of. I haven't tried that though.
Mama Bird
05-04-2007, 11:33 AM
Oooh oooh! I know this one! We have sugar ants a lot, because we keep out windows open. DH went online and found an ant killer you can make yourself out of safe ingredients. It really does work. In a spray bottle, mix 2/3 c. water, 1/3c. white vinegar, and 2T dish soap. Any dish soap works. We spray it around the windows and around the sink...voila! No ants. Also, we have a screened in back porch, and we spray this around the walls of it, and have no ants on the porch. This also works to kill bugs you find. It's worked on wasps, big ants, etc.
3PeasInAPod
05-04-2007, 11:56 AM
Oooh oooh! I know this one! We have sugar ants a lot, because we keep out windows open. DH went online and found an ant killer you can make yourself out of safe ingredients. It really does work. In a spray bottle, mix 2/3 c. water, 1/3c. white vinegar, and 2T dish soap. Any dish soap works. We spray it around the windows and around the sink...voila! No ants. Also, we have a screened in back porch, and we spray this around the walls of it, and have no ants on the porch. This also works to kill bugs you find. It's worked on wasps, big ants, etc.


I'm trying this today! I have all of those ingredients, so I don't even have to go to the store!
We used the ant bait traps too, & they worked for a few weeks, but the ants came back & I don't want to keep buying more traps every few weeks.....
Beauty4Ashes
05-04-2007, 12:11 PM
I am :laughtears and :sick over the idea of having ant stomachs exploding in my bathroom. :shifty
Blue Aurora
05-04-2007, 12:15 PM
Oh I need this thread ***as I sit here watching the trail of ants on my window infront me*** :laughtears
Herbwifemama
05-04-2007, 12:48 PM
They don't explode in your bathroom! :lol They go back to the nest and do that. :)
illinoismommy
05-04-2007, 01:00 PM
I am :laughtears and :sick over the idea of having ant stomachs exploding in my bathroom. :shifty


:giggle


Um so what are sugar ants? Are those the super tiny ones that can fit through non existant cracks? That's what we have
Mama Bird
05-04-2007, 01:22 PM
Yip. :yes
Iarwain
05-04-2007, 02:08 PM
Sugar ants are ants that like sweet things to eat. Ants can be divided by what they eat. There are sugar ants and grease ants, which like fatty, greasy things to eat.
Beauty4Ashes
05-04-2007, 04:44 PM
what about the ants in my bathroom? What are they called, poop ants?
ReedleBeetle
05-04-2007, 09:45 PM
There are also Carpenter's Ants
Tami
05-07-2007, 12:11 PM
I dont know how bad your ant problem is, but we "inherited" a monstrous Carpenter Ant infestation when we bought our house. We tried several different remedies, but we broke down and had an eco-friendly exterminator come..It was VERY expensive, due to them having to go into the crawlspace under the house, etc... But I havent seen a SINGLE ant since the day they came.
I dont know if they are availabel in your area, but check em out if you get desperate enough..and I'm sure there are others like them
www.alphaecological.com
HTH