How to Stop an Ant Invasion

On a rainy day, you may see hordes of ants marching into your house. They're searching for dry shelter, food and water, and who can blame them even if they're unwelcome guests? Here's how to ward off these industrious fellows.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dishwashing Liquid
• Ant Traps
• Ant Traps
• Boric Acid Or Laundry Detergent (powder)
• Dishwashing Liquid
• Rag
• Vacuum
• Cornstarch
• Plastic Storage Containers With Sealable Lids
• Zipper-lock Bags
• Caulk, weather-stripping, duct tape or petroleum jelly

1. Follow the ant line to its source. It might be a window, molding crevice or floor crack.

2. Form a temporary barrier at the source with boric acid or laundry detergent in powder form.

3. Remove any food the ants have attacked and discard it in a garbage can outside your house.

4. If the ants have invaded the kitchen garbage can, bring it outside, hose it down and wash it with dishwashing liquid and water.

5. Put food the ants have not found in zipper-lock plastic bags or in plastic containers with sealable lids. Or put these items in the refrigerator.

6. Remember that ants can penetrate metal-threaded lids on glass jars. Seal these jars in zipper-lock plastic bags. Glass jars are immune from ants only when sealed with a rubber gasket.

7. Seal all food items in your cupboards, especially sugar, honey, maple syrup, grains, cereals, cookies, jams and breads.

8. Once you've secured the food, vacuum up the ant line, along with a bit of cornstarch, which helps suffocate them inside the bag. Or wash them away with dishwashing liquid, water and a rag if you prefer.

9. Use dishwashing liquid and hot water to wash the area around the ant line and erase any scent of the trail.

10. Seal the area where the ants entered; caulk windows and cracks and weather-strip doors (see How to Fix a Drafty Door). Apply duct tape or petroleum jelly over holes as a temporary fix.

11. Go outside and see if you can determine where the ants entered the house. If they used a branch as a bridge to the house, trim it.

12. Check the area in an hour. If you see any single ants, or scouts, searching the area, squash them. They're scoping out the area for future invasions.

13. If you wish to wipe out the ant population, use ant traps that contain boric acid. The returning ants poison the entire colony. Ants play a beneficial role in gardens, however, so only do this if absolutely necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Some natural ant deterrents include crumbled bay leaves, cinnamon, peppermint leaves and cayenne pepper.
• If an indoor plant is infested with ants, bring it outside and flood it several times with a hose to remove them.
• Insecticidal sprays kill only the ants you spray--a very small percentage of the colony--and won't prevent future invasions. If you use a spray, keep children and pets away from sprayed areas.
• Carpenter ants, which are large with smooth backs, burrow into wood and cause structural damage. Keep piles of decaying wood away from the house as this attracts them.

[bencjr]

on 4/20/2009 I mixed equal parts of granulated sugar and boric acid. I then added enough water to make a thin paste. I drizzled this mixture around the perimeter of my house. It 3 to 4 weeks, but I finally got rid of them.

[Brucieboy]

on 10/21/2007 I have been plagued with an invasion of black ants for some time. Nothing I bought would remove them. I noticed that they swarmed into a glass that I had drunk from, with flavoured cordial, mixed with water I had drunk from.
I then decided to try using a small amount, poured out onto a small plastic dish. I then poured a few drops of 'Ant-Rid', which is available here in Australia, mixed the two substances together, then left on the sink overnight. The ants came and fed on this solution for about four nights, then, there were no more ants, only dead ones, lying on the sink.
The nest is virtually wiped out!

[Brucieboy]

on 10/21/2007 I have got rid of a nest of black ants by mixing a small amount of the syrup used for making a flavoured cold water drink, from supermarkets, with a small amount of Ant-Rid, which is available here in Australia. Carefully mix together, and leave out overnight, close to where they come and congregate. Do this for a few nights, and I have found that next morning there are dead ants lying around the stainless steel sink, where they usually congregated to. They are after the sugar contained in the syrup, and have to drink the ant poison as well to get the sugar.
This works for me.

on 6/30/2006 While camping in Arizona, our site was infested with ants. We were already set up and didn't want to move, so we put a ring of lotion around the area. The ants couldn't pass it. We killed all ants already inside.

on 6/30/2006 Before going to bed for the night, spray your kitchen counter tops, stove, sink, etc. (don't apply to electrical appliances such as coffee makers or toaster ovens, etc.) with 409. Any ants that come in contact with this overnight will be dead in the morning and are easy to wipe up. With repeated use, the ants get the hint and are unlikely to resurface. This works in bathrooms as well.