Ants!

[Rysiek]

I think this topic comes under health...

We have been invaded by ants! Of course, he noticed this first...
Today there are more of them...

I am unsure what products to use, so I don't harm him...

I read about the vinegar...I bought 4% one in the spray
Is this safe?
What else can I use???

 

[Caspers Human]

First, before anything else, give the kitchen or other areas where ants are seen a good, through cleaning. Even kitchens that are kept clean have crumbs and things stuck in corners, under or behind things. That's what draws ants in the first place. They are searching for food. Ants have no reason to go some place where there is no food. It's a waste of the colony's resources. If you don't give ants a reason to come around, they usually won't.

Clean with your normal methods. I've always used Formula 409 or some similar product. It doesn't need to be anything special. Just a good quality cleaner of your choice. Not only will you use it to clean up hidden crumbs, small spills and other things, you need to spray the entire counter and wipe until it's evenly wet. You need to destroy the ants scent trails.

Ants leave invisible scent trails wherever they go so that they can find their way back to the colony and inform others where food was found. When you destroy the scent trails, ants can't find their way back to the place.

Once you've cleaned up, put something with a strong, aromatic scent around the perimeter of the counter and the baseboards. Use anything you like as long as it has a strong enough scent to screw up the ants' radar. I always used peppermint oil. Get a half glass full of hot tap water and put in a small squirt of liquid dish detergent. Then, put in a good dose of peppermint oil to make it as strong as you like. Use a cloth and wipe the solution around the edges of the counter, the backsplash the baseboards and anywhere else you think might be good. Any kind of scented oil or solution will work as ant repellent. I've heard of people using coffee grounds. I don't know if that actually works. I know that peppermint does.

After all that, it's time to start putting out something to get rid of the ants. Mix a couple of spoonfuls of honey with some powdered borax from the grocery store. I buy "20 Mule Team" brand. Get some empty bottle caps and put a dollop of honey inside. Leave them in places where ants can find them. They will eat the honey but they can't detect the borax. The borax will affect their digestive tracts and the ants die. The thing is that it takes time for the effect to happen. By that time, forager ants will have brought enough of the tainted honey back to the colony, they all start dying off.

The good thing is that borax is only moderately toxic to humans and pets. It ain't none too good for them. It'll probably make them get sick and throw up or something but, unless you get a lot of it in your system, it shouldn't go beyond that. Since you're only putting the stuff a few spoons full at a time, I can't imagine a cat eating enough of the stuff to make them sick. Beside, cats can't taste the honey, anyhow. They have very few taste receptors for sweetness. Cats would normally have only passing interest in eating honey, if at all.

Finally, get a large dish or platter and put about an inch of water inside. Put your cat's food dish in the center of the dish to form a moat that will make it harder for ants to cross.

There are a lot of ants in the area where I live. Every spring, I try to remember to clean up the kitchen, really well, to discourage ants. I put out the repellents and poisons. I do these things and I try to remember to be more careful about leaving food and crumbs in the kitchen. We might notice a few straggler ants in the kitchen throughout the summer but, as long as we keep up on cleanliness in the kitchen, we don't have very many problems with ants.

 

[tabbytom]

I think this topic comes under health...

We have been invaded by ants! Of course, he noticed this first...
Today there are more of them...

I am unsure what products to use, so I don't harm him...

I read about the vinegar...I bought 4% one in the spray
Is this safe?
What else can I use???

In order to eradicate ants in the home, food scraps have to be cleared after eating even though one have cleaned and wiped the tables or places where they have their meals. Food scraps can fall into crevices in the floor, onto cushions, under cushions of chairs and behind and between lounge chairs.

First, you have to find out where the ants are coming from. Are they already in the house or do they come in from the outside? Ants can come in from cracks under the floor, window sills and even door frames and have nest under the table or cabinet joints or even some crumbled up linens.
If the ants nest is outside the house, pretty simple to get rid of them in a safe way. Pour hot water into their nest and just make sure your cats and dogs and kids are not in the way when you are dousing the nest with hot water. This way is a non toxic way.

If they are already in the house and the nest is somewhere inside the house, you have to track them down by following the direction they are going and most likely will lead you to the nest. Get rid of them along the way leading to the nest. Get a pet safe insect spray (though it is pet safe, I don't really trust it but it's better than non pet safe and still, you have to have your pets stay clear of them. I do use a pet safe insect spray and so far my boy have been smelling it and he's ok)

Once you've sought of destroy the nest, mix 50/50 water and vinegar in a spray bottle and wipe off after meals and make sure no scraps are around. If you see a single ant, be sure to get rid of it. This is a recce ant that was sent out to look for food and and report back if there are any and if there are food, the whole army of ants will be activated.

So far, there are no ants in my house anymore with this method that I'm doing.

Here's an article :- How To Keep Ants Out Of Cat Food - TheCatSite

 

[Kwik]

Hi,living in South Florida 45 yrs I've learned alot about pesty insects but also with the right products it's a cinch to be rid of any of them ...there's a little tiny yellow & red bottle sold in every supermarket called " Ant Rid"---- its good for both sugar and grease ants and you either use it as is for sugar ants or add a drop of cooking oil for grease ants and that's that

It's not a pet safe product but my exterminator friend taught me to place a few drops in places the cats cannot get to- under a baseboard swiping with a Q-tip,inside a cabinet or simply put something ontop,like a saucer or whatever--- also "Zevo" pet safe spray- get the thresholds,window sills and baseboards if you don't want to use Ant Rid

The " moat" works great for cat food bowls too

I've not been bothered with ants in decades - even where there is cat food out on the patio!I spray Zevo outside the perimeter and presto- no ants

Typically I have coffee and breakfast out on the patio,a friend came over to join me and was telling me she don't eat on the patio because if she drops one crumb she watches an army of ants appear within minutes- she lives 2units away saying she sprays outside the patio because of her cats - I told her to buy Zevo and she was amazed- works very well,try it (Use as directed for pet safety,let it dry) but I spray outside and they apparently skip past my unit ,lol

 

[Rysiek]

Thank you All. Big cleaning on Saturday!
I think they coming from outside and as I'm the past year I was not "super-clean" (so much has happened), so it allowed ants to find some food...

I just don't want to add anything negative to my cat's health, such as allergy to some products...

Hope until Saturday they will not build a nest in my home! This is a bungalow, so they may live in the garden and when I started to have my patio open they just used the opportunity...

Ouch!

 

[Kwik]

Thank you All. Big cleaning on Saturday!
I think they coming from outside and as I'm the past year I was not "super-clean" (so much has happened), so it allowed ants to find some food...

I just don't want to add anything negative to my cat's health, such as allergy to some products...

Hope until Saturday they will not build a nest in my home! This is a bungalow, so they may live in the garden and when I started to have my patio open they just used the opportunity...

Ouch!

Gotcha- Yep,cats health is first priority!I think you'll be happy to spray outside all around the bungalow with Zevo.....I don't even spray inside anymore

My beef are Palmetto bugs- they are the creepiest ,giant prehistoric looking cockroaches that live in Palmetto trees- after lots of rain I'll find one who of course could not survive my 5predators on patrol Other than cats dismembering them they are pretty much indestructable!!!!Such a disgusting creepy thing

 

[Tobermory]

If you can find it where you live, Terro Liquid Ant Bait works well for me. It doesn’t kill them right away so you have to be patient. They’re attracted to the (to them) sweet smell. Once they eat it, they travel back to the nest and die. The other ants follow the first ones’ pheromone trails, and the cycle repeats. Many do die in the little bait station, though.

The bait stations are small and can be tucked in out-of-the-way places. I take the added precaution cutting a little opening in a small plastic container, like a butter tub, and putting it over the top of the station to ensure the cat won’t get it.

 

[Kwik]

If you can find it where you live, Terro Liquid Ant Bait works well for me. It doesn’t kill them right away so you have to be patient. They’re attracted to the (to them) sweet smell. Once they eat it, they travel back to the nest and die. The other ants follow the first ones’ pheromone trails, and the cycle repeats. Many do die in the little bait station, though.

The bait stations are small and can be tucked in out-of-the-way places. I take the added precaution cutting a little opening in a small plastic container, like a butter tub, and putting it over the top of the station to ensure the cat won’t get it.

Those are the little discs I used to use- they work very well though they do take time but I noticed they will go directly to the bait and not everywhere else

 

[Rysiek]

If you can find it where you live, Terro Liquid Ant Bait works well for me. It doesn’t kill them right away so you have to be patient. They’re attracted to the (to them) sweet smell. Once they eat it, they travel back to the nest and die. The other ants follow the first ones’ pheromone trails, and the cycle repeats. Many do die in the little bait station, though.

The bait stations are small and can be tucked in out-of-the-way places. I take the added precaution cutting a little opening in a small plastic container, like a butter tub, and putting it over the top of the station to ensure the cat won’t get it.

Thank you so much.
I bought something similar, they said it is children and pet safe

Ant Killer Bait Stations (Pack of 6)

Brand: READY STEADY DEFENDFeatures: Effective Ant Elimination: Specially formulated to target and eliminate ants in and around the home. The powerful gel insecticide not only kills the worker ants but spreads through the colony to eliminate the queen, rendering the colony no longer viable. Safe...

readysteadydefend.co.uk

Yesterday there were less of them, I only used vinegar so far, but I still see them around. So tomorrow big cleaning!