Comments on: How to Get Rid of Ants Safely

By: GiGi

GiGi — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:59:47 +0000

I agree with you. Wood loving ants are a bit different I’ve learned. It’s amazing how they can eat their way through to tunnel their way to wherever they’re moving to.

By: GiGi

GiGi — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:54:38 +0000

Just moved into a brand new home we had built to find we were infested with ants coming out of tiny pinhead size holes in the kitchen baseboards and sprayed for them with a store-bought product. Within a few days, they started coming out of the electrical outlets in the kitchen and we srayed there as well. Now, they’re coming out of the baseboards in the upstairs master bedroom and from under the carpet on the stairway. We hired an exterminator company that said they were “acrobat” ants, part of the carpenter ant family and every time we sprayed for them they just moved to another part of the inside of the walls. The exterminator company advised us to watch where they go in/out and vacuum them up, then call them to come out; however, we’ve had a steady rain since that day and it’s been too wet to treat for them. Anything I can do in the meantime? The boric acid mixture sounds like a good idea. Can anyone tell me how to find out if the wood used in the construction of the home could have been moist when it was framed up-maybe rained and didn’t get dried out?

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:55:39 +0000

My problems is..I sell rv’s and they are parked on the pavement and the ants are everywhere..What could I use?

By: matt

matt — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:11:20 +0000

i just had carpenter ants in my house. a mixture of 1cup of water, 2 cups of sugar, and 2 table spoons of boric acid got rid of them over night. after the first ant found the bait, it went back to the nest and after about 10 minutes every ant in the nest was eating on the mixture. they ate so much i had to keep putting more out for them while i stood there watching them all kill themselves. i first called a large exterminating company for help and they told me it would cost about 600.00 dollars. the boric acid, a 1 quart bottle cost less than 10.00 dollars. what a joke. this method works

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:12:21 +0000

Scorpions? eek!!! ahhh how about you move?

By: Lise

Lise — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:06:24 +0000

Hmmm… my problem is more carpenter ants than this kind of ant – they’re more interested in devouring the remains of the shingle siding that’s underneath my aluminum siding than they are in the compost bucket.

And, unfortunately, I think boric acid, cornmeal, planting mint around the house, Simple Green, etc are pretty ineffective against them *sigh*

By: Kelly from Almost Frugal

Kelly from Almost Frugal — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:54:06 +0000

A good way to prevent pests (ants and flies) from getting to the compost in the first place is to use a smaller container and keep it in your fridge. I use a large tupperware box, and then empty it every two or three days.

By: Chris Monaccio

Chris Monaccio — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:55:11 +0000

I was interested to see this post since I had a small ant problem about two months ago. I first tried killing them with ant spray, which has a terrible smell and is highly toxic. Second was the use of bait traps, which are still in place, but kept away from food or where our cats go and have seem to do a wonderful job. Just like the boric acid mix, they take the bait back to the hive and it kills them all (or most of them).

However, the most useful thing I found was that the household cleaning product “Simple Green” is actually a VERY effect ant spray that is also non-toxic! If you have ants in the immediate area, for instance, all over a chair that you sit in frequently, spray them with that stuff and they’ll die right away. Bait them to keep them from coming back! Make sure to look outside the home to find out where they are coming in and bait those areas too. When they are gone, seal those entry ways with caulk or expanding foam if the hole is large enough.

Hope that helps!

By: jim

jim — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:47:18 +0000

You don’t get a lot of ants then… or too many scorpions.

By: Jake@Compounding-Dividends.com

Jake@Compounding-Dividends.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:43:39 +0000

Any advice for getting rid of Scorpions? lol ..Ants don’t bother me too much

By: Andrea

Andrea — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:42:49 +0000

I’ve heard that corn meal works too. They eat it but can’t digest it and die. Safe for toddlers too.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:12:11 +0000

Also a very safe alternative is to sprinkle pepper in areas ants are known to frequent. I don’t know why but they won’t go near the stuff