Author Topic: ANTS!!  (Read 1500 times)

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Offline Orbert

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ANTS!!
« on: April 06, 2018, 12:46:34 PM »
I went into the kitchen the other day to make some coffee, and saw an ant crawling around on the counter.  I killed it.  Damn, it's that time of year.  By the next day, there were hundreds of them, all over the fucking kitchen!  Holy shit!

Stopped at the store, got a bunch of ant baits, laid them all over the counters, in the cabinets, etc.  The theory is, ants grab the bait, which contains some kind of time-release poison, take it back to the nest, and basically wipe out their own colony.  This process can take up to two weeks, and I'm not thrilled with that, but it's still a hell of a lot cheaper than calling an exterminator.

We have a cat and normally leave food in her dish for her to nibble on during the day, and for whatever reason, they hadn't yet discovered her food dish.  Last night, the area around the cat's food and water dishes was crawling with ants.  Dammit.

I know that the correct approach is to clean the kitchen top to bottom, get rid of any food lying around, and set out more ant baits.  But here's the question: What do I do about the cat's food and water?  If I move them to another location, not only will the cat (possibly) not partake, but I'm basically introducing the ants to another location.  How do people with pets normally deal with ants?  The cat has to eat, but I can't leave the food out.

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2018, 12:57:41 PM »
Been there more times than not.  Usually first thing in the morning when I don't have time to kill and clean up....

We have more cats than I care to admit.  They get fed in the morning and around our dinner time.  Sometimes food gets left out; sometimes they eat it all and have to wait.  Nothing much you can do but use the traps and deal with Borg attacks when they happen.  In my experience, they tend not to swarm multiple times in the same place.  Also, ants aren't necessary after foods.  If it's really hot, they may just be looking for a cooler environment.  If that's what they're doing, it doesn't matter how clean your kitchen is.

The thing that we have done that worked best was to use outdoor stakes around the exterior of the kitchen in addition to indoor "traps"/bait.  Good luck.
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Offline ChuckSteak

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2018, 01:12:23 PM »
You assassin! I'm gonna call Greenpeace and they are going to sue your ass!

















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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2018, 01:14:34 PM »
I have a cat and have had a couple minor issues with ants.  Specifically in my bedroom and due to me leaving food on my night stand or because I also leave cat food in my bathroom (I think my cat likes eating in the bathroom cause its a more confined environment than the kitchen where I keep another food/water bowl). 

My method has worked every time they've come which has been only a couple times.  Clean the area to make sure there's no crumbs or any sort of food around.  I sprayed the edging of the floors/cabinets with ant killer near the infected area of the house and make sure the cat doesn't have access to it for some time, like a couple days.  Essentially any spot where I thought they could be coming from.  AND leave an ant bait trap out.  I've seen this do the job VERY quickly.  But my issues have been really minor over all, I wouldn't call any of my situations an "ant problem" just a fe instances where I noticed it and acted quick to make it not become a real issue.

Also, my cat I think enjoyed the ants.  I can't say for sure if he would eat them, but he would toy with them for sure.  I figured the ants in general would stay away from the cat, but maybe not.

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2018, 02:14:26 PM »
Ant baits will work just fine for a while. Eventually ants will learn to ignore them. I've found that Terro liquid ant killer is the only thing that always kills all ants. It's also dirt cheap. Personally, I find the idea of tricking ants into poisoning their entire colony wonderfully enjoyable.

I went to war with a colony of pharaoh ants a while back, and if you try to get them with baits they'll just laugh at you for wasting your money. Maybe spell DUBMBASS on the carpet when you come home. Nasty little fuckers. Once they detect any signs of poisoning they disperse the colony. They actually have multiple queens for redundancy, and send them in different directions to regroup, so spraying them makes your problem much worse. You'll wind up with three different colonies in different parts of your house.

Thankfully, Pharaoh ants aren't particularly common. 
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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2018, 02:39:25 PM »
Damn, that type of infestation sounds like a nightmare.  But I got to respect mother nature and life in that scenario, that's adaptation.

My only real bug problem are centipedes in my basement, and some people might say that's not a problem as they eat all the other bugs and aren't really a threat to humans.  But they are so damn nasty to look at and if someone comes over and sees one, it's not a good impression.  I've always found them to be really smart though too.  They know what's going on when I am after them.  My cat loves going after them too, between shooting them with my nerf guns and just letting the cat loose in the basement, I've found that to be a fun way for extermination.  I even made a series of youtube videos of shooting the centipedes with nerf guns.

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2018, 03:46:56 PM »
Damn, that type of infestation sounds like a nightmare.  But I got to respect mother nature and life in that scenario, that's adaptation.

My only real bug problem are centipedes in my basement, and some people might say that's not a problem as they eat all the other bugs and aren't really a threat to humans.  But they are so damn nasty to look at and if someone comes over and sees one, it's not a good impression.  I've always found them to be really smart though too.  They know what's going on when I am after them.  My cat loves going after them too, between shooting them with my nerf guns and just letting the cat loose in the basement, I've found that to be a fun way for extermination.  I even made a series of youtube videos of shooting the centipedes with nerf guns.
I found it quite interesting and honestly pretty entertaining. They're really good competitors, and not terribly offensive. We fought 4 battles in 2 campaigns where I went 2-1-1, though the ants might have scored it differently. I was just about to perfect my terror weapon, right in time for the 3rd Battle of the Bar, when the apartment management went nuclear on them. Exterminators don't screw around. I was disappointed we never got to finish the fight.

And the whole thing started over a spilled bottle of Sour Apple Schnapps. I always new that shit was fucking evil.
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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2018, 03:49:40 PM »
"battles"  :lol

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2018, 03:54:23 PM »
I had ants coming through the bedroom wall one year. I was like, "WTF is going on with this thin wall"?  I called the exterminator knowing the ants had a nest in my walls.  I even spray multiple times all around the edging of the house.  Those fuckers can get into everything.
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Offline mike099

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #9 on: April 06, 2018, 04:03:27 PM »
We live in middle Tennessee and we have always had ant problems.  About 2 years ago we got the outside ant stations installed and serviced monthly for 35.00 a month.  So far only one episode and the company adjusted and took care of it.
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Offline Orbert

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2018, 04:31:29 PM »
What are the "outside ant stations"?  Are those similar to the "stakes"?  Things you put in the ground, full of ant bait.

Offline dparrott

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2018, 08:24:04 PM »
This is the only ant bait that really worked for me.  They eat it up and are gone in like 3 days.

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2018, 08:27:09 PM »
I'd spray the shit out of the kitchen with Ant-Be-Gone, and then I'd go back to the store and buy some Cat-Be-Gone.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline TempusVox

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2018, 10:51:51 PM »
Spraying for ants is very bad. Depending on the age of the colony and the species there may be thousands of ants in the colony. Consider the odorous house ant, one of the more common urban ant varieties. A typical colony might be 30000 individuals. Worker ants live between 1 and 3 years on average. Let's assume 2 years. That comes to about 41 new ants per day. As social insects, they send worker ant scouts out each day in search of food. Some species seek sugars and carbs; some species seek protein; still others seek both. Once they locate a good source they mark it with a pheromone trail, and that's usually when you see them en masse. Take that average colony, if as a result of your gunslinging ways with a can of big spray, if as few as 15 ants don't make it back to the colony, they panic and it splits up. This is nature's way of responding to the threat and ensuring the colonies survival. It could split in two or four or more seperate and distinct colonies. They have also been known to avoid areas where several of them were killed, for several years too. Sort of their own Ant Massacre at Wounded Knee remembrance. And you'll think you took care of the problem, when you actually made it worse. Like trying to put out a fire using gasoline. The terro stations work well but you have to be patient while the colony inadvertently kills itself off. Boric acid home mixed also works, but it can be tricky to use properly and safely.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2018, 10:57:16 PM by TempusVox »
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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #14 on: April 07, 2018, 07:48:03 PM »
Um..thanks, StadlerVox, for the Ant history lesson. ;D

We still spray the shit out of them.


would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #15 on: April 07, 2018, 08:57:46 PM »
The Terro bait stuff works like a charm. I had an issue with ants in one corner of the kitchen last fall, put those down, and they were all gone a day later.  Have not seen one since. *knocks on wood*

Offline Harmony

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #16 on: April 09, 2018, 04:24:05 PM »
Does anyone know if the Terro is safe to use around pets?
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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2018, 04:50:49 PM »
Does anyone know if the Terro is safe to use around pets?
It's just borax. I doubt there's much of a risk, but you can research borax to be sure.
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Offline Harmony

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #18 on: April 09, 2018, 05:08:59 PM »
Does anyone know if the Terro is safe to use around pets?
It's just borax. I doubt there's much of a risk, but you can research borax to be sure.

That's the problem.  I can find credible sources that say it is safe for cats and also sources that say it is toxic for cats.   :huh:
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #19 on: April 09, 2018, 06:45:00 PM »
Cats are (mostly) evil anyway. :P

Offline Harmony

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #20 on: April 09, 2018, 08:07:14 PM »
I wouldn't say evil.  But they can be dicks, for sure.  That's what I like about them.   :heart
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Offline mike099

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #21 on: April 10, 2018, 12:10:41 PM »
This is the only ant bait that really worked for me.  They eat it up and are gone in like 3 days.



Back 15 years ago this came in a bottle, not individual traps  and you basically poured some on a piece of cardboard.  It was funny to see the ants attracted to the liquid.  It looked like animals gathering around the water/feed trough.  Like folks have said, it does work, however we always used it outside.
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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #22 on: April 10, 2018, 01:39:55 PM »
It still comes in tiny bottles, like Visine.

As for cats, I suspect they'd have to drink a helluva lot of the stuff for it to be a problem. But if we're being really, really cautious, just put it someplace where Kitty won't get to it. In a nearby cabinet or under the fridge or something. First thing I always do when I see ants is follow the line both directions to see their PoE and destination. Within 6 feet or so of any point along their path they'll find that Terro stuff in minutes.
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Offline TempusVox

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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #23 on: April 10, 2018, 10:38:09 PM »
I think ants are fascinating. Several years ago an evolutionary biologist friend of mine invited me to tag along with a group of entomologists from UCLA, to a suburban neighborhood in Escondido. There for the last dozen years or so is an amazing battle of Argentine Ants called the California Large colony that stretches about 600 miles and another mega colony of ants. It was a chilling and horrific site. It was literally like watching some trench hand to hand WW1 battle. These two colonies literally battle it out in this one neighborhood 24/7 and there were thousands and thousands of dead ants everywhere. Apparently these colonies go back and forth about 50 yards each year in their turf war. Most ant species will take slaves, capture, and even have sex with other ants. Not Argentine Ants. They're ruthless. If it's not another Argentine Ant, it has to die. We spent an afternoon watching them try to outflank and out maneuver each other. It was amazing to watch. This all out ant war. And apparently as large as that supercolony is, there are even much larger ones in Europe and Japan. 🐜
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Re: ANTS!!
« Reply #24 on: April 11, 2018, 06:54:45 AM »
Damn, it's a lifetime of war for those ants.  That reminded me of some show on Discovery or National Geographic many years ago about ants.  Should some pretty interesting stuff like you mentioned, but not quite the same.  Would be really cool to get a documentary on what you just explained with the HD cameras of today.  I wouldn't be surprised if there already is such a video.