Ants in my kitchen!

Ianator

So my mom and I have neglected to clean our kitchen for a couple months. The other day I saw a piece of... something on my stove counter being attacked by some small, black ants. I grabbed a napkin and disposed of them, then checked the nearby sliding doors (the glass one closed and the screen open because we don't have an air conditioner here). Lo and behold, the little suckers found their way in.

The door was closed, but stuff on the stove proper attracted even more. Mom spent today cleaning the kitchen, doing the dishes and wiping the counters. There's still a bunch of 'em hanging out under a cardboard box near the door with some old crunched dead plant leaves around it.

So. How do I get rid of these things before they find our pantry? Is there an indoor bug spray? Set a bug-bomb and go on my daily adventure early? Or just grab my old can of Axe and a long lighter and play Pyro? [tiny](not an actual suggestion)[/tiny]

TalonSE

Goddamn ants. Terro Ant Killer works, they will swarm it then go back home and die. Then the survivors will come back looking for more. Repeat until they're all dead. It's basically borax with a syrup to attract them so it's not really harmful to humans although I certainly wouldn't put it anywhere near food or a food prep surface.

Buttcleft

best way to get rid of ants is to get rid of their food source.

Clean up your kitchen good, Put non-resealable [ Like flour, sugar, etc ] in ziplock bags or in sealable containers, etcetera, etcetera.

One day of hard work will save you much headache in dealing with the bastards in the long run

DoraB

Once the ants have decided you have food in your house, they will keep coming until you kill them or deter them. Ideally you want to put down some bait that will kill the entire colony; all most sprays do is just kill the bugs you can see. Terro works good, and so does a solution of 2 cups sugar to one cup water and 2 tblspoons Borax. This works as a poison that infects the entire colony. You DON'T want to spray a line of ants in your house with ant killer; not only is most of it toxic as heck and harmful to pets, but it causes the ants to scatter and can actually make the infestation worse since they'll break off into smaller colonies around the area.

You're going to want to put the bait somewhere you see them, and somewhere out of reach of kids and pets; you're going to see a LOT of ants swarming around it, and it's important that you don't kill them. You want them to carry it back to their nest and eliminate the problem. After a few days, you should start seeing less and less ants. Yeah it isn't an instant solution, but ultimately it's MUCH more effective long term.

The best way to prevent another infestation is to keep things clean. Just give the floor and the counters a wipe after every meal, and make sure things like sugar and pet food are in resealable containers. You should also probably take a tour around your house and seal up any cracks you find so they can't get in again.

Rainbulimic

If you know where they're coming in, and you don't want to put down poisons, I find a line of talc deters them. Its also cheaper and smells nice. But its not going to be as good as a poison to kill the nest. Good if you've got pets though.

WildEEP

Cut off the food supply - clean everything. Throw away the garbage outside, clean all the dishes, vaccuum up all the crumbs.

Once everything is up that can be eaten, use some hot water and bleach mixed together and wash every surface - counter tops, sinks, stoves, cabinets, fridge, etc.

The purpose is not to make things "extra clean", its so that you wipe away the chemical trails that ants use to see things. Even if you clean the food away, ant trails can still form because of leftover chemical markers - so you've got to nuke it from orbit . . . its the only way to be sure.

Ianator

Well, here's a pleasant surprise. Checked the door this morning to find out the box was mostly deserted. No trail from the door to my pantry, and one or two just hanging around. I'm gonna sweep out what I can and vacuum up the rest (along with their trails), and see if we've got some talc to dissuade anyone brave enough to come back.

The kitchen was made almost spotless yesterday, aside from a windowsill on which mom's got a plant or two. We're also ensuring dishes go right into the dishwasher instead of sitting on the sink, and the counters, stove and toaster oven will be cleaned regularly.

No pets, no kids (aside from me, and I'm 22).

LearnedHand

Yeah, clean up and put chalk around the sink or wherever the ants are going to. My mother's house had ants and I remember watching those ants approaching the chalk, inspecting it, trying to go around it, but they would never go over it. I have no idea why. One of those fascinating mysteries of nature.

chocothunda

What I do is I spray febreeze around the corners of the house. I hear they hate the smell of soapy substances. Good luck.

CangoFett

Or just grab my old can of Axe

I think you have a problem other than ants that needs addressing.

rockmonkey

TalonSE wrote: »

Goddamn ants. Terro Ant Killer works, they will swarm it then go back home and die. Then the survivors will come back looking for more. Repeat until they're all dead. It's basically borax with a syrup to attract them so it's not really harmful to humans although I certainly wouldn't put it anywhere near food or a food prep surface.

I 2nd Terro. It completely solved my ant problem by the kitchen sink 3 months ago. Left it out for 4 or 5 days and then haven't had any problems since.

Ferrus

There is not much you can do to get the ants out other than fucking genocide, as I learned myself when I had the same problem. There is no reliable way of deterring them and once they have made their little paths they will try to follow them, food or no food.

So yea, get a spray that spreads through the colony after they touch it to make sure they all die. Otherwise you will see them again after some time.

At any rate, relocating or deterring them isn't that good anyway because they'll just start a war with other ant people nearby.

Ziac45

rockmonkey wrote: »

TalonSE wrote: »

Goddamn ants. Terro Ant Killer works, they will swarm it then go back home and die. Then the survivors will come back looking for more. Repeat until they're all dead. It's basically borax with a syrup to attract them so it's not really harmful to humans although I certainly wouldn't put it anywhere near food or a food prep surface.

I 2nd Terro. It completely solved my ant problem by the kitchen sink 3 months ago. Left it out for 4 or 5 days and then haven't had any problems since.

I 3rd it, I had ants and my grandmother gave me some terro, put it out and checked it the next morning and the fucking thing was covered in black ants it was disgusting. That day I cleaned the Kitchen and my gaming room thoroughly and within a week they were gone. I see maybe 3 ants a day (I think they are from a different colony) and they just get killed.

Ianator

Well, there's still one or two hanging around the seams separating the stove and counters, but I think we've starved them away for now. I'll think about Terro, though I'm not sure I want the ants swarming around again.

CangoFett wrote: »

Or just grab my old can of Axe

I think you have a problem other than ants that needs addressing.

Emphasis on old.

TNTrooper

Ziac45 wrote: »

rockmonkey wrote: »

TalonSE wrote: »

Goddamn ants. Terro Ant Killer works, they will swarm it then go back home and die. Then the survivors will come back looking for more. Repeat until they're all dead. It's basically borax with a syrup to attract them so it's not really harmful to humans although I certainly wouldn't put it anywhere near food or a food prep surface.

I 2nd Terro. It completely solved my ant problem by the kitchen sink 3 months ago. Left it out for 4 or 5 days and then haven't had any problems since.

I 3rd it, I had ants and my grandmother gave me some terro, put it out and checked it the next morning and the fucking thing was covered in black ants it was disgusting. That day I cleaned the Kitchen and my gaming room thoroughly and within a week they were gone. I see maybe 3 ants a day (I think they are from a different colony) and they just get killed.

4th on the Terro you will see more. You will see more ants then you ever though possible and they will all be dead.