Oh my gosh!! It is only March and I am seeing a few ants in my house!! The are the big, black ones-about 4 so far. I am worried because I have a cupcake wedding cake due next month. Unfortunatley it is NOT a picnic theme, so I can't use the ants to fit in HELP!!

First, figure out where they're coming from, then plug up any holes. If you wipe your counters with vinegar they don't like that, but if you just keep everything super clean they won't have any reason to come inside.

If you can find the place where they're coming in and put some boric acid down they'll track through it and carry it back to their nest, where it will kill the colony. (You can get boric acid at Home Depot in the pesticide section) The best thing to do is to mix the boric acid with corn syrup or something else like maple syrup that they'll want to eat. They'll be all over that stuff. Just be careful to wear gloves or wash your hands really well after handling the boric acid, it's toxic in large amounts. Don't use it where your kids or pets will be able to get it. Don't use it in areas where you're handling food, either, obviously. Some companies make those little ant traps with the boric insde them, but I never seem to get those to work as well as just putting it down where the trails are.

Look around the outside of your house to see if there are trails anywhere there. Give the trails a good dusting of it, too. If you have branches touching the house cutting those back will reduce the amount of crawling creatures that find their way inside, too.

Can you tell I hate ants? They're a nuisance and a time-waster!

I once saw a Far Side cartoon where a guy was robbing a bakery by holding an ant farm above his head and threatening to smash it if they didn't pay up. I didn't find it very funny!

Great!! Thank you!!

Years ago I had an apartment that had an ant problem and I used Cinnamon! It sounds crazy, but it worked! I went to a dollar store and bought a few huge (cheap!) containers of cinnamon. I sprinkled it around the foundation outdoors and indoors in the areas the ants frequented. When I came home later that day I cleaned up the indoor cinnamon (vaccuumed/mopped/ wiped down counters) and it was the end of the ant problem!

Grits works also. Sprinkle it at the entry you see them coming in at, on the trail or if you see a hill then spray or sprinkle just a little water on the grits and no more ants.

The workers eat the grits plus take it back to the queen and it swells in their stomach and kills them

I don't like them either...

If you have powdered sugar, mix some with baking soda. Equal parts. The ants eat the sugar/soda mix then explode! Kinda not a nice way to kill them, but my son loved watching the ants blow up. It's also safe, so if a child eats it or other animals get into it, it won't cause harm. Ants can't pass gas, so hence the outcome.

Welcome to the club. My ants moved in last week and I just got rid of them (I hope).
I have a stove with a closing cover which is closed almost all the time, because I need the top as working area. For max. 1/2 hour I left a cutting board there after cutting chinese cabbage. I ate my salad, came back to the kitchen to wash up (I know, should done it immediately) and half of the ant hill was there.
The beasts wanted no powdered sugar - they liked the cabbage. Almost an week later, I still washed the stove with vinegar in a sparkling clean kitchen! Why they returned to the stove and didn't like anything I laid out as bait I don't know.

Oddly enough another item that will get rid of ants is baby powder. They eat it and it kills them.
I'll use it wherever I see them around my house and sprinkle it on the ant hills or if I see a trail of them and within a couple of days...no more ants

http://www.spectracide.com/

Luv this stuff!!!

DH & I use the outdoor pebble/grain stuff in our grass. It works almost instantly! And we spray the indoor stuff around all of the base boards, windows, air vents, air return vents, door frames, etc.

The indoor spray stuff doesn't stain wood or fabric & it's odorless. Yea!!

I do see the occassional bug, but they are already dead! Never a live one!

Edited to add the specific products we use: Triazicide out door granules & Bug Stop Indoor Plus Outdoor Insect Killer spray

If they're in your kitchen and you need to get rid of them fast and safely, use Orange Guard spray. It's natural orange oil concentrate which kills on contact and also discourages ants from returning.

You can spray it on your pantry shelves, along the edges of your counters and floors, window sills, etc. It's safe to use around kids and pets. May need more than one treatment, but the ants will get the message eventually. And it won't hurt anything or anybody, so spray to your hearts desire. (Did stain my carpeting, tho.)

You can get it at any well-stocked nursery.

I have really learned some useful tricks here. I don't have a problem with ants inside, but I get some pretty big hills outside. I have to try the ps/soda trick!!!

I started seeing them last year by my sliding door in the kitchen and freaked out. I have a large wisteria vine all over my trellis just outside the door, so i'm pretty sure that's where they were coming from. The lady at the hardware store told me to sprinkle a heavy border of black pepper around where the ants were coming in..they don't like it and will not pass through it, thus turning around and going back outside...IT WORKED!!! I was surprized how easy it was. I have a golden retriever and didn't want to put down anything he might eat. Then i went outside and inspected around the door. There was a hairline crack in the cement so i filled it just in case that was their entry point.
Good luck. I too hate ants. I go nuts when i see even one. Many years ago when i first moved in we had a major flying ant problem, had to call in a professional..ugh..Never again, now i watch my windows, doors like a hawk to make sure i see them early enough and can tackle the small problem before it gets huge. It's hard though, we live on a field and their are ant hills everywhere.

Suz

Every 6 months I pull up the edges of all our carpet and sprinkle boric acid down and then kick it(carpet tool) all back on all the tack strips. i also take off all the face plates on all outlest and light switches and srap the boric acis powder in those holes so goes in the walls. Clean clean and wipe away ALL water. I go around the perimiter of our house in two ways every month. every twoo weeks I alternate between spraying with Home Defence spray right on the edges of the house and around each window and door way. And then on the alternate time i sprinkle a generous amount of Amdro Granuals a couple feet away from the outside of our home. The ants stay on the perimiter of our yeard and don't dare cross. I do have to spray that much because we use sprinklers and it rains often here in FL just sos ya know why I do it more often them recomonded.

Also make sure to trim any bushes, plants, trees, etc that are touching your house.

You all have some really useful tips I'm going to use. It rained really hard here for a few days and we are on a crawl space. The last 2 days I've seen a few ants. I've been cleaning like crazy, but that's normal. I also vacuum every day and have for a long time so I know that's not it.
I hate ants!!!!!! I'm going to try a few different methods posted here. I have kids so those kid friendly ideas are great.

Wow you guys are a bunch of scary "Ant Serial Killers"

Thanks for the wealth of information!! Glad there are a lot of non toxic options. I did read that pouring boiling water down an ant hill works. Just have to be sure to have enough water (hills are large) & be aware it will kill the grass-so that option is not for me!

Thanks for the wealth of information!! Glad there are a lot of non toxic options. I did read that pouring boiling water down an ant hill works. Just have to be sure to have enough water (hills are large) & be aware it will kill the grass-so that option is not for me!

In the summer of 07 we had them really bad. I got some Terro carpenter ant and termite killer. Sprayed it in the windows and around the doors. Good bye ants. Sprayed the windows in early spring of '08 and had no problem at all. I usually re-spray the windows about every 2 weeks.

wow thanks guys! We have an ant problem here and it is just so annoying! Thank you for all the tips especially the baby powder. We will try this very soon.

Remember that you can get rid of the ones that you see, but if you don't kill the queen the colony will still live on. They'll just come back, so make sure that you use something that will be carried back to the nest and will be eaten by the entire colony (boric acid, boric acid, boric acid!) I think that Terro is basically boric acid, I do use that and if I remember correctly that's the main ingredient in it.

In the Lounge there is a thread that should solve your problem. Bounce dryer sheets. Never tried it before, but it just might work. Bounce seems to be a cure for all type of insect problems.