I Hate Ants!

[Toil]

I would put borax under the mostly harmless category. I'm told you have to eat good amounts to get a stomach ache.

check that of course.

[The Helpful Gardener]

But it is a residual build-up toxin, and children are far more vulnerable with the smaller body mass and more permable skin. So prolonged or chronic exposures can have consequence, especially for little ones...

HG

[Toil]

I had no idea... wow thanks that's a solid head's up.

[Ozark Lady]

Well, it is almost officially spring.

I have ants in the house already. I killed my first slug of the season today, and what is that crawling on me? A tick! Okay it is spring!

Funny, when we romanicized spring and longed for it, we kind of skipped over these subjects.

I need a safe ant control for in the house. Honest, I have to put my glass of tea in a bowl of water to keep ants off the glass. Here goes the sugar canister back into the fridge!

I hate ants, slugs and ticks!

[Kisal]

I use boric acid mixed with either sugar water or peanut butter, whichever they seem to go for at the time.

I tried sprinkling cinnamon, and -- I kid you not, folks -- watched the ants come en masse and carry it away with them! It was just grocery store cinnamon (McCormick's, I think), but I'll be darned if I'm gonna buy them the gourmet kind I see at the specialty store!

[emijean]

Hmm.. anyone heard of spraying cold peppermint tea.. that's what I was told to try. I'll let you know how it works out

Emily

[Ozark Lady]

I had ants actually build nests, and when I watered the trays, out would run ants carrying eggs and larvae, right here in the house!

I am so tired of this, I went the Terro route and simply put out poison.

I see less ants, but, I don't like using the poison. I tried the cinnamon, they did seem to avoid that one area, but I can't put cinnamon on every single shelf and table in the whole house!

Less ants is still not ant free, and I had a few of them bite me recently! The creeps, guess it was revenge.

I am about to try the caulk gun, and recaulk every single place that I see ant trails into the house! Surely sooner or later, I will be ant free?

[scoobdoob808]

Probably a little late to post but to manage my ants I use corn meal it has worked wonders just sprinkle where the ants are and they take the cornmeal and store it or eat it and when they eat it they expand and die. Not to pleasing to think about but much better than using any nasty pesticides.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Never too late with a good idea, Scooby...

If that works, it's a great one... I am experimenting now...

HG

[Toil]

I use boric acid mixed with either sugar water or peanut butter, whichever they seem to go for at the time.

I tried sprinkling cinnamon, and -- I kid you not, folks -- watched the ants come en masse and carry it away with them! It was just grocery store cinnamon (McCormick's, I think), but I'll be darned if I'm gonna buy them the gourmet kind I see at the specialty store!

I wonder if it was cassia, not cinnamon. They are sold under the same name.

Cinnamon sticks are crumbly, while cassia is hard.

[Beverly Fornasiero]

Ants can become pests in the garden but without them, think of all the unwanted bits and pieces that would be laying around un-necessary. Ants are the most strongest creatures on the planet. They are very vital on this planet and you would never kill out the species as they have inbuilt mechanisms for protection. They are such clever little critters. They work like humans at war all day everyday. They have a queen, that has to be nutured, soldiers for protection and workers doing never ending tasks. But there is a way that you can deter them from entrance to any place that you hate them being in. Peppermint oil. This is a good way of controlling them as they just hate the smell. Put drops at their place of entrance and they will just take off.
Good Luck - Remember all living things on this earth are put here for a reason.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Paul Stamets has developed a non- sporulating strain of fungi that the ants consume, and then it consumes them. Remember that scene in Planet Earth where the fungus takes over the ant? Just like that... harmless to most other creatures, especially us.

Soil biology is not only the best way to raise plants, we may well find the answers to a lot of our biggest problems living there...

HG

[Toil]

I was just reading that a large proportion of weed seeds are consumed by ants.

[Ozark Lady]

A very knowledgeable gardener and good friend of mine just told me her secret weapon against ants. She says it works great, so I am going to try it.

She mixes baking soda and powdered sugar 50/50 and sprinkles it.

Hey, that sounds alot better than all this Terro I have on little paper bits everywhere in the house. At least it sounds more harmless than the boric acid.

What if we mixed the cornmeal, and powdered sugar with the baking soda, and maybe a touch of cinnamon, with peppermint oil to hold it on an index card! That should get them!

I don't mind ants, as long as they stay out of my house!

[84pagirl]

do you think planting mint around the house would keep them away?