Ants ewwwwwwww! | Imamother

baby's mom ↓

Sun, Oct 16 2005, 10:55 pm

So I looked to see if there were any threads discussing ants in the house and found none.
Help! they are coming in so quickly!! What do I do? I dont want to use any chemicals unless I have to.
Any ideas??

stem

Sun, Oct 16 2005, 11:53 pm

I once heard that if you sprinkle dry coffee around the area where the ants are, they'll go away. Never tried it though.

roza

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 12:35 am

wash the floors with Pine-Sol - they (ants) hate that smell , it will get them away for awhile. but you might need a treatment by a professional, to get them out for good.

↑ baby's mom ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 12:52 am

what do u do with peppermint oil?? I cant go to sleep this is so disgusting!!

chavamom ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 12:54 am

Diamacious earth. Not sure if that is spelled correctly. But you sprinkle it where you see them, the eat it and don't come back. It is non-toxic, non-chemical.

↑ Emuna ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 12:57 am

You have to buy the oil at a health food store and put it in a plant sprayer bottle with a little water and spray it in corners, etc. wherever the ants are. After you spray, wipe with a dry cloth - it doesn't need to be moist. I've used this method and it really worked. Ants hate the peppermint smell for some reason.

↑ baby's mom ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 1:21 am

Emuna wrote:

Do they come back? So far Ive tried cayenne red pepper, cinammon, vinegar..they seem to help somewhat. But more ants keep coming...

↑ baby's mom ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 1:22 am

chavamom wrote:

Diamacious earth. Not sure if that is spelled correctly. But you sprinkle it where you see them, the eat it and don't come back. It is non-toxic, non-chemical.

Would whole foods carry that?

↑ chavamom

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 2:04 am

so, apparently it is spelled 'Diatomaceous Earth'. I think you have to get it from a nursery/garden center. Maybe try the peppermint oil in the meantime.

elisecohen

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 7:24 am

You can get diatomaceous earth at home goods stores like lowes or home depot. Do not use it indoors as it is a lung irritant (a physical irritant not a chemical one).

I sympathize--about an hour before Yom Kippur ended my kids called, "Aaah--ants in the kitchen!!!" What a way to end the day--not being able to do anything about them and trying to concentrate on tefillos.

I don't know if you ever read the comic strip, "Baby Blues," but theres an old one where the mom yells, "Ants in the kitchen," and the kids come running cheering thinking she meant, "aunts" and they're about to get presents...

Meema2Kids

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 8:31 am

I've had success with sprikling dry oatmeal on the ground around the perimeter of my house (actually I usually just do the back because that's where they come from). Apparently they take it back and eat it, swell up and die. It takes a few days for all the ants to be gone though.

↑ Emuna

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 1:51 pm

There is a new system for termite removal that does not involve tenting and toxic chemicals - it's actually some combo with orange essential oil. Maybe call one of these companies and they will have info on professional ant removal that isn't toxic. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the company.

↑ baby's mom ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 2:41 pm

thanks for all your sugestions!
The ants were gone this morning!! Last night, my husband put a tissue and taped the hole they were coming in from..and I dont know if it was that, but they are not in my house (THANK G-D!!)

↑ baby's mom ↓

Mon, Oct 17 2005, 2:43 pm

My landlord brought some stuff but maybe I'll get Diatomaceous Earth'. if you say it is non toxic...

↑ baby's mom ↓

Thu, Nov 17 2005, 2:32 pm

So apparently this Diatomaceous Earth is for cleaning pool water! I ahvent tried it yet, but sounds like serious stuff as well. I was told to put on a mask and not to inhale...Anything else I should know before I purchase this? How effective is it?

ForeverYoung
Guest

Thu, Nov 17 2005, 3:20 pm

elisecohen wrote:

You can get diatomaceous earth at home goods stores like lowes or home depot. Do not use it indoors as it is a lung irritant (a physical irritant not a chemical one).
.

I'm not sure I get this.

Almost anything that gets into lungs (besides fresh air) will irritate them. Confused

realeez

Fri, Nov 18 2005, 10:31 am

I hate to say it but if you are in an apartment building you may not be able to do much b/c the ants are in the walls.
we had that problem and the only solution was moving! it was crazy! they were attracted to protein like meats, eggs. also they loved water - in my kettle! (now I nthe garbage)
but windex works really well to kill them!

↑ baby's mom ↓

Fri, Nov 18 2005, 1:18 pm

I'm in a house not an appart.
Although I think they are still coming in through the wall Confused

mommy2 ↓

Fri, Nov 18 2005, 2:22 pm

I think the only thing that works is an exterminater bc they drill holes in the walls