Here is one of my “keeping it real” posts. Blog readers have said to me that they like reading my blog because I “keep it real”. Well, today that’s exactly what I’m doing.
I had ants in my kitchen. UGH. They were around the kitchen sink. I did all the usual things…
I tried to deny it. There were only two ants one day. Then next day there were three. I tried to deny it again. Then next day there were six.
Dang. I have ants. I think we all try to do that. We don’t want to think we have ants. We don’t want to deal with having ants. It’s easier to just think it’s a quirk and there really are only two…or maybe even just one.
But nope. I had ants. Ugh. I hate this. In my previous life, before my husband passed away, he’d have taken care of this. Every time something goes wrong, it’s always a reminder that he isn’t here.
But hey…I’ve been tackling some big projects without him so surely I could take care of a few ants.
I had them last year and I tried to remember what I used. That’s when I remembered my solution. I had some AWESOME ant killer.
This is the stuff, Terro Ant Killer.
I put a couple of drops on a piece of cardstock and the ants come running. Seriously, after about 45 of the stuff sitting there, there were ants surrounding it. See?
Proof I really did have an ant problem. The ants after leaving the poison act a little “drunk” and then they go back to the nest and die. The liquid is on their body and the other ants who didn’t have direct contact with the poison that are in the nest will also die.
I’ve used this twice now. The next day after putting it out, my ant problem looks like this…
No ants…just crumbs from the previous day when I didn’t move the bate.
I’ve not seen ants but I did leave the bait out for 24 hours just in case. I will always keep some of this on hand from now on. Typically when I have ants I cringe and end up having to make an extra trip to town. Now anymore. There is plenty in one box to take care of ants for several times.
I got mine from THIS LINK on Amazon. I highly recommend this stuff!!
If you have HUGE black ants, then you have Carpenter Ants and they’re attracted to wet wood. The wet wood has to be eliminated to get rid of them.
Those very small ants are moisture ants, so besides killing them you need to find out why you have them. We had them in an older home we owned in the past and the pest inspector we had come out stated they like wet wood and rotten wood. Sure enough we had dry rot in our siding in one spot that had to be all torn out and the exterior wall of the house re-framed and re-sided. Sorry for the discouraging news but in the long run it will be best to determine why they’re in your home so it can be taken care of.
Totally none of my business, but you might put it outside so that the ants never come in. It is a good product…Home Defense is good too, but you spray around the outside of your house…
We use Tero too and it’s available at Walmart too. We keep it on hand as one year we had them in the dishwasher! Works great!
I was told by my bug man to wash constantly because ants follow a trail. I’ve used this stuff too and it does work.
I usually get an ant trail in the spring. My mom called them “piss ants” and said they were looking for water. I use ant traps from Walmart and they disappear til the next spring. My family has owned this house for 65 years and I’m sure there is some wood rot somewhere but no demo needed to this time! Thank goodness!!
My mother called ants that too. I use Terro whenever I have an ant problem and it always works.
I ways used to use Raid ant baits because that’s what I knew. Didn’t work well at all. Finally found Terro ant baits a few years ago. The ants are gone the next day. Awesome stuff.
I set two Terro traps on the window sill outside the kitchen window and have not had a problem. Did replace them after a few months just to stay on top of the problem.
I’ve had good luck with the home mixture of borax soap, sugar and water on cotton ball. I put the wet ball on cut out bottom of plastic cup. Easy to dispose of after use.
The BEST Terro Ant Killer used to have arsenic in it – before Blanche Taylor Moore made the headlines for killing her husband with arsenic. Then they changed the formula.
I use boric acid (it’s a powder) and mix it with mint or apple jelly. The ants love it! This past season – (we spend our winters in Florida) – I only had to put it out once. The next day ALL of the ants were gone. There was a time the year before that the ants died on the spot. They never even made it back to the nest. I think the ants finally got smart. I never saw another ant that season! But you cannot use this solution if you have small children or pets around.
Very timely for me. I had to go out and buy some ant baits. I saw the liquid bait. I did not know what they were. Most of mine are in the bathroom. I figured it was the wet and moisture. Back to the drawing board tomorrow.
That is my GO TO for ants ever since I learned about it YEARS ago. It takes care of them every time (but it is kinda gross when there are like a ton of ants circling the drop of Terro..UGH!).
I use the homemade mixture, but I always have to tell myself to have courage when the ants flock to the bait–they need to take it home–don’t smash them–don’t smash them–don’t smash them… :)
I use terro every time we have a problem , it works great . I’ve used it on the carpenter ants too , same results , they go back and forth carrying the poison to the nest , next day gone!
Thanks Jo. I need the outdoor bait. Every year we have tons of ants here in Arizona.
Years ago we came back from holiday to ants in the kitchen. A long black trail of ants coming under the back door, going up the side of the bottom cupboard, up the wall and disappearing into the top cupboard. When we opened the door they were all over a jar of jam. They had been attracted to the sweetness because there was a tiny trickle of jam on the outside of the jar. Can’t remember how we got rid of them but we’ve never had that happen again, I am careful to make sure there’s no stickiness on the outside of jars!
Ugh! I also have intermittent ant problems every year – usually when it starts to warm up. Drives me nuts! I’ve used Raid ant gel and it seems to work. But, I’m going to get some of the Terro and keep that on hand. I think I’ll also do the Home Defense someone suggested outside too – can’t hurt! Thanks for sharing your experience. Here’s to no more ants!!!
I have used that product and it works wonders with ant.
Perfect timing for this recommendation. I appreciate all of the fellow commenters who also vouch for the stuff. Sending my husband to Menards for some Terro!
We tend to get ants every year and have to go through this. I don’t think we’ve ever used that product, but I’ll look for it. The problem this year is we’ve recently inherited a cat, so I’m going to have to figure out how to do things so the cat won’t get into it!