Ants are marching already

[catnapper]

What on earth can we do to get rid of them? It was a losing battle last year. They loved the cat dishes.

This is what we tried:
Borax
Borax and sugar mixture
Bleach, water, and soap mixture (found that one online - worked awesome to get rid of them, but not keep 'em from returning a couple hours later)
Ant baits (which seemed to only attract them more)
Corn meal

It needs to be pet friendly (of course!) Hubby's already screaming at ants this year and its only bound to get worse from here.

[Marigold2]

I know what you mean, I hate, hate, hate ants. They are intelligent and organized which makes them very hard to get rid off. I use windex, and last of all ant spray.
You may have to call in a pro to get rid of them. Best of luck.

[Shelteez2]

I've heard good things from people who've used food grade diatomaceous earth.

http://unis.mcgill.ca/en/uw/insects/ants.html

http://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-pesticide/diatomaceous-010801.htm

[happylabs]

I used the ant buttons on my counters in the corners where the cats do not go and it worked for me 2 years in a row. I think they were Raid.

[smokey the elder]

There is some kind of gel stuff. I'll have to look at it when I get home. It's only toxic to ants.

[pomtzu]

Those miserable critters started showing up as soon as it turned just a little warm.

I had a pet/child safe indoor spray last year, but I couldn't remember the name or even find what looked like the same bottle in the store. I was in Walmart today and picked up another safe one - Ortho Econosense. The main ingredient is soybean oil, with some other stuff. Says it kills on contact - a host of bugs, including ants.

I haven't used it yet so I'm hoping it works as good as what I had last year.

[Karen]

We use the little ant traps by Raid, they work pretty well.

And I'll have you know the "Ants Are Marching" song by Dave Matthews Band has been running through my head since I read the thread title!

[Husky_mom]

a while back I researched a few "remedies" safe for pets, specifically birds.. and found a few good ones that I don´t remember right now as I hadn´t used them since..

not sure but maybe a pest control place over there may suggest something pet safe and functional to get rid of em

[TamanduaGirl]

In California we put the pet food in dishes of water to help discourage them.

What worked well in the kitchen was a mix of orange oil, lemon oil, and mint extract(all the real thing). I suppose plain citrus oil would work too instead of a mix of both. It was a little more mint that citrus but I don't remember the exact amounts.

I drew a line around one on the counter to see if it would stop it crossing the line. It started going into convulsions. It works best fresh.

This year ants come in after the honey so we sat the honey on the counter and started catching ants for Pua but they seem to catch on and stop coming.

[neko1]

We just use the ant traps by Raid too. We haven't had that big of a problem with ants, the past 2 years we've been overrun with ladybugs!:eek: They are everywhere. I normally love ladybugs but they just disgust me when I have to suck up dozens of them every day w/ the vaccuum and they're crawling all over everything.:eek:

[cassiesmom]

My sister uses this ant killer:
http://www.terro.com/index.php

[Twisterdog]

Raid ant traps work well. But, it takes a while. They work with slow poison, so the ants eat it and live long enough to take it back to their nest and feed it to other, including the queen, and kill more ants. So you will not immediately see a complete reduction in ants.

Set your cats food dishes in a larger dish of water. This will keep the ants out of the food.

If you can see where the ants are entering the house, or their trails, you can put a line of cayenne pepper down. They won't cross it, and will go elsewhere.

[cassiesmom]

Grrr! I am house-sitting and I'm seeing tiny ants on the kitchen counter! Cassie is not with me - she's at home and I am going back and forth; so, can I use insect spray (ant/roach spray)? I reeeeeeeally don't like insects.

Thanks,
elyse