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Cleaning Up:  Natural Ant Control  |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 5:08:46 PM
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Hi Everyone! I am a semi Farmgirl from Shawnee, Oklahoma. I don't post often but I lurk a lot and read all the wisdom everyone has to offer. I have a bad ant problem in my house. I am currently trying a boric acid/peanut butter mix. I roll it into little balls and put it in corners around the house. The ants have gotten so bad that they are now in my food cabinets, which totally grosses me out. One thing I noticed with one poison ball is that there are quite a few ants around the ball not moving but when I look at it several days later, the ant bodies are gone and there is a lot of dust around the small ball. Does that mean that the acid just disintegrated them? Does anyone know anything about this? I just want to make sure that I'm not putting the poison out for nothing.
Any input will be appreciated. |
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rabbithorns
True Blue Farmgirl
544 Posts
Allison
Fort Scott
KS
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 9:40:27 PM
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| Ants come for their dead, so piles of dead ants attract ants. We recently dust-busted huge lines of ants all the way from the kitchen to where they were coming in. Then we caulked that hole. (Then we emptied the dustbuster outside since killing is against our religion.) We also dug into the ground around our place and soaked the ground with peppermint soap and pennyroyal oil to prevent them from nesting there. Last fall we had to dig up and move their nests. The apartment complex sprays poison for the ants, but we still have millions around here. I also ground kids' chalk and put it across their paths into our courtyard to keep them from coming near in the first place. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 10:18:34 PM
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Baby powder is a line they don't like to cross either and smells great.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Fabulous Farm Femmes
True Blue Farmgirl
792 Posts
Diane
Lakebay, Tacoma
WA
792 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 12:39:43 AM
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| Get some Diatomaceuos Earth and sprinkle in the cracks in the baseboards in your house.Then do outside when the weather is dry. It will not hurt pets or children, but will kill the ants.If you don't do all the areas, they just move the nest.Some years they are worse than others. |
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sonflowergurl
True Blue Farmgirl
349 Posts
Katee
Tampa 'Burbs
FL
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 05:48:36 AM
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Diane, do you think DE will work on fire ants? We have TONS of hills of them in our yard and would LOVE to kill them off, chemical-free. The only problem is that if we have to do the whole yard, it's an acre in size and that would be hard to do all of it. (But, my daughter and I are both allergic to their bites, so we might have to.)
Katee
The end will justify the pain it took to get us here.
"Looking Toward the Son"---- http://sonflowergirl731.blogspot.com
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 07:15:28 AM
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IF your ant problem is really bad, you might have to give way and get the ant traps. But as I understand they are most affective before the problem gets out of control, I have not seen one ant yet, but I put out my little raid ant traps last week, then when they walk in the door, SURPRISE!!
I have also heard that washing the inside of cupboards and counter top with vinager is helpful.
NANCY JO |
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sqrl
True Blue Farmgirl
605 Posts
Melissa
Northern California
USA
605 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 11:18:48 AM
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believe it or not ants won't cross white chalk.. Just plain white chalk used for chalk boards and the such.. Of course they eventually find some other in but it does work.. We have probelm with them wanting to live in our indoor plants.. I have no problem with them since they really don't bother us but I think it minght not be good for the plants..
Blessed Be
www.sqrlbee.com
www.smallsqrl.blogspot.com
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_Rebecca_
True Blue Farmgirl
568 Posts
Rebecca
OK
USA
568 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 11:24:49 AM
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Hey JulieKay in Shawnee! I am in Choctaw! Good luck w/ your ants.
.·:*¨¨* :·.Rebecca.·:*¨¨* :·.
Wife of Jonathan, Mother of Joel, Caitlyn, Elia |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 3:12:26 PM
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Well thanks for all the advice! I did figure out what was attracting them to the kitchen cabinets, it was the big jar of honey, duh! Once I removed that and washed the ants off, I put it in the fridge. The ants have for the most part disappeared from the food cabinets, yeah!!! Now for the rest of the house! I think I'm going to give the diamataous earth thing a try too. I noticed that the ants wouldn't cross the line of boric acid so I may sweep it into all the cracks and crevices I can find to kind of put them off my house.
Hey Rebecca from another Okie! Though I am not authentic, I'm transplanted from Illinois. Choctaw isn't too far away is it? |
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_Rebecca_
True Blue Farmgirl
568 Posts
Rebecca
OK
USA
568 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 3:20:20 PM
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quote:
[i]
Hey Rebecca from another Okie! Though I am not authentic, I'm transplanted from Illinois. Choctaw isn't too far away is it?
We accept transplants gladly! I am a third generation Okie.
It's so close to Shawnee that about once a week we come and eat at Van's Pig Stand! We love the pecan pie!  Want to meet us there sometime?
We are about 25 minutes away.
.·:*¨¨* :·.Rebecca.·:*¨¨* :·.
Wife of Jonathan, Mother of Joel, Caitlyn, Elia |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 5:56:07 PM
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| Sure Rebecca, that would be fun! |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2006 : 06:58:15 AM
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Also - spraying ant routes with apple cider vinegar coveres their invisible pheromone trails so they can't find their way back to your place as easily - also, cinnamon powder is an ant deterrent, as well - I don't know if a cotton ball with cinnamon essential oil in the cabinets would work, but it might...
Good luck! Each year we have colonies of little black ants that invade the gravel in our driveway, and each year, I wonder just how "foreceful" I'm willing to be to get them to move on to greener pastures. One year I did sprinkle cornmeal around the nest and it disappeared, and I did notice a decrease in the number, also.
Good luck! I'm sure finding what those little guys loved in the cupboards will make a huge difference...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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rabbithorns
True Blue Farmgirl
544 Posts
Allison
Fort Scott
KS
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2006 : 7:37:14 PM
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| The ants were making a nest in a potted plant on my deck yesterday, so I did a bunch of things. The only thing that did not work was chalk. I thought they wouldn't cross it either. But I have crushed it before and sprinkled it and they won't cross that. But just drawing lines with it did nothing. Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap works, but the only sure cure is pennyroyal oil, but it smells and pregnant women shouldn't be bear it (can cause miscarraige). |
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Destiny~
True Blue Farmgirl
195 Posts
Dar
west
TX
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2006 : 1:38:17 PM
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Katee, below is what I found in my 'Texas Gardening the Natural Way' by Howard Garrett aka The Dirt Doctor.
"Organic Control:Garden-Ville Auntie Fuego, beneficial nematodes, and diatomaceous earth (DE). Beneficial microorganisms in the compost tea and in the gut of nematodes seem to be doing the actual control. DE on dry days or a mixture of compost tea, molasses, and citrus oil any time. Many gardeners report good results with instant grits and other instant breakfast cereals. Spraying products that contain molasses helps keep them away. Applying ground-up orange and grapefruit rinds to the mounds is another excellent control."
Any typos are mine.
Good luck.
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_Rebecca_
True Blue Farmgirl
568 Posts
Rebecca
OK
USA
568 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2006 : 7:55:44 PM
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Also, spearmint gum & bay leaves. I guess ants don't like herby or oily smells/odors.
.·:*¨¨* :·.Rebecca.·:*¨¨* :·.
Wife of Jonathan, Mother of Joel, Caitlyn, Elia |
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sonflowergurl
True Blue Farmgirl
349 Posts
Katee
Tampa 'Burbs
FL
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2006 : 05:13:55 AM
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Thanks for the info, I'll have to try the citrus rinds! LOL We've got easy access to plenty of those.
Katee
The end will justify the pain it took to get us here.
"Looking Toward the Son"---- http://sonflowergirl731.blogspot.com
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2006 : 12:06:54 PM
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Just wanted to let everyone know that the boric acid worked. We have very few ants right now. I couldn't try the diamateous earth because I couldn't find it anywhere. We will have to order it off the net and spread it in the yard later. I'm so glad that most of the ants have disappeared.
Thanks for everyone's advice.
Julie |
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ladybugsmom6
True Blue Farmgirl
128 Posts
Tami
Horicon
WI
USA
128 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2006 : 1:39:27 PM
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planting marigolds keeps them away around here
-Tami
now ladybugsmom7, the newest farm girl Danielle elizabethwas born March23, Danielle Elizabeth |
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theoanne
True Blue Farmgirl
282 Posts
teddie
CARROLLTON
GA
282 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2006 : 8:37:32 PM
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Katee,
Grits work pretty good here iin GA. Sprinkle them around the base of the mound. They take them inside,eat them, the grits swell and the ants die. If you buy chemicals Amdro works good too.
Good luck, Teddie |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2006 : 1:13:34 PM
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Guess what everyone? Pretty much got rid of the ants, but now we have mice!! So now I have to get some traps. It just never ends.
Julie |
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Cleaning Up: Natural Ant Control |
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Natural Ant Control
