this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
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Ants

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It's gotten everyone in our family and recently just got my daught 4 times yesterday. They are extremely painful and you feel waves of pain for hours. And just ONE OF THEM is capable of doing that. These bastards need to die, and I'm hoping you can help or point me in the direction of a community that can.

Any ideas?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I love Spinosad for all things ant killing due to its safety around mammals and birds. I’m generally killing fire ants and I drench the mound with it, so if you can find the source, you might try that. I’ve also had some luck with a cotton ball soaked in borax and sugar placed in their path as a poisoned bait, but that’s more problematic if you have small children or animals around that might eat it. Good luck!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I'll be looking to get some. Thanks for the recommendation!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Most ant-type insects are weak to fire.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Go to a hardware store and get liquid ant poison, it's a gel with borax in it. Take small 2 inch squares of tin foil and place them all around where you find the ants coming into the house. Drop lots of drops of the gel onto the tin foil. Add more drops every day as the ants eat it up. If you have pets or small kids, you can make little covers to go over the tin foil with old boxes and cartons to keep the little ones from touching it.

This works even better if you can find the place outside the house where the ants are coming into the house. Leave lots of these traps along the trail of ants and it will kill the colony in a few days.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for this! We'll try it!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

You can also buy traps full of the stuff that are already (mostly) kid-safe; you snip off the end of a plastic container and set out out. Be aware that there are different baits for different ant types, though. The other way works too, but for a little more money you don't have to mess with foil.

While you're waiting for the colony death, few ants will cross a line of ground cinnamon. You can shake a border around a room, and - unless they're coming up through the floor in the middle of the room - it makes a pretty efficient barrier. It's cheap, human-safe, and easy to vacuum up after the colony is dead.