Not toxic ant killer.........

[Bob in Calif.]

I have been plagued with ants since the heavy rains hit here on the SF Peninsula. My first encounter with them was on my front porch, where I found my hanging Humming bird feeder was host for an ant convention.<br /><br />Since then, the have been coming into the kitchen in alarming numbers. I have several types of ant killers to my avail, but I didn't want to use them in the kitchen. I decided to try some spray foam window cleaner, with ammonia. BINGO!!!<br /><br />I sprayed some on the masses of ants and terminated them in mere seconds. I also used the spray around the bird feeder with the same excellent results.<br /><br />To keep the ants off of the H-bird feeder, I used some Vicks Vaporub on the top of the nylon line and the nail that is connected to the overhang of my porch. BINGO again!!! They gathered again the next day, but did not enter the area smothered with Vicks. The "Hummers" now gather at "Bob's Bird Bar" again, with out being molested by the uncuth ants.<br /><br />...Bob in Calif... Where record heat is expected today and tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

There has to be something that PETA could do to have this tragic assasination of ants halted. Maybe a Ant Tax is in order?

 

[Elmer Fudge]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

you will need to call the pest control experts, thats what i ended up having to do, last year i had the worst case of fire ants in my yard, it was so bad that my pets hated going outside, after a series of treatments which included a chemical perimeter barrier, my yard is ant free.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

best way to kill fire ants:<br /><br />1. put the ants in your belly button.<br />2. fill your belly button with gasoline.<br />3. light the gasoline.<br />4. when the ants try to run away, stab 'em with an ice pick.

 

[JB]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

ROFLMAO at JTexas.

 

[Terry H]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

The way we did fire ants as a kid was to mix sugar and black powder and put it in a pile a couple feet from their mound/hole. Give 'em a day to take the sugar mix into their hole, then take a flame to the spot where you left the powder/sugar mix and fiz fiz fiz boom. A little cloud of dust, caving in the ant city and mass killings. Worked every time. Chief

 

[Elmer Fudge]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

Originally posted by jtexas:<br /> best way to kill fire ants:<br /><br />1. put the ants in your belly button.<br />2. fill your belly button with gasoline.<br />3. light the gasoline.<br />4. when the ants try to run away, stab 'em with an ice pick.

Jeez! had i known of this method i could've saved some money

 

[ehenry]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

Orthene does the trick for me. Nothing like good old chemical warfare !! !

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

A bit off topic, but if you have a Bee problem, they Love Mt. Dew. Put an open container of it out and they'll drink til they're dead. It doesn't have to be a trap. An open bowl works quite well.

 

[Bob in Calif.]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

Willie-B-W..........<br /><br />Does the Mountain Dew work with Yellow Jackets and Wasp's. I don't have a problem with bee's, but yellow's and wasp's are a constant problem for several months during the warm season where I live. Actually I get along with bee's quite well.<br /><br />Thanks for the advice... ...Bob in Calif...

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

Bob: a large cap from a laundry detergent bottle added to the wire hanging my hummingbird feeder (sealed with cauk) and filled with water does the trick for me, and perhaps a little less messy when refilling the feeder. <br /><br />As far as ants in the kitchen, I like to use that sweetened liquid bait. I know, it's toxic, but takes just a drop or two on a piece of cardboard; they take it back to their nest, & it wipes out the whole colony. Never failed yet, and I can tuck it into an out of the way place inaccessable to pets or accidental human exposure. <br /><br />WillieB, I'd also like to know if the Mt. Dew thing works for yellow Jackets. If so, I'd probably leave out a can so it's not accessable by the hummers, just in case they were to show an interest in the Dew. I'm at the point where I get DOZENS (of hummers) each summer; they can go through upwards of a quart & a half of nector a day! And that's using a stronger solution of sugar water than 4:1 (stronger solution correlates with less consumption). <br /><br />Anyone know of a good way to trap & kill carpenter bees? Real problem for me, as I have a cedar log home with cedar faschia/ trim. So many that in the spring attacking them at point of entry is not really practical (house is essentially three stories on two sides).

 

[ob]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

Best and cheapest treatment for carpenter bees is to sprinkle seven dust around any holes where they have bored.Do this at night when they are dormant.When they walk through the dust it collects like pollen on their legs and eventually kills them.Standard practice down here.Then you can use wood plugs or dowels to plug holes to discourage future infestations.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

ob: wonder if that boric acid powder would work similarly. But my biggest problem is that most of their holes are VERY inconvenient to access. Would be great if there was a way to attract & kill them away from their holes....

 

[ob]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

Don't know about boric acid on bees.My mother had quite an infestation of those carpenter(bumble)bees in the cedar overhang timbers on her house and the extension agent recommended the seven dust.I think she used a dusting aparatus of some sort from the garden center to apply around the holes.All of the bees were gone in less than a week.Better get em soon ,cause the tunnels they bore can do some structural damage if gone unchecked.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Not toxic ant killer.........

ob- can you provide any more info on the type dusting aparatus she used? Like whether it had a very concentrated 'output' aimed at/ up the holes, or broader output sprayed at the holes?<br /><br />would be nice to start spraying before they start to come out, which will be very soon here.