ANTS! I knew it'd happen eventually.

[Syn]

I just caught them crossing into my kitchen from the back door. I'm the only person home right now as my mom is out of town until tomorrow night.

I'm going to ride my bike to the store in a bit. I quite honestly do not see not spraying as an option at this time.
If I were to spray, could I move all of the animals into one room and spray just where I see the ants?
I could completely seal off the room save the air ducts, but I can just cover that and shut off the air for a while.

If spraying really isn't an option, give me some ideas. I've already doused the carpet with cinnamon.. sticking everything in garbage bags and moving it out into the shed..

Any suggestions before I go to the store?

But in the mean time I'm going to get some more cleaning done.

 

[Syn]

Well I'm running to the store now. Will look at suggestions when I get back.

 

[FroggtheCham]

This sucks for you. I'm sorry...get those little ba**ards!!!

 

[Elizadolots]

Any good cleaner will wipe out the ones that are on the floor now. You can also vacuum them up. Track back to where they are coming in and pack it full of baking soda or borax. Salt also works. I've seen people suggest uncooked "minute rice" (the kind that's pre-cooked and dried). The idea is something extremely drying.

Some people suggest pushing a bunch of dead bodies into the hole before packing it. I've heard it explained as "their fellow soldiers dead bodies" but I think the reality is probably the dead bodies give off a sick making odor which discourages healthy ants (like how dead crickets make your live crickets sick).


If you have the borax, use that on the carpets. Sprinkle it on lightly and rub it in. You can leave it for a couple of hours or days.

 

[Syn]

Borax sounds like a good alternative to what I was planning on getting. I poured cinnamon on the floor since I was told that works.. well, borax it is.

What really irritates me is they got into my bigger tokay's cage and got into the soil of the plant in there... so the poor guy is in a little tub for the time being.

 

[dale1]

do you mean you will be spraying with rad? if your chams are not in the same room you should be fine. i keep tarantulas ( several tarantulas...) and they are very sensitive to posions. we spray rad in the summer time to because of ants in the kitchen and i have never had a problem. also window cleaner( with ammonia), it kills ants. hope that helps.

dale

 

[Elizadolots]

Borax is wonderful and inexpensive. We use it on the carpet whenever we find a dog has picked up a flea. We've found it works for ants as well. We had ants get to the chameleon cage. We dusted the carpet all around, made a paste of borax and water and put it on all solid surfaces outside the enclosure (it can be wiped off with a wet rag after a day). We took the cage outside and rinsed everything off really well, then put it all back together and haven't had a problem since.

 

[ajacobson]

you could make an organic pesticide. Should be harmless to animals. If I remember right you boil tea, garlic, onion and cayenne pepper. It worked well on my tomatoes. Pour it around your house and clean up the ants.

 

[chamelisa]

Hi Syn,

I have been fighting ants too. But I just use spray around the perimeter of my back yard. If you can find out where they are coming from, then try to deal with it at the furthest point away from your reptiles. You can clean up the ones inside with soap and water. Good luck

 

[Syn]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. If the ant killer I got doesn't work I will probably be spraying. It is a liquid with borax additive.

EDIT: Elisa you posted right when I did - I will probably go outside and start spraying in a few minutes. The only bad thing is we have all carpet. Oh well, I guess I will be doing a carpet cleaning!

 

[chamelisa]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. If the ant killer I got doesn't work I will probably be spraying. It is a liquid with borax additive.

EDIT: Elisa you posted right when I did - I will probably go outside and start spraying in a few minutes. The only bad thing is we have all carpet. Oh well, I guess I will be doing a carpet cleaning!

Vacuum? Shop Vac? Hiking boots?

 

[Elizadolots]

Syn, get the powdered borax. It's dirt cheap. (I haven't bought it in a year, because it lasts that long, but I don't think I paid over $4 for a big box) I find it in the laundry aisle of my grocery store. If you have a sifter or sieve, put the borax in and "dust" it over the whole carpet. Lacking that, you can use a salt shaker to sprinkle it. You can even poke holes in a plastic cup and use that. Then walk around and smush the borax down with your toes. Or, you could use a rake to work it in. I've tried both, I usually do the toes.

After a day or so, vacuum it up. You'll find you've given your carpet a nice "dry shampoo" while making it a completely unfriendly environment for any insects. Your carpet really will be cleaner, your house will smell cleaner. And the bugs will have died. (note: if you are dealing with a major flea infestation, keep borax in your carpet for at least 3 weeks to get through multiple "life spans" of the bugs...you can vacuum and reapply as often as you like)

 

[Syn]

Vacuum? Shop Vac? Hiking boots?

Our vacuum just took a dump after I was trying to clean up the cinnamon.... turns out it created a bigger problem.

Syn, get the powdered borax. It's dirt cheap. (I haven't bought it in a year, because it lasts that long, but I don't think I paid over $4 for a big box) I find it in the laundry aisle of my grocery store. If you have a sifter or sieve, put the borax in and "dust" it over the whole carpet. Lacking that, you can use a salt shaker to sprinkle it. You can even poke holes in a plastic cup and use that. Then walk around and smush the borax down with your toes. Or, you could use a rake to work it in. I've tried both, I usually do the toes.

After a day or so, vacuum it up. You'll find you've given your carpet a nice "dry shampoo" while making it a completely unfriendly environment for any insects. Your carpet really will be cleaner, your house will smell cleaner. And the bugs will have died. (note: if you are dealing with a major flea infestation, keep borax in your carpet for at least 3 weeks to get through multiple "life spans" of the bugs...you can vacuum and reapply as often as you like)

We don't have any borax at walmart.

 

[Elizadolots]

oh, I find that surprising....call them before you go and ask them to hold it at the register. They might have it in a weird place. However, it is normally in the LAUNDRY aisle next to things like GAIN an TIDE.

 

[Syn]

Went up and down the aisle for a good 30 minutes.

 

[Elizadolots]

That's so odd...spend a bit of time tomorrow calling around. I've bought it at the local grocery store. It's really common.

Of course, they may have sorted it somewhere else, like general surface cleaners or something. There are some products that can be in 12 places in the store and Borax is one of them.

 

[Syn]

Asked several employees. Most gave me a look like "What the heck is borax"? and one person led me to a food aisle... That's what you get for night stockers I guess.

 

[Syn]

Okay for future reference if anyone searches this thread.

DO NOT USE CINNAMON TO "CONFUSE" THE ANTS! It will only create a bigger problem later on.

 

[summoner12]

I had good luck with those ant feeder things that have the poison in them.... but this is only good if you don't have ants in the cages..... vinegar and borax are good methods.

 

[Syn]

I had to throw my tokay's screen cage outside. Ants all in the soil of his plant. Poor guy, I don't know if he got bit at all, but he's a big tough guy.