Major ant infestation!

[suzi]

So I am settling in here in California and love it, one problem I am having is the ants! I am assuming they are fire ants and they are EVERYWHERE ! Any and all help is greatly appreciated, I have used he search button and have laid out traps of Torra ant bait, I bought boric acid to make peanut butter acid balls out of but haven't done that yet and also bought this organic powder to spread around the house. The ants have found there way into my egg containers twice, I now have my eggs in a box surrounded by a circle of comet,the ants have gotten in to my feeders which I now have on racks with the legs sitting in Tupperware filled with water and ant poison. I am seriously totally agro' d at these $&@$ ers ! I would love to hear how others tackle this sort of problem, thanks in advance

 

[suzi]

Oh yeah, one more thing... I have eggs that are going to be hatching soon that I will keep on the racks, I am wondering how to keep the ants from using the plug for the lighting and misting system as a bridge to get to the racks! I am very worried! Would tape or vaseline around he outlet help? All suggestions appreciated

 

[robmd1]

hiyas suzi
Welcome to so cal sorry ya havin a prob with ants, i cant be much help with that, i havent had the prob"knock on wood" hopefully someone had this prob will speak up... i just wanted welcome you to so cal..

 

[Kitro]

Are they large or small? Is it isolated in you chameleon area? What you can do is got to a dollar store, they sell roach chalk sticks. Outline any area you need protected and they won't cross it. Do not use it in the enclosure just outside. They usually only cost 50 cents

Have you located where they are entering from? Follow their trail and see where they are stopping to feed. See if you have any dead feeders or gut load exposed. Areas where moisture is building up can also attract them. Any additional info you can provide will help.

 

[suzi]

hiyas suzi
Welcome to so cal sorry ya havin a prob with ants, i cant be much help with that, i havent had the prob"knock on wood" hopefully someone had this prob will speak up... i just wanted welcome you to so cal..

Thanks Rob! I really love it here!

 

[suzi]

Are they large or small? Is it isolated in you chameleon area? What you can do is got to a dollar store, they sell roach chalk sticks. Outline any area you need protected and they won't cross it. Do not use it in the enclosure just outside. They usually only cost 50 cents

Have you located where they are entering from? Follow their trail and see where they are stopping to feed. See if you have any dead feeders or gut load exposed. Areas where moisture is building up can also attract them. Any additional info you can provide will help.

They are very small, and entering from many different areas. I have found lines of them traveling all over the garden hoses, I can see lines of them craw
Ing up the house, there are so many I can only guess that there are multiple queens and nests
I will pick up some of the chalk, thanks for the suggestion

 

[Kitro]

They are very small, and entering from many different areas. I have found lines of them traveling all over the garden hoses, I can see lines of them craw
Ing up the house, there are so many I can only guess that there are multiple queens and nests
I will pick up some of the chalk, thanks for the suggestion

Sounds like sugar ants. For the exterior of house we use diatomaceous earth, it's a natural non toxic Microscopic shell of an algae. Sprinkled onto soil it will shred them as they walk over it like a barbed wire fence. It can be found at most any place that sells garden supplies. Thankfully they don't usually stick around for long.

Welcome to Cali and what a perfect place you chosen.

 

[Ethen44]

Oh yeah, one more thing... I have eggs that are going to be hatching soon that I will keep on the racks, I am wondering how to keep the ants from using the plug for the lighting and misting system as a bridge to get to the racks! I am very worried! Would tape or vaseline around he outlet help? All suggestions appreciated

I have a similar problem with protecting my eggs and feeders. What I eventually did was taped duck-tape inside out on the exterior of all my feeder bins, as well as on the base of all my egg containers. It worked like a charm

 

[suzi]

Sounds like sugar ants. For the exterior of house we use diatomaceous earth, it's a natural non toxic Microscopic shell of an algae. Sprinkled onto soil it will shred them as they walk over it like a barbed wire fence. It can be found at most any place that sells garden supplies. Thankfully they don't usually stick around for long.

Welcome to Cali and what a perfect place you chosen.

Thanks for the welcome! I love it here the diatomaceous earth is the organic powder I was talking about, I will try putting more put as I only bought o e bag, not enough to go around the whole house knowing they don't stick around for long is good news, how long is not long?

 

[suzi]

I have a similar problem with protecting my eggs and feeders. What I eventually did was taped duck-tape inside out on the exterior of all my feeder bins, as well as on the base of all my egg containers. It worked like a charm

Thanks Ethen, I have done that as a precautionary as well but didn't know if it was going to work, glad to hear has been working for you!

 

[Seeco]

Hey, welcome to CA! For the electrical cord you should put a ring or two of vaseline about 1 inch thick near the middle.

 

[NastyNate]

Welcome to beautiful California! Here in San Diego, I have been getting a swarm of ants recently. It is usually due to rain/moisture. When they get flooded out of their holes, they come looking for a new home. And unfortunately, more often than not, it's our home they invade! Obviously, be sure to keep any food in sealed containers, no dirty dishes left out, or food wrappers/trash in the waste basket. Like said, they usually only last a couple weeks at most. Just be consistent with fighting them off! Besides the ant problem, I hope California has been treating you well

 

[suzi]

Hey, welcome to CA! For the electrical cord you should put a ring or two of vaseline about 1 inch thick near the middle.

Thanks Louis! I will add that to the mix for sure!

 

[suzi]

Welcome to beautiful California! Here in San Diego, I have been getting a swarm of ants recently. It is usually due to rain/moisture. When they get flooded out of their holes, they come looking for a new home. And unfortunately, more often than not, it's our home they invade! Obviously, be sure to keep any food in sealed containers, no dirty dishes left out, or food wrappers/trash in the waste basket. Like said, they usually only last a couple weeks at most. Just be consistent with fighting them off! Besides the ant problem, I hope California has been treating you well

Thank you Nate, besides the ants California is awesome good to know it only lasts a few weeks I will follow all your suggestions

 

[JonRich]

sorry for your Ant issue.

Look into Phorid Flies as a long term solution. In the mean time try to locate where the colony is. (put out food for them and follow them back to their source and distroy it. Make sure to get the queen!)

http://www.mypmp.net/trends/trendspotting-ranchers-use-phorid-flies-manage-fir

 

[suzi]

Look into Phorid Flies as a long term solution. Try to locate where the colony is.

http://www.mypmp.net/trends/trendspotting-ranchers-use-phorid-flies-manage-fir

On it! Thanks so much

 

[JonRich]

Also see if you can get a clear photo of the ants so they can be positively IDed!

Just a word of caution FireAnts are NASTYYYY!! They can and will overcome an animal muchh larger if given the chance/time!

 

[suzi]

Also see if you can get a clear photo of the ants so they can be positively IDed!

Just a word of caution FireAnts are NASTYYYY!! They can and will overcome an animal muchh larger if given the chance/time!

That is a good idea, I am hoping that they are sugar ants I will try and post a pic soon.

 

[clarkrw3]

I was having the problem last year with the tiny black ones and try as I did nothing I did worked. It wasn't until I had an exterminator come out and start treating the outside of the house that I got rid of them. I hate spraying poison and I wouldn't let them in the house but it was the ONLY way I could get them under control and we haven't seen any since. We have black granite counter tops and we would walk out of the kitchen and 5 min later come back and the counters would have thousands of them on it. I sprayed where they were coming in...etc and nothing helped until I got some professional help!

 

[suzi]

I was having the problem last year with the tiny black ones and try as I did nothing I did worked. It wasn't until I had an exterminator come out and start treating the outside of the house that I got rid of them. I hate spraying poison and I wouldn't let them in the house but it was the ONLY way I could get them under control and we haven't seen any since. We have black granite counter tops and we would walk out of the kitchen and 5 min later come back and the counters would have thousands of them on it. I sprayed where they were coming in...etc and nothing helped until I got some professional help!

The gardener has been treating the outside with organic treatments but it is not working I am having the same situation where there are thousands outside if my efforts fail I will resort to an exterminator, I don't like poison either but when there is a problem of this magnitude I think it is necessary! The damage that the ants can cause is a risk I am not willing to take!