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Ants

lordsummit

lordsummit

Moderator
I have a persistent problem with ants that live under a flag in our kitchen. It’s an old house with no real foundations, and every year they come back, chuck out some more sand. I’ve tried redoing the mortar around the flag, in an effort to dissuade them, I haven’t found any remedy that really works, and they’re a constant source of annoyance to Mrs L, which means they’re a constant source of earache to me.
I’m also slightly concerned that as the washing machine sits on that flag it may one day disappear into the void a bit like Stranger Things. Any ideas gents?
 
We have the same problem, found some coming up between the flags in the living room when I moved my speakers a bit. Plus there's been a few exploring the kitchen worktop - never many but just annoying and I can't figure out where those buggers are coming from!
 
mikemusic said:
Persuade them away with tasty treats. Sugar works well I think.
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I think that’s why they spend so long shambling around the kitchen. We have lots outside, on the cobbles in the driveway, they’re no trouble, but the kitchen dwellers do really need to sling their hook.
 
Try termite style treatment for the ones coming up from under a flag.
Best if you can lift said flag, excavate a little, treat heavily.
Temporarily cover. Repeat a month later. Fill hole and replace flag.
 
Had some ants move in around the front door. Sprayed some white vinegar on the floor and they took off. They came back a few weeks later. Re-sprayed. That did the trick.
 
I dealt with a similar problem by using some of the poison gel that they take back to the nest. During the following period of ant-free respite, I sealed everything around that area, carefully and neatly - any floor cracks however tiny. Any gaps I could find where walls meet floor. Not seen any since.

The garden however........little sods are everywhere.
 
I am totally anti-killing pretty much any non-mammal indoors (uninvited mammals are a total no-no, as are dog fleas and clothes moths etc.), but ants under flags would be another exception.

Does Nippon ant killer not still exist? I can't remember the active ingredient(poison) but it was in a sugary solution that ants carried back to the nest for as long as you provided it and there were ants left to carry it - VERY effective, or it used to be, assuming no change in formulation.
 
We have similar issues here in a mid 1800s farmhouse, no real floors to speak of etc etc. We just tend to dust around the bottom of the walls outside with ant powder and that seems to stop them for a while. I imagine that means they're not already camped "inside" as it were though. My wife sprays around the bottom of the skirting too as it drives her mad......

Edit just reading other posts made me realise I think the stuff we use gets taken back to the nest too.
 
Nippon and the like exist. I used some insecticidal powder last year to deal with a wasps' nest in a wall cavity, they were digging through the mastic (!) and getting in via a window frame. I blew the powder into the entrance holes and they carried it indoors, job done a few days later. I would do the same with ants. In a previous life I had ants living in a conservatory that was more of a garden extension/porch than a domestic dwelling. It was unheated and rather leaky and the ants found their way in between slate flags by the door. I managed to kill them, aftyer a few attempts, by the old flooding with boiling water trick. This might be worth a go if you can arrange for the water to be retained and forced to flood the burrow before it drains away. Build dams with bricks, poly bags, putty, etc.
 
I used powder around the patio door last year and have used the gel successfully as well.
LS the presence of any youngsters or pets in your household could affect the possible solutions.
 
Our lawn is riddled with ants nests, or perhaps just one big one. The only upside is that we have a couple of Green Woodpeckers that treat it as an "all you can eat" buffet, so are regular visitors.
 
Kids are ok, no pets bar some tropical fish, so sprayed insecticide is a no-no, otherwise I’m up for anything to avoid being mithered!
 
My puffer dispenser of Nippon Ant Powder has been in use for years and is still effective anywhere needed. Ants somehow come back every year - but seem pretty easy to deal with.
 
They hate the smell of ground coffee. Not very nice to look at, but they’re not coming back after treatment. You don’t get to kill any animals of course. They just go back to where they came from (?)
Tea doesn’t seem to work at all. :D
 
lordsummit said:
I’ve investigated an anteater, but they seem rather hard to come by.
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Cough.
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