Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom. These
are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got rid
of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food, but
especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day at
most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as strong
as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.

In article , "OhioGuy" wrote:

Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom. These
are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got rid
of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food, but
especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day at
most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as strong
as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.

If you have a basement. Oil of pennyroyal 3 or 4 eye dropper amounts
place on your sill. Won't kill the ants just drive them out. Good for
a year or two.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

Not all who wander are lost.
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

"OhioGuy" wrote in message ...
Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom.
These are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got
rid of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food,
but especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day
at most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as
strong as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.


By your description, and their feeding habits, my grandma called them "sugar
ants". They don't bite people for some unapparent reason, madibles too
small? As you also indicated, their apparent population will dwindle
rapidly as summer approaches.

My wars with both these type ants and fire ants from entering my home was
eventually won with common boric acid. The local feed/hardware store here
sells it in economy size plastic squeeze bottles with a nipple cut to size
dispenser end. The "sugar ants" seem to change entry paths readily, that's
where the "war" part comes in. Have to remain vigilant.
--
Dave

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:00:49 -0500, "OhioGuy" wrote:

Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom. These
are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got rid
of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food, but
especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day at
most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as strong
as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.



I did not think Diazinon was sold anymore, but it should put an
effective barrier around the house. Since these are sweet ants,
place cardboard squares with a drop of Terro on each. Put the
squares where you see ants. At first you will see hundreds of ants
but in 3-4 days, they will be gone. Less toxic than insecticides,
you can put a barrier of agriculture (finely powdered) lime around the
foundation. Lime dust irritates ants and they would rather not cross
it. The lime is a fine dust, wear a dust mask during application.

Phisherman wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:00:49 -0500, "OhioGuy" wrote:

Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom. These
are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got rid
of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food, but
especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day at
most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as strong
as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.



I did not think Diazinon was sold anymore, but it should put an
effective barrier around the house. Since these are sweet ants,
place cardboard squares with a drop of Terro on each. Put the
squares where you see ants. At first you will see hundreds of ants
but in 3-4 days, they will be gone. Less toxic than insecticides,
you can put a barrier of agriculture (finely powdered) lime around the
foundation. Lime dust irritates ants and they would rather not cross
it. The lime is a fine dust, wear a dust mask during application.


Terro is the best stuff I have ever seen. I buy it in my local
supermarket. It seems to be a combination of borax and a sweetener. IIRC
it is not even marked as a poison, although it does say "keep out of
reach of children". Good luck these ants are a real PITA.

EJ in NJ

In article ,
Bill wrote:

In article , "OhioGuy" wrote:

Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom. These
are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got rid
of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food, but
especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day at
most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as strong
as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.

If you have a basement. Oil of pennyroyal 3 or 4 eye dropper amounts
place on your sill. Won't kill the ants just drive them out. Good for
a year or two.

Bill

This oil of pennyroyal is strong stuff. On second thinking I'd say
smell it and consider if you want to smell it for a few months. This in
your basement that could infiltrate your living space. So if inclined
error on too light.

Powerful stuff .

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

Not all who wander are lost.
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

"OhioGuy" wrote in message ...
Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom.
These are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got
rid of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food,
but especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day
at most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as
strong as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.

I've had some good luck with those little plastic squares that are about two
inches square. They have bait that they take back to the hive. Pretty safe
unless kids or pets eat them, so you can put them up high or in secure
places. Unless you have really stupid kids or pets.

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"OhioGuy" wrote in message ...
Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom.
These are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They
use a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I
got rid of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were
also congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and
I noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food,
but especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom
and find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a
drink at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be
drinking ants along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day
at most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as
strong as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with
time, but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.

I've had some good luck with those little plastic squares that are about
two inches square. They have bait that they take back to the hive.
Pretty safe unless kids or pets eat them, so you can put them up high or
in secure places. Unless you have really stupid kids or pets.

Ant baits usually work well when the directions are adhered to, they need to
be placed along ant trails, and they don't work quickly... the workers bring
the bait back to the queen and even after the queen dies the colony workers
will survive for many weeks.

I discovered that avon skin-so-soft bath oil is great for killing ants. (I
don't sell avon). I kept it at my summer place for use as a mosquito
repellent. Much nicer to my skin than traditional repellents and it worked
better. I had some trouble with those little ants you're talking about and
had no ant killer, but I had some skin-so-soft. I sprayed the buggers with
it and they died instantly. I sprayed their trail and it repelled them for
six weeks, even outside. I put some on a metal deck railing as a test and
watched ants, even big ones, turn around and run from the spot the
skin-so-soft was sprayed on. I keep some in a spray bottle mixed 50/50 with
water and use it whenever I see ants. It not only kills them, it repels
them too.

Gloria


"OhioGuy" wrote in message ...
Temps here in Ohio have gone up into the upper 80's suddenly, and there
are loads of ants in our house. More specifically, there are loads and
loads of tiny 1/8" long ants, primarily in our kitchen and bathroom.
These are the ones that normally seem to be after sweets or grease.

I first noticed them in the bathroom, on the kids toothbrushes. They use
a kids toothpaste that is a very sweet gel kind with sorbitol, so I got
rid of that. It didn't stop the ants. I finally noticed they were also
congregating around the sea monkey container in the kids' room, and I
noticed then that they were going anywhere there was water.

Not only has it been hot, it has also been dry. I think that the ants
finally came out of hibernation, and have been searching for some food,
but especially water for their colony.

The trouble is, it is especially sickening to come in to the bathroom and
find ants all over your cup, your toothbrush, etc. I used to take a drink
at night with the light off, but no more. I'm afraid I'd be drinking ants
along with the water!

I've tried spraying Diazinon outside the house along the foundation,
wherever I see a little line of ants. It works a bit, for perhaps a day
at most. Maybe this is because the Diazinon is water based, and not as
strong as the old stuff I used to have.

I've also caulked wherever I see them coming in, but they always seem to
find a new place. If memory serves, their numbers will dwindle with time,
but it still doesn't help much knowing that right now.

Can anyone recommend something we could use to get rid of these buggers?
I've tried ant traps with poison, but they don't seem interested at all.