Re: Hailing JasonJ
Believe it or not, there is a product called Taro that works pretty good for these ants. They are most likely Odorous House Ants. You can tell by picking some up and crushing them. There will be a faint rotting coconut smell. <br /><br />Taro is basically a borate mixed with a sweet attractant. You could make some yourself by mixing a sugary paste with boric acid, but you mave to be really careful. The whole point of it is to ensure they take it back to the nest and transfer it to other ants. The chemical dosage has to be so low that it has been transfered several times by the time the initial ants die. this is why is is better to use commercial products like Taro, or call a pro. There are some proffesional baits that worked pretty good for me.<br /><br />One thing about spraying chemical is you may stop seeing them, but it doesn't mean they have gone away. they are very sensative to chemical and will avoid it. Also, you can have a colony in the house with several hundred thousand individuals with several queens, it is next to impossible to eliminate them with spraying. I used to also gas the colony if I found it, but that was rare. If you can deterime that they are coming from the outside, the entire building and all access points to the building would need to be sprayed. that includes powerlines, tree branches, all of it.<br /><br />The most important thing of all is to eliminate what is attracting them. No honey pots, crumbs, sweet residue, none of it. I have solved a lot of problems just by telling the customer to get rid ot the sweets or keep it in the refrigerator. Sometimes they are attracted to the sinks in search of moisture. this is more difficult to manage, but eliminating wet sponges, dishrags, keeping the sinks dry. <br /><br />They were probably the most difficult pests we had to deal with. The rest were much easier. I would rather have had a roach job than an Odorous House Ant job. Good luck...
), you can get little poison traps at Lowes/Home Depot. Just put them close to the line, they will take the poison home and the trouble will end.