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For past week I've found 3 ants in my living room

42 replies

Itsmeagainandagain · 20/07/2021 22:04

Does that mean it's becoming an infestation or are they just randomly coming into my home and nothing to worry about

OP posts:
RubyGoat · 20/07/2021 22:10

We used to get ants, regularly, in our previous house. I put a line of ant killer powder down along the inside edge of the door to deter them. It didn't kill very many, but they soon discovered it wasn't somewhere they wanted to go. They stopped coming in. I used to sweep it up & renew it every couple of weeks, or when it got damp, etc.

HandlebarLadyTash · 20/07/2021 22:12

Ant traps are good, but mean.
And goes into trap collects poison returns hope & poisons his mates

HandlebarLadyTash · 20/07/2021 22:12

*home

PlasticDinosaur · 20/07/2021 22:15

Urgh we started off with one here and there and then suddenly it was like the carpet was made of ants Shock
I bought raid bait traps from Asda and shook some ant powder over the nest in the garden and they were gone in a couple days.

Bryonyshcmyony · 20/07/2021 22:17

Are they the same three? If so I'd welcome them and set up a little ant farm for them

longtompot · 20/07/2021 22:40

We had a few suddenly appear. Turns out my cat was walking through a nest behind my greenhouse and bringing them in. I just swept them up with a dustpan and brush and put them back outside. If you had an infestation, you'd see a line going from where they were coming in /out and what they were coming in to eat. We had them in the kitchen of our previous house, along the worktop, up the tiled wall and into the cupboard that had the jam.

Itsmeagainandagain · 20/07/2021 22:43

These were found in my living room.. I have my window open so assume they are coming in there... No where near food, just random, one on the wall another on the couch and another on the screen of the tv

OP posts:
Usual2usual · 20/07/2021 22:44

In my experience a few will lead to loads, they go out and 'scout' and as soon as they find something (and they will) you will get the whole load in.

Buy the traps mentioned above.

ShoppingBasket · 20/07/2021 22:48

Look near your floorboards and you might see a little bit of dust or something where they have been entering or exiting

Itsmeagainandagain · 20/07/2021 22:49

I'll buy ant powder tomorrow, and spritz the place.. As cruel as it is I hate bugs

OP posts:
Undersnatch · 20/07/2021 22:53

I had great success in a previous home with ants with a tip I read online to put a pile of honey or jam outside the home to lead them out there, worked a treat. In case you want to try a non cruel method first.

EcoCustard · 20/07/2021 22:56

It was flying Ant day on Sunday here, all the ants swarm and leave the colony over a few days. They move on to somewhere else. We had two nests in our back garden swarm and fly on Sunday, it’s a fantastic thing to watch.

ilikecheesecake · 20/07/2021 23:01

Not sure but few years ago I went on holiday, never had an issue with ants, came home to find the house infested! It was horrible! they'd made a trail under my kitchen cupboards, they were in the living room, loads had climbed to get in the fridge, but the fridge I had at the time was broken and left pools of water so there were loads of drowned ants that had got in it. It was Awful.

longtompot · 20/07/2021 23:13

@Itsmeagainandagain

I'll buy ant powder tomorrow, and spritz the place.. As cruel as it is I hate bugs
Just sweep them up, don't kill them :(
KillerFlamingo · 20/07/2021 23:20

Talcum powder is good, doesn't harm the ants but they dislike walking through it so will avoid. 🐜 🐜 🐜

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 20/07/2021 23:56

Another vote for the Raid ant traps
We used to have big issues with this every summer. They had big nests under the lawn which I poured boiling water on to not much avail. I used to put the powder down around the doors but it made a mess and I worried about the kids touching it and licking hands or something. Then I discovered those Raid traps and they work a treat and are clean and tidy. I have one by the front door and one at the back and, touch wood, no ants at all so far this year.

RubyGoat · 20/07/2021 23:56

@longtompot I didn't like it either but it was our kitchen they were invading, we kept finding them in the bin, taking tiny bits of stuff out... utterly hideous.

@KillerFlamingo I didn't know that about talcum powder, if we ever get them again I'll try that first. I don't like killing things, especially if it's just because they're inconvenient to me. I'd rather try a deterrent first.

Wish I could find a viable deterrent for the invasion of flies every summer. We live near farmland. And woodland. I swear I saw a horsefly earlier. Shock I've looked into screens but can't find any that would work with our windows.

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 20/07/2021 23:59

I'm afraid I can't get upset about killing ants. Only one step up from maggots in my view.

Bortles · 21/07/2021 01:07

The specificness of the title made me chuckle op. Made them seem like they had personality. They need names.

Peppermint oil and being diligent about crumbs will deter them.

Bargebill19 · 21/07/2021 01:11

Another vote for talcum powder. Works inside and out.
They can be brought inside via your own shoes etc if you don’t have pets. So might not be the start of an incursion.

80Dodgeballs · 21/07/2021 05:56

I put a line of chalk on my doorstep. They don't like walking through that either.

JazzerMcCreary · 21/07/2021 06:06

I could probably find three ants in my living room right now if I tied hard enough 🤷‍♀️

SpeakingFranglais · 21/07/2021 06:11

@EcoCustard

It was flying Ant day on Sunday here, all the ants swarm and leave the colony over a few days. They move on to somewhere else. We had two nests in our back garden swarm and fly on Sunday, it’s a fantastic thing to watch.
Yes here too!

My poor elderly mum is inundated with the things for a week or so every July.

The bastard big fat flyers erupt from the nest, mate, the males die and then they swarm off and leave. But for a week you are surrounded by them and have to close all the windows and doors.

wallpapering · 21/07/2021 06:19

I had same started with couple then all of sudden had vampire ants as only at night loads appeared but could find where coming from as they in middle of carpet.

Eventually found tiniest hole by front door, it was weird as for about week they would randomly appear no trail. Daily hoovering filled hole.

Get them all time in back garden but only where patio slabs which they have managed to push sand up inbetween slabs

PhilCornwall1 · 21/07/2021 06:23

It was flying Ant day on Sunday here,

Had that here yesterday in the kitchen , was like a bloody zeppelin!

I'm going to silicone the buggers in when I find them.

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