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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Help! Ants have invaded my flat!

25 replies

me23 · 06/06/2006 08:37

How do I get rid of them? they are in the hall and bathroom and have started migrating to the kitchen.
How do I get them out and keep them out?
Thanks.

OP posts:

Tex111 · 06/06/2006 08:38

Nippon Ant poison. It takes about ten days but it's the only thing that works IMO.

Original poster

me23 · 06/06/2006 08:47

Thanks tex111, where do I buy it?

OP posts:

Tex111 · 06/06/2006 19:55

Any hardware store should have it. It's a gel that you put out about twice a day. The ants take it back to the queen. Once the queen dies the ants go away. Good luck! They are a right pain.

jellyjelly · 07/06/2006 09:03

It is the only thing i have found that works. Make sure you really clean and sweep the floors. We get them nesting in our porch (I do wash the floors lots but with kids who know where biscuit crumbs go.

sallycinnamon · 13/06/2006 09:02

I sympathise me23. I came downstairs to find about 30 scurrying all over the work surfaces in the kitchen. Yuk! Just disgusting. Off to get Nipon this morning

warthog · 13/06/2006 21:37

they come in cos it's so dry so they're desperate for food - not enough outside. for a more eco-friendly way, try leaving sprigs of mint around. they don't like it. at least that used to work for me.

jstbcs · 13/06/2006 22:28

try those little RAID houses if u hav elittlein's about, its better than powder lying about.. also u can get foam that u spray and disappears afterwards, also very good

foxinsocks · 17/06/2006 18:52

how are the ants everyone?

I've been out the whole day (went out v early) and was just thinking this morning how the ants seemed to have disappeared but when I came back, practically every room downstairs has been invaded

The kids dropped some ice cream last night which I didn't spot and now it looks like we have our own colony. I even have them crawling on my feet while I'm on here

So I'm trying that Nippon liquid stuff tex and jelly have recommended. Anyone having any luck getting rid of them?

calvemjoe · 17/06/2006 19:38

The raid foam, that you spray in to cracks that they come out of, is the only way I managed to get rid of them in my house. We had 2 nests on internal walls and with a toddler we were limited to what we could use. Found the ant traps and nippon gel useless this time round (they have woked well in the past) but the foam was fantastic.

foxinsocks · 17/06/2006 19:43

thanks for that...one of the problems is that we leave the back door open (and sometimes the front aswell) to get a draft through the house and the little buggers come in while we do that!

I will go and look for that foam tomorrow because I have noticed them coming through the hole where the aerial comes in.

littlerach · 17/06/2006 19:49

Lines of salt re supposed to detract them.
Suppose you could pout a line of salt at the back door, and then see if that stops them.

foxinsocks · 17/06/2006 19:52

I'll put the Nippon out tonight (it says evening is the best time). Sounds v toxic so hopefully, it'll kill them off

we have a slug issue aswell so lots of lines of salt about - it bothers the ants for a bit and then they just go through it

foxinsocks · 17/06/2006 19:52

thanks though!

SSSandy · 19/06/2006 09:00

We have ants in dd's bedroom . I was told to put baking powder on the floor but you have to sprinkle it the entire length of the ant path. Wondering if it will work?

I was also advised to get some kind of ant trap. No idea what that looks like from Delia. Apparently it is effective and not dangerous for children. I can't sprinkle ant poison along her bedroom floor.

Original poster

me23 · 19/06/2006 09:29

I noticied last week a decrease in the amount of ant, I'm using the raid ant nests, but the ants are still here, in the hall and kitchen mainly. Think I'll have to try the foam.

OP posts:

SSSandy · 19/06/2006 09:32

Think I'd best go out and buy something more drastic than baking powder then

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 19/06/2006 09:37

We use ANT STOP!, its a spray that is safe for children and pets, got it in B&Q last year.

ANT STOP! protects your home from ants and other crawling pests for up to 3 months. As well as controlling pests directly with the spray, it leaves an invisible barrier of protection around your home. When pests cross this barrier, they carry away microcapsules of ANT STOP! which kill them by contact and ingestion.

That is whats written on the back!!!

SSSandy · 19/06/2006 10:26

it almost makes you feel sorry for the critters...

foxinsocks · 19/06/2006 13:38

lol

we are having much success with the Nippon liquid stuff. I've put it out every night since Saturday and there are definitely less of them about. They seem to love it aswell and spend hours drinking it (little do they know!). I need to keep doing it till they've disappeared.

I've found that Raid stuff but apart from the front/back door, at the moment, I can't see anywhere else they are coming in (thought it was the aerial hole but didn't see them when I had a closer look) so I probably need to move some furniture to find any holes.

SSandy, see if you can see where they are getting in. Me, glad your ants are going (perhaps they've found another house to inhabit)!

sandradee · 19/06/2006 13:39

Can you find the source of the nest? When we lived in Africa we used to pour boling water on the nests and that killed them off.

foxinsocks · 19/06/2006 13:45

I've looked but there are millions of the darned things all up and down our street. Think the nests must be below ground.

I feel a bit bad, poor ants. One of the most effective ways of getting rid of them is to put down sticky strips (you can buy them) where they are getting into the house (and then they don't bother) but I just couldn't find out exactly where ours were coming in otherwise I would have done that.

sandradee · 19/06/2006 13:50

FIS if they are coming into the house it means there is usually just one nest that they will be coming from. We used to watch them by laying out bait such as some oranges or something sweet and see them marching in.

jenk1 · 20/06/2006 12:13

we have an ant nest in the chimney breast behind the fire, they come from underneath the fire, we cant put any spray or foam there as its too near to the naked flame.

Every year we get hundreds of big ants that drop out of the hole underneath the fire and crawl all over the show, its like a horror movie and usually results in me freaking and sitting outside while DH and DS sort it out!!!!

Any suggestions would be welcome, foam and spray are a no no and we have tried the powder and that doesnt do anything.

foxinsocks · 20/06/2006 16:11

jenk, what about this nippon liquid stuff (like a gel)? It comes in a tiny tube and you only put out a few patches every night. You can wipe them clean in the morning and put more out every evening till the ants are gone.

jenk1 · 20/06/2006 18:33

thanks ill give that a go

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