ANT problem

[Anya2012]

Been living in my flat two years with no problem and we got a new kitten in November with underfloor heating. This last few weeks have been seeing ants coming in , first only in the corridor , but after a while some now in the kitchen. So we thought they were coming from the corridor, so we put ant powder down by the door. This seemed to really help for a few days. We are always clean and tidy. However this is now driving me insane, I had to just kill about 10 ants in the kitchen, was going to make some pasta, but can't face it anymore.
Does anyone have any advice of what I can spray on the counter to deter them? We have put ant powder behind the skirting (although my husband said he didn't see any ants there) I have turned the underfloor heating off incase they're attracted the warmth.
I have a pest control man coming next week to put some bait down , to try and kill off a possible nest but next weekend I have people coming over for my birthday - I really don't want them to see any ants crawling around my new kitchen! Any help with regards to how I can deter them before the pest control man comes - he said that it could take 5-6 weeks to get rid of the problem (and it gets worse before it gets better) :(

Just so you know we have tried putting vinegar on the counter, tea tree oil and baking powder- these don't seem to be helping.

My husband swears by fairy liquid in water, poured around the outside of the house. We've had them a couple of times and he's done that. Simultaneously however, I've bought these little bait stations. The worker ants are attracted to it and bring the "food" back to the nest which then kills the rest.
Between the two they are gone in a couple of days.

Get some Nippon (garden centres usually sell it). They take it back to the nest and kill everyone.

I’ve had ants a couple of times. It’s quite easy to get rid of them so don’t panic. If you’ve only killed 10 of them you really don’t have a huge problem.

You need to find out where they are getting into the kitchen and corridor. They will be coming from one tiny hole somewhere.

So you need to watch them for about 10 minutes as they always go back to their nest.
Once you’ve found it, I just put a mound of salt to cover the hole. The salt kills them and the rest of the ants in the nest.

Hi clareB83 is the nippon a permanent treatment? I did the salt thing on the surfaces and it seemed to be working, but now we’ve seen like 50 in one cupboard - and there isn’t even any food in there!! This is so depressing. We keep the place spotless and these ants are making me feel ill.

They seemed to be coming from all over the place , small tiny cracks and holes - but I live in a Victorian converted flat from 1890, so it’s hard to cover every single crack in the wall.

Anymore advice would be much appreciated. I’m losing my marbles, and the ant situation is putting me off eating.

Try cinnamon just sprinkle it around into the area they are coming from.

Don’t kill them! The dead ants omit a smell to the others and the other ants will follow it to collect to bodies of the dead to take back to the nest, so more and more will come. The peppermint, vinegar and bleach will work if you keep cleaning down the surfaces. The ants follow each other by smell and these thing disrupt the smell and they should stop coming in. You could also try putting some sugar outside, if you find the nest to keep them outside.

I'd second Ant Stop. I use it every year and the ants are gone within 24 hours.

Yes the Nippon is permanent as it should kill the nest.

Last time I used it we had a hoard marching in under the front door. I put some along the threshold and skirting and within a day or so they were all dead. Haven't come back and it's been about a year.

We get ants most summers - the Nippon bait traps usually get rid of them within a few days. It is frustrating though - they work best if you don't kill the ants you see and allow them to carry the bait back to the nest.

I tend to use the nippon tubes of gel as then you can apply it directly to the path they are already using.

In the garden I'll use traps near plants that are being attacked esp if I can't locate the nest to destroy it directly.