Ants! Advice Please

[pantherpinkers]

Hi. Every year I get ants coming into my ground floor flat. There is a communal garden outside.

I've been advised to regularly spray with crawling insect spray. I hate getting it on my hands as the spray bottle is crap. I have tried decanting it into another bottle but dropped loads on the kitchen floor.

I phoned a pest control company and they have said they could put bait down which would kill the ants for £45. I am hoping they can just put this in the nests outside rather than in my home.

Any advice please? Has anyone found the bait any good? I have also put vinegar on the window sill where I first saw them and the ants have still come back.

Do you know where the nests are? Any powder is quite effective and a lot cheaper than 45 quid, I'd try that before bringing in a professional. You can buy it in supermarkets and hardware stores. Squirt it around the nests and the ants will carry it in. Good luck, they can be tenacious little sods

Ant powder not any powder!

We had a similar problem and got some little ant bait stations from B and Q. I think they were about £3 for 2. They are small, no scent and seem to be doing the trick.

Can't seem to post a link but they are called Ant Stop - seems you can get them from Amazon too. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestion. Could I ask how you disposed of the ant baits? Can you just put them in the household rubbish? Thanks

Hi we have the same issue every summer in our new house. Last year I tried Nippon spray and powder - little effect. I also tried towards the end of ant season 🙄 the ant bait stations. As it was towards the end of the season I couldn't tell if they worked well or not. This year I have been ahead of the game the bait stations recommended that you put them down as soon as you see any signs. I put ours down in April as I spotted a couple of ants. I have put down more bait stations than recommended (so for example we have 2 in our hall where 1 would probably suffice) and (strongly touching wood here) we have seen only a couple since the stations have been down. They recommend you replace the stations every 3 months so if you do go with them make sure you replace them as needed. I have thrown them out in general waste but I do handle them wearing gloves. Good luck OP I feel your pain!

Thanks. I saw an ant yesterday and sprayed the entrance of my flat. I was thinking of putting a bait station on my window sill outside to prevent any more from coming in. I don't want to put any in the communal garden as people have pets.

I'm living in a static caravan whilst our home is renovated. Awoke last week to ants through out the food cupboard and all over the tiny kitchen top!

I bought a bottle of ant powder from tesco for £3. I only applied 2 puffs in the cupboard when I saw lots together. I had planned to clear out the cupboard, clean and then put some powder down.

To my complete surprise, the 2 puffs of powder have done the trick and we haven't had any since!!! FAR easier than removing traps or paying a 'professional' company to come in!

You want the bait stations. These have a poison that the ants take back to the nest. It kills the whole nest and you won't have dead ants in your house.

Just pop a plastic glove on and spray strong ant/bug killer around the inside and outside of your door.
I do this once a fortnight in summer as we get ants. Keeps them at bay.

Now to tackle the wasps.....

We had ants coming in when we moved in to our house and I got some ant powered from B&M, very cheap, and poured it in every place I thought they were coming in eg there were gaps between the worktop and tiles and I also put it in the drawers and cupboards I had found them in. That worked.

I also got some Nipon/nipin but the powder pretty much worked on its own.

Are the bait stations safe? I've got two toddlers, first floor flat and just this morning saw a line of the little buggers under my bay window radiator in the front room...! I've had the window of the bay open this week for the first time this year so thinking a few have got in that way, or found a place under... I can't seem to spot where they're coming in??

Dark grey carpet isn't helping!

Not sure where to start but dd1 in nursery this afternoon, gutting out the front room with dd2 in the the playpen but I really can't use powders or poison, plus first floor???

Help!

The black bait stations you can buy in Wilko are excellent - no mess, cheap and they really work. We came home from holiday to find an army of ants in the kitchen one year, and the bait got rid of them completely.

I've got an armchair in the corner by the window where it looks like their coming in, mys dds can't get behind it, is it safe/will it work if I put these stations behind it?

....I feel itchy....!

Ant powder is much better and more longer lasting than sprays. We also found it more effective than the bait stations.

I've put a bait station down, they seem to be going for it?? There's a few stragglers up the window that look a bit 'night of the living dead'....How long should it take to work??

I found the bait stations better than powder with kids and pets as it’s just a little bit of plastic with no mess. It’s grim but effective.

Apparently cucumber is supposed to work. Haven’t tried this tip yet, but google confirms it can work.

The bait station worked a treat! I think I caught them quick though and found the spot they seemed to be coming through so put it there, they went for it straight away, didn't spot any by the evening, left it down the next day but saw none, got rid of the station the day after and spotted none since (fingers crossed!)

Another vote for the bait stations. We used them each spring for a number of years but haven't had any ants for quite a while now.