Help me, I have ants in the utility room

[afaloren]

As above. They mostly seemed to be by the bin which I have just changed and washed. I think they’re getting in under the door which opens to outside.

I’m worried they’re going to get into the kitchen and the rest of the house; what’s the best plan of action please? Ant powder? I don’t really like to kill bugs but they can’t live in my house!

I've had this happen in 2 different houses, not sure why but was both when I had just moved in.

Ant traps by the source/hole/area they are appearing from and one outside near to where they seem to be going in.

They were gone within 2 days and never had a problem again.

They don’t like peppermint so you could put peppermint oil or cotton wool with it on along the entrance.

you want to get a systemic ant poison - one of the ones that is a little pot of syrup that they take back to the nest and it kills the whole nest. peppermint and powders don't do much.

I recently used Ant Stop bait stations and they did the job. Took a little while to work.

There must be nest. You'll see them travelling back and forth from a certain area. Probably outside. I know you can get ant powders and stuff.

We had them nesting in the bit outside the front door under the concrete. I used to put boiling kettle water and bleach and washing up liquid on there and it stopped. Maybe that's cruel but it was quick and easy.

I don’t like killing bugs particularly, and we had the same problem last week

i had a roll of foam stuff on a tape (from places like home bargains) that you use to stop draughts. I put some on the other side of my door to stop them going under. We sealed up some other places they were coming in. We cleaned thoroughly (apparently white vinegar is good for killing the pheromone path they follow to the food) and we removed all food sources.

my husband did squish a load that came in but he’s more cruel than me.

they stopped coming in completely within a day or two and then the weather turned cooler which helped

I was really careful with my kids dropping food too (main culprit) and leaving ice lolly sticks etc in the garden

Ant powder worked better for us than the bait stations.

We have pets so for us the stations were safer.

Ant bait stations

I don’t like killing bugs either but this is a needs must scenario unfortunately :( we have a spray which kills them pretty much instantly and stops them coming back if you spray all around the entry point

https://amzn.eu/d/01o7lDe8

I got back from holiday and found ants in my home. Ant powder at the entrances did the trick.

Ant poison boxes. They take the poison back to the nest and kill it from within.

Bait stations.

But they'll be finishing up next month/aug when the young queens take off to make their own nests.

We found the bait stations did brilliantly, especially if you can find where they are getting into the house and put them nearby:

amzn.eu/d/0czmEHim

We also get them in the utility, coming in the gaps under the back door. I used to ignore them but I found them all over the worktop one day so I got some bait stations and put one under the washing machine which is next to the back door, for a day there was a line of ants going to and from the station but the next day they were all gone. They've come back twice since but each time I just put a new bait station under the washing machine and it stops them again. It's important not to clean where they're walking when going to and from the bait station as they make a trail that other ants follow. I honestly don't care if they're in the garden, I just don't want them in the house. Good luck!

Thank you all so much! I will order some bait stations now. I didn’t know the powder was dangerous for pets. They don’t really go in the utility room but just in case.

Thank you all again; I really appreciate it! Especially the links.

I use Raid. Need to use it outside too. Never clocked on!