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Original poster

Anyone know how to get rid of ants??

29 replies

Tex111 · 10/04/2004 13:52

We've got a real ant problem in our kitchen. I've tried Nippon poison which was highly recomended on the web but it doesn't seem to be working. we've been using it for two weeks but the ants seem to be worse. Anyone got any tips?

OP posts:
gothicmama · 10/04/2004 13:55

Find out where they ar coming in from and block the hole

papillon · 10/04/2004 14:09

We used alcohol spirits (the cleaning variety) on the places where they came out of... they did not seem to like that.

littlemissbossy · 10/04/2004 14:09

a neighbour runs a pest control company (yuk!) - i thought he might come in handy one day - i'll ask him and get back to you

Freckle · 10/04/2004 16:47

Apparently they don't like talcum powder either. You could try putting that down where they seem to be coming in.

iota · 10/04/2004 17:25

There's a recent thread on Ants with lots of tips - last post Sun 4th April - sorry can't do links

papillon · 10/04/2004 17:31

another ant thread

Flip · 10/04/2004 18:31

I gave up trying to get rid of them a long time ago. The entire housing estate is built on an ant hill so we just get on with it. If you picture the Tom & Jerry cartoons with the marching ants back and forth from their prize, that's our kitchen. My dad left a can of coke on the side in there overnight while we were at the hospital with ds2. It was black when I went in the next day and when I tipped it down the sink a ball of ant's fell out. I filled it up and shook it and emptied it down the sink over and over and they were still coming out. I must have killed a good couple of hundred that morning. I find drowning them works best. I've taken to putting a blob of jam in the bottom of the dishwasher and then leaving the door open. I run it first thing in the morning when it's crawling with them.

Original poster
Tex111 · 11/04/2004 08:21

Thanks! I had a look at the other thread on ants. I can't believe how many people are having trouble with ants already this year. I think we'll persevere with the Nippon and if that doesn't work, we'll call the council.

OP posts:
fairydust · 11/04/2004 13:28

we're using a powder from wilko's called ANT DESTROYER POWDER and it's worked in ourt kitchen as when we moved in there were loads

HTH

popsycal · 11/04/2004 13:29

found 3 this morning
getting my 3 different ant remedies out again tonight

trude · 16/04/2004 22:44

my nan swears by raw onion to make the ants go elsewhere!!!

CountessDracula · 16/04/2004 22:45

call in the ant man

Flip · 16/04/2004 22:47

Stop it raining. We only get invaded when it rains.

StripyMouse · 16/04/2004 22:58

Interesting that someone else is not having much success with Nippon. I am sick and tired of putting Nippon down at night, the little beggars lapping it up and just keep coming back for more. I swear it is pure glucose and I am just feeding them up. Perhaps my ants are a mutant strain with a developed tolerance for Nippon...
A friedn told me that the Coucnil will send someone out for £30 and treat the house. If they come back within 6 months they will come out again for free. If I don?t get on top of this problem soon I think I will have to call them out.

Flip · 16/04/2004 23:05

Okay Stripymouse I'll let you into my secret and believe me we are infested with the little blighters. I even offer then cereal for breakfast in the morning now. They're one of the family.

We put down strips of duck tape. It's very very sticky and we lay it across their paths. I tried sugar but that didn't work but coke was like a magnet. So I poured a few dots of coke on the strips and the following morning we had loads of them all stuck to the strips of tape. Only problem is, the more you dispose of the more that come out looking for the lost ones. They even carry off their dead if you don't remove the bodies.

marthamoo · 17/04/2004 08:06

My kitchen cupboards are already empty after getting back from a week away and finding the ants had moved in. This morning I came downstairs to find a column of the little buggers advancing across the kitchen floor, when I followed them I found that they were heading for...the dishwasher. I opened the door and my dishwasher is full of ants. I want to cry. I want to move house. We have had this problem since we moved here 3 years ago but it has never been this bad before.

What are ants for? Do they actually serve any useful purpose? Can't they all be sterilized or something? Or shot?

charliecat · 17/04/2004 08:24

Boiling water if they are nesting outside then coming in, thats worked for me. Pouring a kettle full on the nest then blocking up whereever they are coming in from, I used no more nails to bung up the hole at my front door.

JemimaBobbins · 17/04/2004 08:44

We had ants every year at this time of year until I started putting down those little plastic things - Raid Ant Bait. They cost about £3 for two in the supermarket. They cleared up pretty quickly the first time and I've bought new ones every year and not seen any sign of an ant!!

marthamoo · 17/04/2004 09:03

I don't know where they are coming in, or where the nest is (we have UPVC double glazing and doors and solid floors - ie., no cellar). And I think ours are SuperAnts as those little Raid igloo type traps don't seem to make an impact at all.

I have just taken the plinths off the kitchen units and am about to do battle....wish me luck.

Flip · 17/04/2004 09:49

Good luck marthamoo. I'm thinking of you.

Don't forget to run the dishwasher on a boil setting to kill the ones trapped inside.

marthamoo · 17/04/2004 09:52

Thanks flip, I haven't started yet, too busy flitting about on MN! Yes, I will boil wash the little blighters, no eco-wash for them!!

StripyMouse · 17/04/2004 09:57

good luck marthamoo - let us know how you get on with the dishwasher - how horrible for you, I am shivering in horror for you right now.
Flip - love the duck tape idea, will give it a go as I am quickly losing the battle. They are all over the house so my mission today is to find exactly where they are coming from. I suspect several nests (all downstairs). I think we have a roll of parcel tape knocking around and some lemonade so will starting taping around and see which of the downstairs rooms attract the most. I was getting a nice column of marching ants from one location but now they all seem random wanderers in all three reception rooms, the utility room and the kitchen AAAAGH.
Ok, I have now got a grip and am off to do battle

GeorginaA · 17/04/2004 10:00

Touch wood ... Nippon eventually seemed to do the trick here but after a much longer time period than was implied on the packet. I hesitate to write this because I may be tempting fate, but we haven't seen an ant inside for about a week now...

charliecat · 17/04/2004 10:04

Look under your front + back door, like under the step bit, thats where mine come in back and front.

popsycal · 17/04/2004 10:52

ditto what geaorgina said...

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