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Ants inside... Please help!

11 replies

GreenFruitGum · 23/04/2017 22:53

Just moved cities for my lovely DH's job (another story) last month. The house is amazing, twice the size of our old one for only a little extra (old landlord was trying to increase the rent from 800 -> 1500 ok never mind, again, another story).

Anyway! About 3 weeks ago, I noticed one one end of our couch there were ants! Not alot mind you. Maybe 1 - 2 a day. But I could never see where they were coming from. Little buggers.

About 3 days later, I see a teeny tiny crevice beside the frame of the kitchen door with a good few. I swet em up and dumped them out the front door. Google-fu'd as much as possible and decided that the bait traps were best. Went out. Bought the ones suggested. They ignored them day 1. Went in day 2 and ate (? we think) and since then ignored it. It was down for 14 days (4 days longer than recommended) and refilled every day.

I tried everything else. Cayenne pepper. Cinnamon. Windex. Lemon Juice. Vinegar. Lemon and water. Vinegar and water. There has been 2 instances a naughty child has left some food on the counter and there was a stead line from another hole (which was in the sitting room and baited too!) to the kitchen counter.

I've lost the plot yesterday. We got Doff Ant Powder (I think the traps were Nippon?) and I shoved it in every crevice. I have seen about 2 ants since then, they were both writhing near the hole in the kitchen.

I am hoping this is it. But I don't hold my breath. Can anyone give me a sure fire way to get rid of these buggers? I know in my head, they're not dirty. They don't carry disease. They are just insects. They certainly don't scare me. I just don't want to share my home with them!

OP posts:
ImperialBlether · 23/04/2017 22:56

This is what you want.

I bought it for my mum in B&Q - it was about a fiver for two traps. She had ants in her kitchen and cupboards/counters but we couldn't see where they were coming in. We put a box outside the back door and didn't see another ant. Miraculous!

GreenFruitGum · 23/04/2017 22:58

Just didn't work for us. I wish it did. I willed it to work. But here I am. Resorting to this chalky toxic powder I didn't want to use.

OP posts:
tissuesosoft · 23/04/2017 23:02

If you're renting then your landlord should contact a pest company, they can put a glue down to prevent ants

UrsulaPandress · 23/04/2017 23:04

We've got ants. No idea where they are coming from.

Do they do any harm?

GreenFruitGum · 23/04/2017 23:13

@tissuesosoft We will contact the landlord, but he is a pain in the arse tbh, he cuts corners on cutting corners.

OP posts:
GreenFruitGum · 23/04/2017 23:14

@UrsulaPandress Oh of course! I know, I just would prefer if they paid rent!

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PigletJohn · 24/04/2017 00:51

Nippon liquid. Drip a bit onto a coin (so it isn't absorbed) and place it where they walk. You will observe them clustering round it to take it back to the nest and share round. Top it up daily. Within a week they will be gone.

You can push the coins under the cooker, kitchen units, etc to prevent anyone touching them.

It washes away in water so if used outdoors replenish after rain.

In come in a tube like a miniature toothpaste.

It is much more effective than powders or sprays. A tube will last you seven years.
www.robertdyas.co.uk/nippon-ant-killer-liquid-30ml

lottieandmia · 24/04/2017 01:01

I've got ants too this year - we've never had them before. I'm afraid to put anything down in case my lovely but daffy ragdoll cats eat it - they tend to eat things they shouldn't.

notborntothemanor · 24/04/2017 03:43

In a previous house, we had ants, and tried everything. In the end, paid a pest company to come out and it was pricey, but no more ants. Apparently we had some kind of not ordinary ants and these are getting more common. If I had known that I wouldn't have dropped fifty quid and a month's time trying to get rid of them on my own.

MsMims · 24/04/2017 08:49

Dethlac. One application was enough and its pet & child safe once dry.

tissuesosoft · 24/04/2017 09:58

If the landlord is being an arse- maybe get a pest control company round and deduct the amount from your rent. We've got ant infestations, woodlice etc (live in greater London). It's horrible!

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