How can I get rid of Sugar Ants?!

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  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    Don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but you can use talcum powder. I read once that you should use scented, but I don't know if that really makes a difference. Loosely sprinkle some across the threshold and they'll stay out. We get ants really, really badly in the summer (it works really great if you can squeeze the bottle and get that sort of dispersed spray). We have our whole house sprinkled, lol. Around the fridge, bottoms of our cabinets (and actually in some cabinets), thresholds, etc. We get so many ants that we even have to mop our floor with a heavy dose of vinegar because the water/coolness draws them in.

    Oh, and I've heard good things about Terro (from people in my neighborhood), but you have to be willing to let the ants in to carry back the poision. And borax can work, but it is not pet safe. One option for things like that is to get a small plastic container with a lid, cut holes so the ants can get in, and put the borax mixture inside so the ants can get to it but the animals can't. Cinnamon never worked for me.
  • 7funnygirl7
    7funnygirl7 Posts: 1,176
    I've used cornmeal before. Living in the country we get everything!! YIKES!
  • LilacDreamer
    LilacDreamer Posts: 1,364 Member
    Terro pre-filled bait traps.

    I tried borax, cinnamon, bleaching everything, sprays, etc. This stuff is the only stuff that worked. I dealt with ants every spring until hot hot summer for 8 years in my house. I bought the outdoor traps and the indoor traps last year, put them outside in the places i thought they were coming in, and inside where I saw them and i haven't had any ants since!! All of the windows are open this year and NO ANTS!!

    Yup, i already recommended Terro on page 1. It's like crack for them. They party for few days and then no more annoying creepy ants.

    Nothing else really works for them put TERRO. :)
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
    i never had success with the traps.
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member

    Yup, i already recommended Terro on page 1. It's like crack for them. They party for few days and then no more annoying creepy ants.

    Nothing else really works for them put TERRO. :)

    Sorry missed your recommendation. I skimmed the page for Terro before I said anything, but doesn't hurt to have more than one recommendation because that stuff rocks! lol Oh BTW I don't worry about my cats or dogs getting into it because the liquid is pretty well contained in the outdoor traps and the indoor traps can be placed where the animals can't get to it.
  • petreebird
    petreebird Posts: 344 Member
    Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
  • NathanJ79
    NathanJ79 Posts: 36
    Terro is indeed good stuff. You want to put it on wax paper or something that won't absorb it, that you can afford to throw away. The packaging is wax-coated and it's assumed, I think, that you will cannibalize the packaging to provide Terro traps.

    As for what they did, trespassing and consuming resources. We don't trash up their nests, do we? Well, okay, humanity as a whole has displaced a lot of non-human life, but often we can't help it due to our position at/near the top of the food chain. It's like sharks aren't being malicious when they bite kids. Yeah it's sad but that's just what sharks do. They aren't out to get people, but if people get in their habitat, they are liable to bite. Likewise, if bugs come into my home, I am liable to exterminate them.

    It's not non-toxic, but Raid (some varieties?) are pet safe. I looked it up online. Apparently they use a nerve agent that basically sends insects into a seizure that kills them. It can make pets sick, but once exposed to the air, it breaks down in seconds. Probably won't do anything to a person, but damn they smell foul. I sprayed it on a roach once, the damn thing must have just eaten, because it completely lost it out both ends. That was a pain to clean up (and nasty). Usually it's much cleaner.
  • pumalama
    pumalama Posts: 140 Member
    Most of the tricks written in this tread will work well and I have used some of them successfully in the past, including diatomaceous earth (take food grade, just to be safer). Please try them before using chemical pesticides. Some people and animals react very badly to chemical exposure. Also, try to see if you can follow the ants to their destination in your house, you may find some open containers that once removed will give them less reasons to come visit you. Keep in mind that any method you will use may take a few days to be 100% effective. Good luck!
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
    Borax mixed with sugar.
  • SPBROOKS68
    SPBROOKS68 Posts: 561 Member
    I have 3 terro ant traps out on my counter and they are still coming - they are in my bathroom and everywhere - I am trying something else.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    I have 3 terro ant traps out on my counter and they are still coming - they are in my bathroom and everywhere - I am trying something else.

    Try the talcum powder! They come in from under our toilet! So we keep some sprinkled around it.

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