[redraven]

Does anyone know a great way to get rid of ants? I have little bity ants... on my house, on my car, IN my car, in my shower, etc. They have little "holes" or tunnels in my back yard too. I have tried "Triazaphene" (sp?) but it is not working. HELP

[simoneaugie]

I got rid of my ants by putting Equal sweetner everywhere they went. Aspartame is poisonous to them, yet tastes like sugar.

[ballengerb1]

Terro makes an ant killer that works well for me. It's a bait that the workers carry back to the colony and it kills the queen. Ant Problem? Terro = Ant Control Solutions I don't want to rain on Simons idea because I once believed it to be true. Turns out it's a myth or legend with no fact to it, sorry Simon. snopes.com: Aspartame as Ant Poison

[esquire1]

I misspelled Should be Terro, not Toro

[ballengerb1]

That's Otay Doug, I misspell things tooo. I think someone may have seen diatomaceous earth being used to kill bugs and thought it was sweetener. That may have started a rumor. DE is commonly used for swimming pool filters but it does kill bugs too. Diatomaceous Earth Insect Killer

[esquire1]

Ball, where the heck is mowerman? Haven't heard from him in forever.

[ballengerb1]

Probably making money working. I haven't seen him except a brief show now and then. I'll send him a Pm and see what's up.

[chris0101]

Here's some information on ants and ant control.

Carpenter Ant Control and Extermination Services

[twinkiedooter]

If you think that aspertame is not ant poison or insecticide then why do a lot of foreign countries use aspertame as insecticide? A friend of mine used to transport this chemical for the specific use as a pesticide in a foreign land.

[ShadyLady]

This is the cheapest and most effective ant killer I use, and it also works on cockroaches.
Buy some powdered boric acid at the store or pharmacy. It is not harmful to humans but when the bugs eat it they dehydrate.

For ants, dissolve about 2 Tablespoons of boric acid with 6 Tablespoons of sugar in the blender to make a fine powder. Place on plastic lids where ants come in. They will take it back to the colony. If necessary. Mix with enough water to make a thin syrup.

For roaches, put about 1 cup of instant mashed potato flakes in the blender and add about 3 T of boric acid and 1 teaspoon onion powder. Blend to a fine powder. Sprinkle in cupboards
And wherever else you have seen a cockroach. (They like potatoes and onions)

I was an apartment manager and had to get rid of many types of bugs, including the tenant-type. I didn't like using poisons and other expensive chemicals. Exterminators were expensive and not always successful.

In fact if you read the labels, boric acid is the main ingredient in many of the bug powders you find on the market. This can even be used in the garden.

[bm4nny]

It is usually best to poison the ants with baits rather than using pesticide sprays, which can make the problem worse.

An effective and inexpensive ant bait is boric acid mixed with peanut butter for protein and fat eating ants or mixed with brown sugar, jelly or jam for sweet eating ants. I suggest using only 2-5 percent boric acid in the mixture to keep the bait attractive to the ants.

Even though boric acid is not very poisonous,to mammals It is best to put the boric acid mixture in small sturdy tubes or pipes to keep it from kids and pets and make it less messy.

Note that it is probably not strictly legal to use boric acid in this way since it is not in complete compliance with the pesticide label
But probably no-one would question it being done by a home owner.

[envirocare]

Depending on how many colonies are around your home, the boric acid won't do too much. You may just need to call in a professional. There are green options they can implement that are effective and only require some additional visits verse conventional chemicals.