Yakoob on 3/9/2012 at 00:29
Ungh I'm so sick of those small little black bastards crawling all over my room! Leaving anything sweet anywhere will instantly make them trek halfway through the room just to get to it, and I just found they've been crawling all over my laundry because I guess I probably dropped a few crumbs on my shirt. But even when I am clean or not eat in my room, I still have moments where I'm sitting at the comp and feel something weird on my arm, only to realize the whole desk/wall/bed/etc. is crawling with them.
I haven't had much luck figuring out where they are coming from, aside from two cracks near the ceiling. My roommate gave me some anti-ant boric acid (some white powder crap) but Im not so sure about it's effectiveness. I literally doused certain areas with it (like near cracks / around my desk legs / etc.) which seems to work for a few days, and then they are back.
Anyone has any good solutions aside from "fumigate your house?" I'm googling this now too, but they're driving me batshit insane.
Azaran on 3/9/2012 at 00:36
There's some stuff you can get that they carry back to their nests, and it kills the whole colony. I used that years ago and it worked (only took about a week, and they were gone), but I don't remember what it's called.
smallfry on 3/9/2012 at 03:01
My old house was pretty infested with ants. I tried 2 different kinds of traps (both were the ones where the ants bring back poison to the hive): the one with peanut butter crumbs and the one that uses liquid syrupy stuff. These particular ants (they were really small, and when you crushed one it smelled like magic marker) didn't touch the dry stuff but LOVED the wet stuff. I don't think the traps made much of a dent in the sizable colonies living in the floor, walls, and ceilings, but they did keep them busy and away from kitchen counters.
Good luck.
Volitions Advocate on 3/9/2012 at 03:48
There's an old wives tale that ant's can't digest corn but are too dumb not to eat it. Thus crushed corn flakes can kill ant colonies. I've never tried it myself, it may just be bullshit.
A friend told me he's sprinkle black gun powder around their mound so that they'd use it like dirt and build their homes out of it.... you get where that is going, although probably useless for your situation.
I'm not very helpful.
faetal on 3/9/2012 at 09:37
Quote Posted by Azaran
There's some stuff you can get that they carry back to their nests, and it kills the whole colony. I used that years ago and it worked (only took about a week, and they were gone), but I don't remember what it's called.
(
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Defence-Stop-Bait-Station/dp/B00187TTK6) POW!
Put one of these down where you see them most and I guarantee you that after a week you will not be seeing them again.
You can read my ant infestation experience from earlier in the spring (
http://wr0ng1.posterous.com/) HERE, to get an idea of how quickly they worked as the infestation occurred.
Scots Taffer on 3/9/2012 at 10:45
Ant-rid, a brand of the syrupy stuff, we have over here is pretty effective for the little fuckers.
LarryG on 3/9/2012 at 10:55
Quote Posted by Yakoob
... Leaving anything sweet anywhere will instantly make them trek halfway through the room just to get to it, and I just found they've been crawling all over my laundry because I guess I probably dropped a few crumbs on my shirt. ...
1. Listen to yourself: if you leave food around you get ants and other scavengers. So clean up your act. Unfortunately once you have established in the ants' little minds that there is food to be found in your room(s), they will continue to come looking for it until they lose the habit. A thorough scrubbing of everything, walls , floors, baseboard, ceiling, everything is called for. Pick up dirty clothes and store them in a hamper or bag between cleanings. The better you clean, the faster they will give up and go away. Put all food stuffs into plastic bags that they can't get into. Also soapy water acts in four ways to kill insect and mite pests. First, soaps may penetrate through the fatty acids present in the insects' outer covering (cuticle) thus dissolving or disrupting cell membrane integrity. This causes cells to leak and collapse, destroying respiratory functions, and resulting in dehydration and death. Second, soaps might act as insect growth regulators interfering with cellular metabolism and the production of growth hormones during metamorphosis (change in form). Third, it has been proposed that soaps block the spiracles (breathing pores), interfering with respiration. Finally, soaps may uncouple oxidative phosphorylation or inhibit the production of adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP).
2. If you can't bear to clean, live with them. Think of them as cheap (free) housemaids who come in to clean up your messes for you. It's not as though they are seriously troublesome.
3. Regular applications of baits and insecticides. But until you start cleaning better, they will keep coming back regardless. So you'll just be committing to poisoning your own environment forever.
Sorry. But that's just how it is.
faetal on 3/9/2012 at 11:32
Larry, might I suggest you persuade him by withholding his allowance for 2 weeks?
Dia on 3/9/2012 at 12:46
There are different types of indoor insecticides (sprays, gels, etc.) which last for a long time (as in weeks). Spectracide Bug Stop is one and it really does work! I had a serious ant problem in my house (those tiny, tiny little sugar ants), used this once about two weeks ago, and haven't seen a single ant since then. It only takes about 15 mins. to dry, after which it's perfectly safe if there are kids/pets in your home.
(
http://www.spectracide.com/Products-and-Solutions/Categories/Insects.aspx)
faetal on 3/9/2012 at 12:58
Seriously, if you use the stuff I linked to, they will be gone in days.
