20 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

Just curious how talcum powder works?  I mean, does it effect the colony or just the ant coming in contact with it?

Perhaps it's the wonderous perfume !

 

Irrespective of the kind and size of the ant I sprinkle / puff ( powder that is ) over the ants that are in or coming in to the house.    This can be at floor level, coming down from the ceiling or wherever they are interested in.     I also try to trace their home and sprinkle powder there too.
The ants turn back and do not come back in.    Very occassionaly they will return but a simple reminder turns them away quickly.   A light puff and they have gone.
You can leave the powder in situ or after at some time just brush away.
Unfortunately a few do die but it does not kill the colony, as far as I am aware even though ants have a dusting of powder they often don't seem to die.

 

Ants have a purpose in life and if it is not necessary to kill them all why do it.

At 20 baht it's worth a try and any perfume seems to work.    Importantly it is not poisonous to others, human or animal.
 

2 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

Perhaps it's the wonderous perfume !

 

Irrespective of the kind and size of the ant I sprinkle / puff ( powder that is ) over the ants that are in or coming in to the house.    This can be at floor level, coming down from the ceiling or wherever they are interested in.     I also try to trace their home and sprinkle powder there too.
The ants turn back and do not come back in.    Very occassionaly they will return but a simple reminder turns them away quickly.   A light puff and they have gone.
You can leave the powder in situ or after at some time just brush away.
Unfortunately a few do die but it does not kill the colony, as far as I am aware even though ants have a dusting of powder they often don't seem to die.

 

Ants have a purpose in life and if it is not necessary to kill them all why do it.

At 20 baht it's worth a try and any perfume seems to work.    Importantly it is not poisonous to others, human or animal.
 

Sorry but i disagree.  The only way to be free of an ant infestation is to kill the colony.  Merely deterring them from one path will only cause them to find another.  I think the world's ecosystem will survive in spite of killing a colony.  Sorry if that sounds harsh, but finding those little critters in food containers or crawling on you when you're in bed is just annoying as hell. 

3 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

Sorry but i disagree.  The only way to be free of an ant infestation is to kill the colony.  Merely deterring them from one path will only cause them to find another.  I think the world's ecosystem will survive in spite of killing a colony.  Sorry if that sounds harsh, but finding those little critters in food containers or crawling on you when you're in bed is just annoying as hell. 

Some places have more and different kinds of ants, perhaps I could agree to say "Use only what is needed to remove the infestation, if talc is enough ok, if it isn't then find something that works in as limited a way as possible".
I've had ants in the bed but found the reason why and didn't need to kill the colony.
I've also had a very large centipede in the bed that bit me on the foot and lower leg, luckily not higher, never felt pain like that before, I am afraid I did kill it.

1 hour ago, Speedo1968 said:

Some places have more and different kinds of ants, perhaps I could agree to say "Use only what is needed to remove the infestation, if talc is enough ok, if it isn't then find something that works in as limited a way as possible".
I've had ants in the bed but found the reason why and didn't need to kill the colony.
I've also had a very large centipede in the bed that bit me on the foot and lower leg, luckily not higher, never felt pain like that before, I am afraid I did kill it.

I guess you have a point but expedience is more to my liking.  Ants can really be a nuisance if you don't deal with them aggressively from the start.  When I lived in the States I had an infestation in my condo that got so bad I had to have an electrician in to fix/replace electrical outlets and switches in my walls that they had damaged (attracted by the warmth I guess). I just hate those little f*ckers! LOL

Edited July 24, 20205 yr by WaveHunter

Cheap old borax. They'll take it straight to the queen.