Ants in my kettle??!!

[ChaiyaTH]

During raining season when temperatures drop, ants tend to look for warmer spots. They likely were thinking about a hot spring that day.

[Angus55]

On 6/14/2024 at 1:06 PM, fredwiggy said:

Fighting ants here is a daily occurrence, no matter how clean your house is kept. They can find the tiniest speck of food and home in on it. I keep the ant baits handy and use vinegar when I see a trail. It kills them and  cuts off the access trail. I also find them in the coffee pot, which is only used for water, and is less than a meter from the sink, so that is weird. I hear peppermint oil works also if you're not wanting to use traditional insecticides. I'll find a trail in the back next to the house, and use the ant baits. They bring it to the queen, and the mound dies. Then a few days later, I'll find another trail in the front, and repeat. Nothing much you can do but remove them as you find them, and try to keep your house as clean as possible. A mouse can get under a door or in a hole the size of a quarter, so imagine what an ant can do.

You think you can kill anything you like as long as it inconveniences you ?

[fredwiggy]

9 minutes ago, Angus55 said:

You think you can kill anything you like as long as it inconveniences you ?

Of course. Some things on earth are in quantities that only cause humans pain and suffering , much more than they are worth. Ticks,  gnats, mosquitoes, black flies, fleas, some snakes, child molesters, land developers, centipedes that pinch, corrupt officials, flies, narcissists, certain ants, box jellyfish, viruses and more. They don't need to be totally eradicated, but lowered to a level that doesn't cause people undue harm.

[DTL2014]

perrenial problem kettle and coffee machine - they get into the "clean water" for brushing your teeth too(if u leave a glass by the sink)..guess they just need water..geckos are great - but that little bit of poo u keep finding is annoying!

 

[Angus55]

19 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Of course. Some things on earth are in quantities that only cause humans pain and suffering , much more than they are worth. Ticks,  gnats, mosquitoes, black flies, fleas, some snakes, child molesters, land developers, centipedes that pinch, corrupt officials, flies, narcissists, certain ants, box jellyfish, viruses and more. They don't need to be totally eradicated, but lowered to a level that doesn't cause people undue harm.

I thought so. Sicko. 

[fredwiggy]

2 hours ago, Angus55 said:

I thought so. Sicko. 

It's actually how most people think, but some aren't willing to let on. Wanting things around that hurt others is sicko.

[Angus55]

u  to see a shrink, sick bastard

[ColeBOzbourne]

On 6/15/2024 at 1:37 PM, fredwiggy said:

Of course. Some things on earth are in quantities that only cause humans pain and suffering , much more than they are worth. Ticks,  gnats, mosquitoes, black flies, fleas, some snakes, child molesters, land developers, centipedes that pinch, corrupt officials, flies, narcissists, certain ants, box jellyfish, viruses and more. They don't need to be totally eradicated, but lowered to a level that doesn't cause people undue harm.

I would like to add trolls and keyboard warriors to your list.  

[Angus55]

You include child molesters and land develope among those you want to exterminate yet you exclude homos, the most destructive creatures around.

[Angus55]

....and how the heck is an ant going to harm you yet you want to exterminate them .? Madness.

[Angus55]

1 hour ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

I would like to add trolls and keyboard warriors to your list.  

Oh and arent you the little bootlicker now?

[Sandboxer]

Lol, 2 pages for this idiotic thread (which I started) and we're already at homos.

 

Like shooting fish in a barrel 😂

Edited June 17 by Sandboxer

[MangoKorat]

On 6/14/2024 at 7:40 AM, richard_smith237 said:

But... Its not about food, cleanliness etc...    so the insults aimed at the Op are unwarranted as the ants also seem to be attracted to 'some' electrical items. 

I'm not sure about that Richard.  Ants, like every other creature, need food.  They won't stay anywhere for long if there's no food source. They will however, travel a relatively long distace for that food.

 

If I don't keep my work surfaces absolutely spotless and seal all sources of food, I get plagued with the damn things.  Sometimes you have to look around to find their food source - I have to keep my sugar in a sealed plastic box because ants can get into my normal sugar jar. Its amazing how they get into some things. I also have to shake the crumbs out of my toaster after every use.

 

I also find that the type of surface cleaner used helps get rid of them faster. I can't find the one I want so I make my own - 70% water and 30% nearest thing I can find to bleach in (Thailand).  It obviously leaves some residue behind that the ants don't like because they rarely come back after I've cleaned with that.

 

The ants may have been living in your router but they will have been eating somewhere.

Edited June 17 by MangoKorat

[richard_smith237]

15 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

On 6/14/2024 at 1:40 PM, richard_smith237 said:

But... Its not about food, cleanliness etc...    so the insults aimed at the Op are unwarranted as the ants also seem to be attracted to 'some' electrical items. 

I'm not sure about that Richard.  Ants, like every other creature, need food.  They won't stay anywhere for long if there's no food source. They will however, travel a relatively long distace for that food.

 

If I don't keep my work surfaces absolutely spotless and seal all sources of food, I get plagued with the damn things.  Sometimes you have to look around to find their food source - I have to keep my sugar in a sealed plastic box because ants can get into my normal sugar jar. Its amazing how they get into some things. I also have to shake the crumbs out of my toaster after every use.

 

I also find that the type of surface cleaner used helps get rid of them faster. I can't find the one I want so I make my own - 70% water and 30% nearest thing I can find to bleach in (Thailand).  It obviously leaves some residue behind that the ants don't like because they rarely come back after I've cleaned with that.

 

The ants may have been living in your router but they will have been eating somewhere.

 

It's happened to me twice... (once in the UK too)...     An electrical appliance attracted Ants - they weren't 'living' in there, they'd died in there...   

... there were no 'trails' to potential food sources, crumbs etc.

 

 

I have read theories that certain ants, such as 'crazy ants' are attracted to certain electromagnetic frequencies - i.e. the frequencies of some specific electrical items interfere with their navigation and attract the ants.

 

The additional possibility is that a 'scout ant' entered the electrical item, got fried, other ants followed the scent trail they leave behind when navigating and too got fried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

On 6/13/2024 at 3:46 PM, Will B Good said:

Had to strip our kettle right down to the bare bones get rid of them.....millions of them.

For the hundredth time stop exaggerating.     😉

[MangoKorat]

48 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It's happened to me twice... (once in the UK too)...     An electrical appliance attracted Ants - they weren't 'living' in there, they'd died in there...   

... there were no 'trails' to potential food sources, crumbs etc.

 

 

I have read theories that certain ants, such as 'crazy ants' are attracted to certain electromagnetic frequencies - i.e. the frequencies of some specific electrical items interfere with their navigation and attract the ants.

 

The additional possibility is that a 'scout ant' entered the electrical item, got fried, other ants followed the scent trail they leave behind when navigating and too got fried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well all I know is that when I throroughly clean my kitchen using the 'bleach spray' I mentioned and seal up all food sources, the ant problem goes away and stays away. I've never had any problems with them in any other areas of the house - only where there's a food source.

 

My ex used to stay at my house with her family on the odd weekend whilst I was away and although I'm not suggesting they were dirty, let's just say they didn't clean the kitchen as well as I do and the problem would be back next time I visited. Divorce solved that problem. 😁

 

Thai's seem to accept ants more readily than we do. The little gits bite me more than mozzies do so I won't have them anywhere near me.

Edited June 17 by MangoKorat

[Sandboxer]

19 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

I throroughly clean my kitchen using the 'bleach spray' I

 

What's the water/bleach ratio you use to make it? 50% bleach? 30? 20%? Less?

[MangoKorat]

21 minutes ago, Sandboxer said:

 

What's the water/bleach ratio you use to make it? 50% bleach? 30? 20%? Less?

30% bleach, 70% water in an old plastic spray bottle.  I'm not in Thailand at the moment so I can't remember the name of the 'bleach' I use or comment on its strength.  Actual bleach, as we buy it in the West, doesn't seem to be available in Thailand - however, that could just be where I live.

[Sandboxer]

53 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

30% bleach, 70% water in an old plastic spray bottle

Cool, thanks. Will give that a try. I can get Chlorox where I am...

[Mason45]

A few weeks ago we got ants in our bed, I regularly sprayed it with vinegar and now the ants have moved on.

[MangoKorat]

13 minutes ago, Sandboxer said:

Cool, thanks. Will give that a try. I can get Chlorox where I am...

Don't forget to check for all sources of food. I sat and watched the little gits go back and forth for ages.  My house is on 'stilts' so everything is 'upstairs'.  They were coming up the wall from the ground below, found a way in where my kitchen waste pipe enters and onward up to the work surfaces/cupboards. Its amazing how far they will travel for food.  I siliconed around the waste pipe but I'm sure they would still have found another way.

 

They will get into anything - my sugar jar has a rubber seal on the lid, they got past that. I can't even keep teabags in a jar now.  The key, for me was remove the food source and clean all work surfaces with the bleach spray.  In a previous house the problem was worse and there were several lots coming in across the floor from different directions but I noticed that they would avoid/go around the areas that I'd sprayed for several days afterwards.

 

It took about a week but so far its been permanent - I return around every 12 weeks and so far they've not been back.  Mind you, I use that spray every time I clean my work surfaces - ants or no ants.

 

If you trace them back to where they are living and can get at it, you'll probably get 90% of them but they seem to multiply fast.

 

They are simply looking for food sources so keeping things spotless and removing those sources is key - well it worked for me.