I have an ant problem in my condo.  Those tiny micro ants.  No idea where they are coming from.  They just magically appear.  No matter how carefully I try clean up food crumbs, there is always going to be something somewhere that attracts them.  Maybe there is some poison or something I can use that they take back with them and kill off the whole colony?  Not sure if spray will work unless I can find out where they are coming from.  Don't want to be spraying anywhere I prepare food.

This is what I use, and it works. I buy it at Home Pro. My understanding is that the worker ants bring the sugar-coated poison to the queen. Once the queen eats it and dies, the whole colony disappears. I don't know if they die - or just move on. Either way, problem solved.

5 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

This is what I use, and it works. I buy it at Home Pro. My understanding is that the worker ants bring the sugar-coated poison to the queen. Once the queen eats it and dies, the whole colony disappears. I don't know if they die - or just move on. Either way, problem solved.

Thanks!  I will pick some up today.

Peppermint Essential Oil worked for me. Put some in a spray bottle diluted 20% with water.Spray and wipe all surfaces that you see them in.Mine disappeared within a day or 2.

This from Lazada has been working well for me:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pdp-i5238067550-s24387875073.html

 

This is the stuff you want, it's only effective thing i found. Use it immediately you see ants marching, you may win this battle but tough to win the war

Tried most methods over the years. Only sure thing that has worked for me across various species is a borax/sugar mix. Mix dry roughly 50/50, add a bit of boiling water to create a paste. What they’ll do is go for the sugar which is now laced with borax. Harmless to us, super deadly to them, albeit it takes time… enough for them to take it to their queen. One smidge should wipe out the colony. Last did a mix more than 6 months ago—roughly teaspoonful—and there’s still half left. 

This stuff has always worked for me, readily available on Lazada.

 

Mix Borax powder with some sugar (and honey if you want). Add some boiling water to dissolve everything into a liquid. Put it in small containers where they tend to walk, I use plastic bottle tops, and leave them along the skirting. it may take three or four days before you see results, but it works.

 

I think that due to the recent heavy rains that likely floods their nests, they tend to move to higher ground. I have seen lots of them massing on the wall near my front door, and trailing into my house.

5 hours ago, shdmn said:

I have an ant problem in my condo.  Those tiny micro ants.  No idea where they are coming from.  They just magically appear.  No matter how carefully I try clean up food crumbs, there is always going to be something somewhere that attracts them.  Maybe there is some poison or something I can use that they take back with them and kill off the whole colony?  Not sure if spray will work unless I can find out where they are coming from.  Don't want to be spraying anywhere I prepare food.

Baking powder will be the 1. step

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

Mix Borax powder with some sugar (and honey if you want). Add some boiling water to dissolve everything into a liquid. Put it in small containers where they tend to walk, I use plastic bottle tops, and leave them along the skirting. it may take three or four days before you see results, but it works.

 

I think that due to the recent heavy rains that likely floods their nests, they tend to move to higher ground. I have seen lots of them massing on the wall near my front door, and trailing into my house.

This has always worked for me as well.

The imported products are very expensive for small amounts.

The cheap Thai powders and liquids are hit or miss. Sometimes they do work, but often they don't.

Boric acid in granular form mixed with sugar and boiled is both inexpensive and effective.

I bought some stuff at Home Pro.

21 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

This is what I use, and it works. I buy it at Home Pro. My understanding is that the worker ants bring the sugar-coated poison to the queen. Once the queen eats it and dies, the whole colony disappears. I don't know if they die - or just move on. Either way, problem solved.

Home Pro didn't have this stuff (went to two different stores) so I got something else they had, which may be similar.  It's tiny yellow grains and comes with a little plastic container to put it in with holes for them to go in and out of.  It seems to have stopped them for now but it's only been a day.  Will see if they come back when I leave some food crumbs around.

19 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

This is the stuff you want, it's only effective thing i found. Use it immediately you see ants marching, you may win this battle but tough to win the war

Thanks for this.  It's very effective but I've been paying 250 at TOPS.

5 hours ago, shdmn said:

It's tiny yellow grains and comes with a little plastic container to put it in with holes for them to go in and out of.  It seems to have stopped them for now but it's only been a day.  Will see if they come back when I leave some food crumbs around.

 

Could be this stuff as it's certainly yellow grains in a plastic container.  I pinched this pic from a previous thread on ants and have used it a few times with good success.

 

17 hours ago, treetops said:

 

Could be this stuff as it's certainly yellow grains in a plastic container.  I pinched this pic from a previous thread on ants and have used it a few times with good success.

 

 

Yes, that is it.  So far the ants haven't returned so it seems to have worked.  At least for now.

The borax and sugar mixes always worked well. Buy the borax at Lazada or Shopee

On 10/28/2025 at 7:53 AM, shdmn said:

I bought some stuff at Home Pro.

Home Pro didn't have this stuff (went to two different stores) so I got something else they had, which may be similar.  It's tiny yellow grains and comes with a little plastic container to put it in with holes for them to go in and out of.  It seems to have stopped them for now but it's only been a day.  Will see if they come back when I leave some food crumbs around.

I forgot to mention that I had bought it at Home Pro several years ago. I assumed they would still have it, but it seems that they don't. I guess they have replaced it, presumably with something at least as good - if not better. Anyway, I hope it works for you. Let us know. Good luck and best regards.

Anyway the suggestions above are all good.  You will get rid of the ants for awhile but eventually they always seem to come back.

 

Also look for cracks along the walls and where pipes enter and try to seal them real good.

 

I read an article not to long ago stating that their are more ants and termites than any other creature on earth.

Spray around all the cracks in the floors, and all the areas outside of your kitchen and my guess is that your ant problem will disappear. Insect spray can be a man's best friend in Thailand. 

On 10/29/2025 at 7:12 AM, shdmn said:

 

Yes, that is it.  So far the ants haven't returned so it seems to have worked.  At least for now.

I can also endorse this product from personal experience.

Like some of the other suggestions mentioned, you can watch the ants take the pellets back to their nest so the root cause is solved.  As you describe your ants as tiny, you might want to crush some of the granules into smaller pieces.

 

On 10/27/2025 at 12:42 PM, scubascuba3 said:

This is the stuff you want, it's only effective thing i found. Use it immediately you see ants marching, you may win this battle but tough to win the war

I agree. Only effective thing. 

On 10/27/2025 at 3:05 PM, daveAustin said:

Tried most methods over the years. Only sure thing that has worked for me across various species is a borax/sugar mix. Mix dry roughly 50/50, add a bit of boiling water to create a paste. What they’ll do is go for the sugar which is now laced with borax. Harmless to us, super deadly to them, albeit it takes time… enough for them to take it to their queen. One smidge should wipe out the colony. Last did a mix more than 6 months ago—roughly teaspoonful—and there’s still half left. 

 

I agree.  Plenty of sugar with a little borax.

 

To kill termites, can soak cardboard with DILUTE borax solution.  To wipe out a termite colony I believe there should be less than 2% borax crystals, so they return to the colony and die there.
 
PROTECT woodwork (not exposed to rain) against termites with two applications of concentrated borax solution.  Use boiling-hot water to dissolve; and penetration seems better if applied while still warm.  They will not attack the wood.  If painting wood, treat first.  Paint is no protection.  And ensure total cover.  So, for example, if putting up wooden shelves treat before putting them up.

 

To kill cockroaches,  spread crystals where they habitually walk (doorways, along walls).  Will stick to their legs which they lick to clean.  Corpses left in place will be consumed by others and they also killed.

 

Online purchase of borax by the kilo: Chemipan is my source.

On 10/27/2025 at 3:52 AM, shdmn said:

I have an ant problem in my condo.  Those tiny micro ants.  No idea where they are coming from.  They just magically appear.  No matter how carefully I try clean up food crumbs, there is always going to be something somewhere that attracts them.  Maybe there is some poison or something I can use that they take back with them and kill off the whole colony?  Not sure if spray will work unless I can find out where they are coming from.  Don't want to be spraying anywhere I prepare food.

Ants work based on pheromones. A scout ant discovers something to eat and all the other hands follow the pheromone trail.  You need to disinfect the entire floor to eliminate the trail. 

18 hours ago, rwill said:

Anyway the suggestions above are all good.  You will get rid of the ants for awhile but eventually they always seem to come back.

 

Also look for cracks along the walls and where pipes enter and try to seal them real good.

 

I read an article not to long ago stating that their are more ants and termites than any other creature on earth.

Yep, They will always come back since new colonies will appear and send out scouts all over. One has to be observant and get on it as soon as they start coming in. Haven’t seen a trail for months since the last treatment though, whereas with sprays and whatnot they tend to come back quicker IME. 

Aside: don’t usually bother with this as it’s kids stuff, but find it really odd when people downvote others that offer practical solutions—see above. Politics and other contentious topics, sure, but someone has to have a screw loose to trawl threads and thumbs down when someone has taken the time to post products and solutions. Very strange. Please stay under your bridge. 🙂

The ants came back so the powder and yellow grain stuff didn't work.  I also tried mixing it with the food that attracts them like the instructions said.  I think these particular ants are just too small for that stuff. 

 

I'm now trying the more expensive drops someone else suggested.  The ants started to drink it right away, so we shall see if they come back again after using that stuff. 

Those micro ants are magical for sure. Even unopened packages can't stop those demons. Anything precooked before eating is kept in large container with water at the base. I haven't really tried to get rid of them. I have bigger problems to solve than random ants.

 

Ants of all varieties. Those big red ants are a pain. Periodically I trim the nests out of the bushes and spray them.

On 10/27/2025 at 1:11 AM, HappyExpat57 said:

This stuff has always worked for me, readily available on Lazada.

 

 

I found it at Tops.  It killed off whatever was mulling around.  Will have to wait and see if they come back.

46 minutes ago, shdmn said:

 

I found it at Tops.  It killed off whatever was mulling around.  Will have to wait and see if they come back.

From what I understand, the insects bring it back to their home, feed to everyone, and as it's slow working poison, kills the bunch of them.

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Those big red ants are a pain. Periodically I trim the nests out of the bushes and spray them

Spray them. With what?