Those Little Blighters Can Bite!

[IanForbes]

My apartment is infested with tiny ants. The little black ones were there last year but I didn't mind them until they got into my food. A thorough cleaning usually kept most of them at bay and I solved the food problem by putting the stuff ants like into the refrigerator. However, this year we have a NEW species. They are the RED variety and those little buggers DO give a nasty bite out of all proportion to their size. I think previous occupants of my room put out ant powder on the balcony, because I see traces of it and all the dead ants nearby. However, a few seem to have survived and despite my spraying the areas they seem to like a few get onto my computer table. Then, I feel a little sting in the tender parts of my arm and a short time later there is a nasty welt and an insufferable itch. I guess it's called "Living with nature".

I'd hate to see what damage an ant could do if it was 3 feet long. I've got to admire their ferocity.

[basjke]

A friend of mine told me that he has experimented with some vinegar on a plate here and there in the house and haven't seen any ants since.

[Phil Conners]

I use boric acid mixed with sugar and water. It creates something that looks a lot like glazing, dropped on small pieces of paper wherever the ants are seen. Takes a day or two for them to bring it home and feed to their offspring but after that no more ants for a long time.

[IanForbes]

Thanks for the ideas. I haven't seen too many ants around since I did the spraying, but a few seem to sneek past and nip me from time to time.

[dumball]

Thanks for the ideas. I haven't seen too many ants around since I did the spraying, but a few seem to sneek past and nip me from time to time.

Use ant chalk , it works better than anything else on the market , when you see the ants , follow the trail to where they are coming from/returning to , chalk up to and around the object of their desire , on both sides of the columne of ants . Leave the entry exit area free of chalk , then put cross bars across as in a ladder , within 10 minutes 90% will be dead , the best part is that the chalk is transported back to the nest , exterminating all of them . On sighting a new supply of ants , repeat process , this chalk works on most creapy crawlies up to cockroaches . I always take a supply when I visit Canada , as nothing there approaches the rapid demise of ants .

Good hunting .

[Thongkorn]

They sound like fire ants , they bite then spray sulphuric acid on you , Citrus lemon . any thing like that would help keep them away.

[noise]

I use boric acid mixed with sugar and water. It creates something that looks a lot like glazing, dropped on small pieces of paper wherever the ants are seen. Takes a day or two for them to bring it home and feed to their offspring but after that no more ants for a long time.

That works very well. I have bought it under the brand name TERRO in a little 3"-4" bottle in CNX (imported from the U.S.).

And the chalk also works very well.

[smokie36]

Talcum powder is effective too.