Why There Are Ants Gathering On Colgate Toothpaste?

[gravion]

anyone know???

[Darrel]

Because it has artifical sweetener/flavouring in it?

[NALAK]

got the problem, wonder if other brands are diffent, will give it a go in the mean time i keep giving the tube a good clean but sink is full if the litts sods every morning.

[ozsamurai]

Answer, Sugar! Get some honey, lace it 2/3 with borax powder, put it near the nest, bye bye ants! Oz

[jombom]

Because there is an infestation = too many ants and not enough food. Could be people in Africa. Anyway the ants have found some nutrition in your toothpaste, but there are zillions of them from the infestation. Whoever controls your building has fallen asleep on the job.

[Tokay]

Lure them out and murder them all.

It's the Buddhist way.

[johnnyk]

Ants like sugar and many brands of toothpaste are full of the stuff so kids will like it.

Make sure you put the cap back on properly and wipe the neck of the tube with a napkin to get rid of any toothpaste there.

[FarangBuddha]

Yes, I have had this problem too...they also seem to be attracted to certain brands of mouthwash as well. As with the kitchen, just have to keep everything clean and wiped-down so there is no "buffet" laid out for them little critters. Actually, this is good as it makes me keep everything clean and tidy

[beano2274]

Have your room sprayed, In my condo we have the rooms sprayed every month, costs 500baht per condo per year, they spray every month.

[sfokevin]

I would like to know why the ants seem to like my laptop too? I find them crawling on it all the time!

[chuckd]

I would like to know why the ants seem to like my laptop too? I find them crawling on it all the time!

Do you drop cookie crumbs on the keyboard?

[Phil Conners]

The Straight Dope: Do some brands of toothpaste contain sugar?

[smedly]

find where they are getting in - door or window, get some chinese chalk (foodland have it I think) and draw round the frame, they will not cross the line

Edited July 18, 2011 by smedly

[Darrel]

Ants like sugar and many brands of toothpaste are full of the stuff so kids will like it.

Never sugar: artificial sweetener, as I mentioned. Aspartame being the common culprit (if your toothpaste tastes like bubblegum you can be pretty sure there's aspartame in it).

Ants seem to like it too.

[tropo]

Answer, Sugar! Get some honey, lace it 2/3 with borax powder, put it near the nest, bye bye ants! Oz

You'd have to be pretty lucky to find the nest of the sugar ants that come into the house.

I've tried a commercial preparations (from US) which is supposed to attract ants so they bring it back to kill their buddies. I've even added honey to make it more attractive - After a few days the ants lose interest and look for something else to eat. Sometimes they give up after just one day. After that they never go near it again. I've also tried these type of preparations in Australia with no success.

I had to LOL when the ants snubbed the honey preparation and started looking around in and even drowning in my hot water kettle instead.

[tropo]

find where they are getting in - door or window, get some chinese chalk (foodland have it I think) and draw round the frame, they will not cross the line

I've used this chalk. It's useless - the ants soon find another way around it.

[johnnyk]

I would like to know why the ants seem to like my laptop too? I find them crawling on it all the time!

Male ants. They like porno. 555

[smedly]

find where they are getting in - door or window, get some chinese chalk (foodland have it I think) and draw round the frame, they will not cross the line

I've used this chalk. It's useless - the ants soon find another way around it.

that really depends on where you live, the only way into my place is through widows or doors, if your place is old with poor walls etc then yes I would agree, the point being here is that they will not cross the line of chalk, I found it to be very effective indeed

[tropo]

find where they are getting in - door or window, get some chinese chalk (foodland have it I think) and draw round the frame, they will not cross the line

I've used this chalk. It's useless - the ants soon find another way around it.

that really depends on where you live, the only way into my place is through widows or doors, if your place is old with poor walls etc then yes I would agree, the point being here is that they will not cross the line of chalk, I found it to be very effective indeed

I've had the whole house chalked up to no avail. The small sugar ants don't need much of a gap, so it really depends on what type of ants are coming in. Some species are much more troublesome than others.

[raro]

...and even drowning in my hot water kettle instead.

also amazing to me...have to check that every morning before making coffee....sometimes dozens of them in the kettle, but no ants to be seen anywhere else..

[tropo]

...and even drowning in my hot water kettle instead.

also amazing to me...have to check that every morning before making coffee....sometimes dozens of them in the kettle, but no ants to be seen anywhere else..

I've had this problem off and on for years - drives me nuts. There are so many other places they can find water in the house. I can't even leave glasses with drinking water on the bench because in the morning they'd be full of drowned ants.

[Darrel]

I just drink the boiled ants in my tea.

[zabaleta]

just put a 'beware of the dog' sign in extra small writing on all points of possible entry!!

[BugJackBaron]

find where they are getting in - door or window, get some chinese chalk (foodland have it I think) and draw round the frame, they will not cross the line

I've used this chalk. It's useless - the ants soon find another way around it.

that really depends on where you live, the only way into my place is through widows or doors, if your place is old with poor walls etc then yes I would agree, the point being here is that they will not cross the line of chalk, I found it to be very effective indeed

I've had the whole house chalked up to no avail. The small sugar ants don't need much of a gap, so it really depends on what type of ants are coming in. Some species are much more troublesome than others.

If you find their point(s) of entry then chalk will work. But that can be hard to do if your home was poorly made. It is why I look very carefully at an apartment for any place they could "come out of the woodwork".