I Am Scared Of Ants

[Pseudolus]

Centipede bite is strong enough to kill most dogs and cats; known 5 people to have lost their dogs to being bitten by them. As a dog owner they are the only creature I have adopted a kill on sight attitude. They will often not scutter off; they're not scared of anything. So to avoid some nasty vet bill I use brain them with a hammer. On the plus side I've only had 2 in the last year in the house and one in the garden.

[notmyself]

Are there any other aesthetically pleasing animals that we could use for pest control?

Guinea Fowl (Gai Tok) are quite nice to look at and eat mainly bugs, wifey wants them as apparently they don't scratch up the ground as much as chickens do. http://animals.howst...a-fowl-info.htm

Wouldn't an ant eater be the best thing?

[hands22]

You have to be especially careful if you are a diabetic. Only yesterday I read a news about a Singapore man who had to have his lower leg amputated after some skin-eating bacteria infected his wound from stepping on a centipede.

[smokie36]

you can use talc powder on the floors etc we use it outside too.

it depends where you live and the design of your house as to how well you can keep things out.

if you have ants coming insdie the house for food then that stuff in the clear green plastic box works well i think it's called ars.

Yeah talcum powder is great....just keep the straws and credit cards out of the reach of teenagers....

[necronx99]

Andy from Thai Farm is ravign about this Diatomaceous Earth

Appears to work in the same way as Talc

[StreetCowboy]

You should see the creatures I've got living in my place. One of the buggers had the cheek to scoop me onto a paper plate and throw me out in the street. From my own home! The effrontery of it!

SC

To be fair though, you did refuse to pick up your own socks. I would have thrown you out as well.

100 legs and no hands - how am I supposed to pick up all those socks? Its bad enough learning to type with your feet; especially when I come home legless form the pub...

SC

[David48]

Andy from Thai Farm is ravign about this Diatomaceous Earth

Appears to work in the same way as Talc

The same stuff as they put in pool filters (of that type) ... same colour as your Avatar.

[phuturatica]

My apologies for being clearly dumb... Plus it is quite early and I haven't fully woken up yet... But when you have ants in your apartment and you use talc powder, what exactly do you do? Put it down where the trail is? I have a trail of ants which I see every day, they live in my aircon switch on the wall?! (no idea why!) I'm worried I'm going to come home and find my aircon switch overtaken by an ants nest. D:

Also, what is ars and where can you buy it?

[David48]

My apologies for being clearly dumb... Plus it is quite early and I haven't fully woken up yet... But when you have ants in your apartment and you use talc powder, what exactly do you do? Put it down where the trail is? I have a trail of ants which I see every day, they live in my aircon switch on the wall?! (no idea why!) I'm worried I'm going to come home and find my aircon switch overtaken by an ants nest. D:

Also, what is ars and where can you buy it?

Being an electrician I can answer half your question.

The AC unit has to have a reasonably large hole drilled in the external wall to allow both the cooling and return pipes to the condenser (that hot thing with the fan outside) plus the condenser needs an electrical feed to power the fan.

That hole is often not sealed properly hence the ants in the switch and sometimes why you see geckos inside the home on top of the AC unit.

As for ars ... no idea.

If you can get access to the place where the pipes and elec transgress the wall, expandable foam does work quite well.

[necronx99]

Also, what is ars and where can you buy it?

As far as ants go, I found some bait sold at The Villa. A little green plastic box with a yellow bait.

They carry it back to the nest and kill the colony. A real bunker buster.

[h90]

Centipede bite is strong enough to kill most dogs and cats; known 5 people to have lost their dogs to being bitten by them. As a dog owner they are the only creature I have adopted a kill on sight attitude. They will often not scutter off; they're not scared of anything. So to avoid some nasty vet bill I use brain them with a hammer. On the plus side I've only had 2 in the last year in the house and one in the garden.

But dog bite is strong enough to kill most cockroaches and centipedes. As a cockroach and centipede owner I still don't adopt a kill on sight attitude for dogs.

[nattydread]

My apologies for being clearly dumb... Plus it is quite early and I haven't fully woken up yet... But when you have ants in your apartment and you use talc powder, what exactly do you do? Put it down where the trail is? I have a trail of ants which I see every day, they live in my aircon switch on the wall?! (no idea why!) I'm worried I'm going to come home and find my aircon switch overtaken by an ants nest. D:

Also, what is ars and where can you buy it?

sell it in big c,tesco and tops.........its a yellow powder that comes with a green plastic container.......the ants take the powder back to the nest and it kills the colony

i have had limited sucess with it and after a while they completely ignore it

CHAINDRITE them........its the only way to be sure

[Pseudolus]

Centipede bite is strong enough to kill most dogs and cats; known 5 people to have lost their dogs to being bitten by them. As a dog owner they are the only creature I have adopted a kill on sight attitude. They will often not scutter off; they're not scared of anything. So to avoid some nasty vet bill I use brain them with a hammer. On the plus side I've only had 2 in the last year in the house and one in the garden.

But dog bite is strong enough to kill most cockroaches and centipedes. As a cockroach and centipede owner I still don't adopt a kill on sight attitude for dogs.

Very true. But alas I don't care.

[chrisinth]

Chickens will take care of those bugs, no?

Don't forget abut the geese; wonderful guard animals! (seriously)

On the other hand you could get a couple of snakes, any kind, the more colourful the better. It might not get rid of the insects, but they will certainly take your mind of them......

[chrisinth]

In Thailand it's only the centipede that I wouldn't want around if I had children.

There was one of these on the patio the other night. I coerced it onto a paper plate then carried it (on the paper plate) out onto the pavement (apologies to anyone who may have been have been confronted by him on their walk home from the pub). I had a feeling I needed to keep it away from the house - scary little thing!

If you can pick one of these things up on a plate, I doubt you will have much problems with the ants.

[F1fanatic]

Ants are seriously annoying once they get in your house and, unfortunately, the only answer is to have your garden sprayed with toxic chemicals that kill them .

As previous posters have pointed out, its only centipedes that are a real danger. Cobras and other poisonous snakes are everywhere BUT, unless you're running around without care, you are unlikely to be bitten by one.

[GarryP]

Your a cruel man Ian

Poor brit1984 will need counselling after seeing all those photos

Have to agree with theblether ... therapy maybe required!

Being an Aussie, we have to deal with these on a regular basis.

Firstly, what we call the gecko is your friend ... they love to chase down some of the nasties that are troublesome for you. Plus the Gecko will run away from a human, no worries about an inquisitive child.

the smaller geckos I'm referring to.

But, first up, about the Ants ... they are simply searching for food, so it's a case of leaving nothing that they would be interested in available. Plus they leave a scented trail (hence they all walk the same path) and you can disrupt that trail.

The very small Thai Ant can be a real nuisance and darn near impossible to 'ant proof' against.

For some reason they loved the towels in my bathroom!

For the larger creatures, insect screens, doors with a bottom seal helps plug the gap at the bottom.

But Thailand being a tropical country with open doors, open windows and visiting relatives/neighbours/friends not used to closing doors extra might be a difficult ask.

Plus, since you are renting, your choices to modify your home are limited.

If you do decide to go the way of poisons or insecticides (surface sprays/ant sand etc) just be careful that your little one can't ingest the poison.

When I was growing up I had an Ant Jean........she had a moustache and I was terrified of her

Are we related?

[GarryP]

A cat, a dog too.

I also have heard that Peacocks go after snakes.

As far as ants go, I found some bait sold at The Villa. A little green plastic box with a yellow bait.

They carry it back to the nest and kill the colony. A real bunker buster.

I have found that stuff really effective and would recommend it. But again keep the green box out of reach to inquisitive little fingers.

[ravip]

If you are planning to live in the Tropics 100% (or even close) bug free... I wish you Good Luck, in fact Very Good Luck !

[chris1970]

you put ars on the ant trails and over night they take it all away, if the ants are small compared to the size of the granules then i crush half up to make it easy for the ants, also i never use the plastic box they supply.

talc or crandite powder you can put down after because it can stay down for weeks - i put around the floors where skirting board would be, some people even put talc on the walls.

good idea to wash the trails once the ants are gone and try to plug the holes / cracks they were using.

our ants are in the plant pots outside so i put loads of talc around the pots and the door step etc.

if you have ants inside the house maybe they have a nest in the roof and ars is best.

if your house is very humid and hot then ars can go a bit funny, better to choose a cooler night and keep granuled dry as possible.

those chalk sticks i found weren't very good,

[bina]

peacockes are an absolute no no if u have a small area; they wander far, have an annoying call like a cat yowling, and the males are nasty and can injure small children with their beaks when in mating temerment.

the best is to learn that there are all sorts of bugs etc living in tropical areas; learn which ones u should wage war on, and which ones are just a nuisance. if u have a real, medical phobia, then short of living in a condo in center of a main city, u will suffer...

the higher up your house, the less bugs which is why old thai houses were on stilts; keep legs of beds, food cabinets etc in cups of water/karosene (it stinks but works), use mosquito nets, and train your family (ha ha ha if they are local country in/out all day long type family)to shut doors. my husband still doesnt shut doors here (in israel) even in winter, until the flies start to get to him (we live in a countrified area).

chickens, while not exactly as much of a health problem as one poster made out (a vector of bird flu but so are a zillion other avian types and u can vaccinate the chickens for many chicken diseases) but they are difficult to maintain if u have no clue as to maintaining animals, they ahve to be taken care of and are prone to being stolen/eaten by the local dogs/people.

guinea fowl also eat gardens/neighbors might not appreciate them/might eat them.

dogs and cats are good against snakes, geckos (which u want around since thye eat the other crawlies)and bring their own types of bugs if u dont care and maintain..and they need lots of care and maintenance.

so essentially , its back to the condo vx. country style house. have plenty of long handled brooms around for sweeping walls, ceilings, floors, etc... keep food closed,/refrigerated (we refridge everything cause here we have ants, even in the electric outlets and in the electric kettle!!! nescafe and ant, a regular morning routine), well sealed. wash floors with citronella extract if u can stand the smell (from lemon grass) , there are other herbal things to be used as well...refrain from having junk piles around, heaps of clothing, shoes, and general stuff laying around for critters to hide in (scorpions seem to have a penchant for folds of laundry), dont leave empty open containers laying around to provide good homes for bugs...

adn do study them , knowlege is power.

bina

israel

[h90]

Ants are seriously annoying once they get in your house and, unfortunately, the only answer is to have your garden sprayed with toxic chemicals that kill them .

As previous posters have pointed out, its only centipedes that are a real danger. Cobras and other poisonous snakes are everywhere BUT, unless you're running around without care, you are unlikely to be bitten by one.

We have the kitchen upstairs and got ants, millions, no billions. I told my wife to not kill them, let them walk (very difficult) and look where the walk. Than I closed all the gaps with silicone.

If they walk the outside wall, poison that area. We got rid of them for 1 year without much toxin.

[David48]

OP ... where exactly is your property located, as I was to believe frorm a previous post of yours that it's in central Bangkok and a lot of the good folk here are suppling excellent replies ... with the assumption that you might be in a more rural setting.

... just saying

[ARISTIDE]

If you're serious, install UPVC doors and windows.

[brit1984]

OP ... where exactly is your property located, as I was to believe frorm a previous post of yours that it's in central Bangkok and a lot of the good folk here are suppling excellent replies ... with the assumption that you might be in a more rural setting.

... just saying

Yes you are right... we are on Sukhumvit soi 31 between Asoke and Phrom Phong... not very rural

[brit1984]

Yes we have UPVC windows already, all of which I will keep closed always, shame we have to open the doors sometimes...

[David48]

Remembered your topic and saw this related thread over in the housing section ...

[brit1984]

Remembered your topic and saw this related thread over in the housing section ...

Thanks - luckily haven't seen any ants yet but we are well prepared now in case it does happen and are doing everything we can to keep them out!

[StreetCowboy]

Remembered your topic and saw this related thread over in the housing section ... http://www.thaivisa....your-apartment/

Thanks - luckily haven't seen any ants yet but we are well prepared now in case it does happen and are doing everything we can to keep them out!

'We shall fight them on the beaches... we shall NEVER surrender"

[nocturn]

every body who lives in thailand should fear and respect the centipede.

but to say that hey are toxic under any circumstances beyond one sinking its jaws in to you is utter <deleted>.

Try explaining that to three of my farang friends who got a nasty rash from handling dead ones after they beat the creature to death with a shoe.

They deserve it....I always keep them alive....open the door and scare them out....

centipede is the one thing i will bash to death with abandon. having been bit by one i will not have one anywhere near me or my family.

As for your "farang" friends, one might suspect that they cannot tell the difference between a centipede and a millipede, which does excrete acid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millipede#Defense_mechanisms

Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil — protecting their delicate legs inside an armored body exterior. Many species also emit poisonous liquid secretions or hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores called odoriferous glands along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defense.^[8][9][10] Some of these substances are caustic and can burn the exoskeleton of ants and other insect predators, and the skin and eyes of larger predators. Animals such as Capuchin monkeys have been observed intentionally irritating millipedes in order to rub the chemicals on themselves to repelmosquitoes.^[11] At least one species, Polyxenus fasciculatus, employs detachable bristles to entangle ants.^[12]

As far as humans are concerned, this chemical brew is fairly harmless, usually causing only minor effects on the skin, the main effect being discoloration, but other effects may also include pain, itching, local erythema, edema, blisters, eczema, and occasionally cracked skin.^{[9][13][14][15]} Eye exposures to these secretions causes general eye irritation and potentially more severe effects such as conjunctivitis and keratitis.^[16] First aid consists of flushing the area thoroughly with water; further treatment is aimed at relieving the local effects.