Ants in tea water

[lianajohn]

There is a kind of ant powder you can get in supermarkets (comes in little silver packets). Leave it out in dishes where you see them around and the ants eat it and apparently take it home to their nest where it kills the colony.

For ages I was plagued with the little red fire ants all over the house. Not only did they bite you indiscriminately, but left holes in cotton clothes, got into electrical items and so on - a real pain they were.

Anyway, after treating with this powder, they disappeared altogether and never came back (and I last used the powder literally years ago). Strange - almost like their hive mind knows our house is 'bad news'.

Very occasionally I've had smaller black ants come in -- e.g if there's a bit of sugar spilled etc. and I just wipe them up with a wet cloth and then they disappear again.

I tried all the ant killing products available on the market and that included the silver packet. Based on my experience, it didn't work on the tiny ants that "love" water. I think red ants don't like kitchens, because I have never seen one in my kitchen though I see some in my bathroom.

[Guest]

Bad news. There is literally nothing you can do.

Ants in the tea water/kettle/water heater is one of the many conundrums that expats face when living in Thailand.

I too have suffered your plight.

For me it became so frustrating that I stopped using the kettle, gave away the water heater/hot pot thingy and eventually stopped drinking tea altogether.

Man you give up too easy----if you cannot cope with a sensible solution to a simple problem like this,there is only one way out------- Head back home !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God only knows how he managed to have bowl of sugar or a pot of honey around.

Can't solve a problem like this .. quits drinking tea?

Is he kidding?

[doctormann]

You have to appreciate that ants are not of this world and are, in fact, pan-dimensional beings that live elsewhere in space-time. They only poke their heads into our 3-dimensional world if they sense that there is something tasty to eat - and then they come en masse. How else can we explain that, one minute, there is not a single ant to be seen and the next there is a swarm of them!

Basically, there is little that you can do, other than keeping the environment as clean as possible.

DM

[Guest]

Thank ou for all your advices.

As I don't like to spray chemicals in the house, I already tried to circle the pot with lemon juice over nght... it was in vain.

I fear to set the pot on a bowl in a water plate, it's too dangerous because in the morning, both eyes look through the same hole as long as I didn't drink tea

I will try the fridge solution.

If there are some others advices, I will be happy to read them

OK, it is simple.

No one is saying put your pot in a lake.

Just get two plastic trays.

The large one gets a tiny bit of water .. these are ants, not mice ..

The pot goes on the smaller one on the "island"

If you fear that set up ... next .. remove the pot from the island, plug it in .. and have a nice hot cup of tea.

As for the refrigerator. That makes no sense at all. You are killing them by boiling now, freezing is not going to change the outcome tomorrow.

Or ... you could just go to the store, by a Tupperware large enough for it, and store it in there.

or a plastic seal top bag.

Or a vault.

Or an armed guard.

Oooppps... i seem to have lost the thread.

Cheers.

[anon4546543]

_{Ants only constantly visit areas that contain a food source. #1.Remove all food from a wandering ant scouts interest in the house., several posts have already given solutions . #2 Place a few food sources outside the house. Follow the trail of ants back to the nest. #3 Eradicate ant nest using environmental principles . Hint, the colony is a huge underground colony, if you can plough the nest and then exterminate, this is a good solution. And good luck}

[F4UCorsair]

Thank ou for all your advices.

As I don't like to spray chemicals in the house, I already tried to circle the pot with lemon juice over nght... it was in vain.

I fear to set the pot on a bowl in a water plate, it's too dangerous because in the morning, both eyes look through the same hole as long as I didn't drink tea

I will try the fridge solution.

If there are some others advices, I will be happy to read them

Is the product 'Ant Rid' available in Thailand?

It's very effective, just a drop or two along their path, and you'll get the lot. It's very thick, brownish, not unlike honey in appearance.

It may be available under another name, tiny container, only about 25 mL, but lasts a long time. I think the active ingredient is 'borax".

Edited May 9, 2015 by F4UCorsair

[Peterphuket]

You must be an English man?

Typical English!

[Vogele123]

There is a kind of ant powder you can get in supermarkets (comes in little silver packets). Leave it out in dishes where you see them around and the ants eat it and apparently take it home to their nest where it kills the colony.

For ages I was plagued with the little red fire ants all over the house. Not only did they bite you indiscriminately, but left holes in cotton clothes, got into electrical items and so on - a real pain they were.

Anyway, after treating with this powder, they disappeared altogether and never came back (and I last used the powder literally years ago). Strange - almost like their hive mind knows our house is 'bad news'.

Very occasionally I've had smaller black ants come in -- e.g if there's a bit of sugar spilled etc. and I just wipe them up with a wet cloth and then they disappear again.

I tried all the ant killing products available on the market and that included the silver packet. Based on my experience, it didn't work on the tiny ants that "love" water. I think red ants don't like kitchens, because I have never seen one in my kitchen though I see some in my bathroom.

You will never get rid of those really tiny little buggers, but to be honest, they provide a really great cleanup service for dead insects and crap you drop on the floor, so they are more of a benefit than a pest. I had a cheapo Thai water boiler that simply processed the ants that climb inside into boiler ant soup - to be honest, it makes no difference to me, I just drink them.

However, when we bought a new fridge the Big C store gave us a free Toshiba water boiler, this has a filter that strains them out - Yes, they still get in but they don't get into your tea! The Thai made water boilers are crap, they cannot even maintain water pressure with their seals let alone keep the ants out.

[attrayant]

Buy the pump style and just leave it on.

Depending on the size and usage, this could end up costing 50-60 baht per month in power consumption. Why has nobody considered using a microwave to heat up water? 50 baht of microwave use will get you 600 cups of hot water, and there will be one less appliance on your countertop.

[lungbing]

I pour my hot water into my cup through a fine-mesh tea strainer. That filters out the ants.

[Gandtee]

Try an antidote

[Aussieroaming]

Borax is good because the cockroaches dislike it too

[sirocco]

hello,

after clean your kettle, put it in a large bag for freezing and firmly closed.

For ants, you only have to protect food in plastic bags and put them in boxes hermétiques.Dans closets, to cigarette tobacco, lemon halves with cloves.

Put also a little everywhere, both inside and outside of the cornmeal.

Ants eat it, took him into their colony and they choke.

Very effective.

[temlosluis]

I dont read all aswers but white ribbon and few spell maybe working.

[ResandePohm]

talcum powder underneath and around, ants don't like walking on it.

The technique I have used for years is chalk. Ants will not cross a chalk line. Used it on table legs where food is often placed on the table. Just draw a chalk circle and place whatever you want to protect in the centre.

Dont use the anti ant chalk that is sold as an ant repellent, especially if you are going to use it on food surfaces. It is so full of toxins and poisons that are not healthy to consume. I am talking about ordinary chalk like your teacher used on the balckboard at school. It is safe and works a treat.

[angiolo]

I simply sprayed the worktop with mosquito spray.. Ants gone

[ResandePohm]

I pour my hot water into my cup through a fine-mesh tea strainer. That filters out the ants.

Nothing wrong with consuming ants. Just protein. Ants got into some leftover rice in our rice cooker once. On heating up the leftover rice all ants were killed. We then ate the rice, ants and all. No different to eating the bugs you buy in the market.

[ResandePohm]

I simply sprayed the worktop with mosquito spray.. Ants gone

Sounds healthy. The next time you put food onto your worktop it will pick up the mosquito repellent. Apart from slowly poisoning yourself it must make the food taste really good

[hkt83100]

Put water in a plate. Place a bowl in it, upside down. Set your water cooker on the bowl.

Ants can't swim well.

PS: I put a little soap in the water just to really piss them off.

If you have a table with "waterproof"(!) table-legs: legs in small bowls filled with water.

Ant free table.

Don't do that with wooden table-legs

There are bowls-within-bowls available in almost any plastic shop, so no problem about the waterproof legs. Instead of water put petroleum (lamp oil) in the outer bowl, you will not need to fill up that often.

[Bantex]

Use a fine strainer or place a small piece of cloth or cotton wool in a medium strainer as an ant filter - double sided tape around the area where the kettle sits or around the kettle base & replace as required.

[ggt]

Learn to drink coffee...

[whaleboneman]

Buy the pump style and just leave it on.

Depending on the size and usage, this could end up costing 50-60 baht per month in power consumption. Why has nobody considered using a microwave to heat up water? 50 baht of microwave use will get you 600 cups of hot water, and there will be one less appliance on your countertop.

In my house, using a microwave would mean one more appliance on my counter.

[smotherb]

You cannot escape from ants in Thailand, it's simply not possible.

I've lived in Thailand for eight years, I've seen ants a few times, but my wife cleans them up. Rarely see another unless sweets are left out. so we don't leave sweets out.

[crazygreg44]

my ploblem is similar but different.

here the ants walk into the laptop.

Sometimes I spray the entire desk with lemongras & alcohol mix, it helps but just for a while.

so now my laptop is on top of a platter that is swimming in water inside a larger platter.

the power cable is smeared full of Eukalyptus Balm

it keeps the ants off (BTW it's not ants, its termites)

[Bantex]

my ploblem is similar but different.

here the ants walk into the laptop.

Sometimes I spray the entire desk with lemongras & alcohol mix, it helps but just for a while.

The alcohol mix just gets them drunk & they return when they sober up.

[lucifer666]

I had the same problem. I just boil water in a microwave for tea or coffee now.

[BOB12]

cedar oil, spray around the base of the legs. Insects hate it, rats, mice, you name it

[bartender100]

Just Google it for your answer sorry, thousands, no wait millions have asked this before, ants in sugar . ants in food, ants in kitchen, ants in cupboard., Just get some ant killer !!!!!!

No more ants

[Bantex]

cedar oil, spray around the base of the legs. Insects hate it, rats, mice, you name it

How does spraying your legs help???

[dodojero]

You should not think of how to keep the ants out of the water cooker. It's better to find a way to keep them out of your house. This is what I did and since they aren't in my house anymore they aren't in my water cooker as well. Problem solved!