If you do use an ant trap (we've used the green ones from Migros successfully), you have to put it in their path/way and not move it for at least two weeks.
I've heard baking powder does the trick - sprinkle it along their path. They explode, apparently
I went to the jumbo, and had a look, they are called Matli Ameisenfalle made by Maag this is the one that they take back to the nest, and kills the rest of the ants, i will have a look in migros, and landi, this week for the other one i posted about (i thought i had bought it from jumbo, but it could be migros, or landi, i will go, on a hunt this week
Talcum powder is meant to get rid of them!
Not sure how it works though.
It offends their masculine sensibilities.
I bet you've never seen an ant with a man-bag, either, have you?
We were once had ants when we lived on the third floor. I found where they were coming in & sprayed wasp spray across their path & they would not cross the line. Problem solved.
This sounds a bit like the Ant Stop Bait Station. It is like a minature Millennium Dome (O2 Arena now). Once inside they are doomed (Quite like the dome really!) The bait (poison) remains safely inside.
Their website has everything you ever wanted to know about ants, and probably a lot that you didn't, including their lifecycle and an identification guide. They also have an 'Ant Stop' Gun. I guess that you would have to be a pretty good shot. They are very small and move fast
I agree that Nippon is probably the most effective but it is always out in the open. I don't know how other pets might react to it.
Who would have thought that a thread on Ants could provide so many hearty chuckles.
Not sure, but a fairly potent ant killer in the US is Terro. Sounds similar to what you're talking of here. It's sugar and boric acid. Less strong is borax (I think it's also called washing soad) which I guess has something to do with boric acid). Wonder if talcum power has a similar product.
Baking soda, huh? They must die from gas. Hmmm.
Anyway, Terro used to work like a charm. You put some on a piece of cardboard and watch the little suckers congreate around the terro, and then they take it back to their colony and it kills them all. But you also position it in their path. But it is nasty stuff, and you have to keep it away from your pets, and children, and food, etc.
With Nippon, you could buy a disc like container which you can open and put some Nippon in. It has 4 openings for the ants to get in. Not only does this protect it from pets, but also if it you place this outside, would stop the rain washing the solution away.
there is also some liquid that you drop in the watering can and water the affected area (balcony) - that might be the least intrusive method?
I'm buying some thing week for my terrace. There's only a few but that's already too many
Boric acid - H3BO3,
Talcum power is something different - H2Mg3(SiO3)4 or Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
Gawd, I've got them now and I can't use my usual weapon of choice: Baygon with butane propulsion (!) because of the dogs.
The previous owner left something called: Bio Kill Extra, according to the directions it shouldn't cause humans nor animals (warm blooded ones) harm if used correctly.
Alrighty, if it works I will let you all know. At 24.80 for 500ml it should.
Nothing like buying a flat and getting bio-friendly ant warfare defence included.
Sounds like you bought yourself into a known problem..
I guess you should ask for limited time rental from Zurich Zoo - they have few of them - make sure you supply enough food for it until return -
new business line for Zoo's WW.
I just bought one from the pet store yesterday you can rent mine if you like. Now erm................. how much should i charge , or we could always HOOVER them up lol
I'm in the ants club too, now. The spray doesn't work well, after a day or two they're back at the same place. I'm now trying to seal the window where they seem to get through, and hide all the food...
Have asked at your local droguerie? I get some white powder stuff from them which you dilute in water and spray. It isn't available off the shelves and it works much better than the aerosols. I have to say that in our neck of the woods the owner of the droguerie is the guy you call if you have a wasps' nest or hornets' nest (we can't call the fire service anymore) so maybe he mixes his own stuff.
We "did" the ants last week. We're on the third floor and they were coming in from the balcony, where they'd been hiding under the flower, herb and berry pots.
So, first, we completely cleared the balcony, then scrubbed the balcony with hot water and Javel solution (bleach/disenfectant). Then we sprayed all along the wall, corners, balcony doors and around the window and window sills with the Migros "bug killer": Ungeziefersrpay - gegen hartnäckige, kriechende Ungeziefer.
It certainly seems to have done the trick; I'm not sure if the green ant traps helped at all - perhaps they wiped out the queen
As suggested by several others, the quick fix for "existing" ant problem the best solution is the ant baits which they carry back to the colony and kill the queen.
A trick I have learned to repel ants, especially when the weather is hot and dry - try putting a few drops of lavender essential oil into a bucket of warm water and use the water to mop or wipe your home surface area. It gives the house a heavenly smell that ants (and some other bugs) hate so they stay away!
Does anyone have any non-lethal approaches to getting rid of ants? My boyfriend is an entomologist and 100% firmly against killing insects (apart from mosquitos as - quote - "they're little effing bastards"). There are more and more appearing and they're getting on my tits. Cheers!