Dealing with ant infestation

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Tiago Simões
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Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Tiago Simões »

OK so it's getting pretty ridiculous these ants, and I had to resort to poison, of course Killing them wasn't my first intention, but can't really have an army of ants getting in the kitchen now can I?

Was and is there a more ahimsa way of dealing with these little home invaders? I know about the cinnamon think, but it doesn't really work when they are already IN the house. :tongue:
Punya
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Punya »

Cinnamon worked for me http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.ph ... 8&start=20 and I haven't had any problems since.

I think it probably depends a bit on climate. I can't imagine it would have worked In my Bali hotel room. But maybe it depends more on how many of the little critters already exist in a given place. I also notice they are attracted to sweet things, including flowers.
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Fortyeightvows
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Put a few drops of honey outside the house not too close.
Then put a little bit more of honey even further from the house.
Sweep up as many ants as you can and take them to the further honey. This gets the bulk of the ants out and they will tell their friends about the honey. Then pour white vinegar everywhere in and around the house!
Fortyeightvows
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Lamayeshe archives has some good articles about dealing with ants and other insects.
Simon E.
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Simon E. »

I think first you need to ask yourself how much of an 'invasion' it really is.
In our previous house in rural Devon, ants came in every summer and we simply coexisted with them.
Ants are not flies or cockroaches. They are not disease vectors.
Unless you are living in the tropics or have an unusual species accidently imported (like fire ants) they do not attack you. They do not behave like the ants in Family Guy who carried off Peter Griffin's pie.
Ask yourself what the worst scenario would be if you were careful to cover all food, leave no crumbs or particles and simply ignored them.
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Adamantine
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Adamantine »

Fortyeightvows wrote:Put a few drops of honey outside the house not too close.
Then put a little bit more of honey even further from the house.
Sweep up as many ants as you can and take them to the further honey. This gets the bulk of the ants out and they will tell their friends about the honey. Then pour white vinegar everywhere in and around the house!
This is a good strategy though I would add that you should scrutinize their pathways and entry points first. Once you find their entrypoints, and you've diverted them with the honey and swept out the rest, etc.. use cayenne pepper powder and spray at those entry points. Also make sure there is no food left out even tiny spills or crumbs to attract them. Generally, they only go where there is some treasure.
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Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha
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treehuggingoctopus
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by treehuggingoctopus »

Cinnamon works better than vinegar. A thick line around all possible points of entry does the trick.
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Seishin
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Seishin »

Here's what I do and it works for me;
1. place a small spoon of sugar outside the home.
2. sweep up the ants and take them to where the sugar is located.
3. clean their point of entry into your home VERY thoroughly with vinegar. And I mean VERY thoroughly.
4. fill in any holes they have left, or fill in their entryway.
5. sprinkle the whole area of their entry with bicarbonate of soda.
6. keep topping up the pile of sugar, moving it further away from the house each time (but not too far)

They come back every year in the summer, and the first time I did this I had to do it a number of times before they stopped coming back. I've also noticed that, when I first started this, they were mostly coming out of the ground near my front door. Now they mostly come out at the far end of the front garden and even out in the car park, so they seem to be moving away.

Ants leave a scent trail that changes if they find food, to call more ants, so not having food exposed is a great preventative measure. Even small crumbs you can't see will bring more ants. Their scent also changes when they are killed (they tend to retrieve their bodies) so even killing them doesn't work all the time.

Best of luck!
Fortyeightvows
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Fortyeightvows »

So there it is two votes for vinegar and two votes for cinnamon and one vote for canneye pepper.
It looks like time for a new poll.
Simon E.
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Simon E. »

And one vote for asking if it is in fact, a problem at all...but no one seems interested in that pov.. :smile:
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Fortyeightvows
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Simon E. wrote:And one vote for asking if it is in fact, a problem at all...but no one seems interested in that pov.. :smile:
You mean like just letting the ants go about their days in the house? :jawdrop:
Simon E.
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Simon E. »

As I said in a widely ignored ( :smile: ) post above, we used to live in a very rural part of Devon in the west of England. Every summer ants would move in for a couple of months.
We were careful to clean away and/or cover anything edible to them, but did put honey a few yards from the house every few days in small pools.
Then we simply coexisted.
Ants are not disease vectors, as are flies and cockroaches. They just mooch about for a few summer months.

Some caveats, the caveats being if you live in the tropics, or if you have an invasion of tropical ants like Fire Ants where coexistence is not practical.
But most temperate zone ants pose no threat.
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by maybay »

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Tiago Simões
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Tiago Simões »

I've pretty much resorted to simply ignoring the ants, trying not to suck them up while I vacuum.
Coming rain season they won't be around anymore.
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Footsteps
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Footsteps »

Diatomaceous earth.

Insecticides kill more than insects. They harm all beings.
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Natan
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Natan »

tiagolps wrote:OK so it's getting pretty ridiculous these ants, and I had to resort to poison, of course Killing them wasn't my first intention, but can't really have an army of ants getting in the kitchen now can I?

Was and is there a more ahimsa way of dealing with these little home invaders? I know about the cinnamon think, but it doesn't really work when they are already IN the house. :tongue:
You can kill them, because they are not ordinary beings. They are soldiers in an army. It is an honor for a soldier to die in battle.
Vajra fangs deliver vajra venom to your Mara body.
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WendyDarling
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by WendyDarling »

Cinnamon curbs ants enthusiasm, it's natural, and it smells divine, good tip to know from here out.
shaunc
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by shaunc »

Mint works pretty well too. But I have to try the honey trick.
loise21
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by loise21 »

tiagolps wrote:I've pretty much resorted to simply ignoring the termite ants treatment costs, trying not to suck them up while I vacuum.
Coming rain season they won't be around anymore.

Hello tiagolps,


Like the last 3 days the place has been swarming with them

I put down ant bait and sprayed this peppermint ant-killer stuff all over the place that just makes me feel nauseous and yesterday I cleaned my kitchen really thoroughly
Came down for breakfast and they were everywhere again

What do I do
Tiago Simões
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Tiago Simões »

loise21 wrote:
tiagolps wrote:I've pretty much resorted to simply ignoring the termite ants treatment costs, trying not to suck them up while I vacuum.
Coming rain season they won't be around anymore.

Hello tiagolps,


Like the last 3 days the place has been swarming with them

I put down ant bait and sprayed this peppermint ant-killer stuff all over the place that just makes me feel nauseous and yesterday I cleaned my kitchen really thoroughly
Came down for breakfast and they were everywhere again

What do I do
You can try the advice given here, but my experience with ants 24/7 in my kitchen for the past months is that you stop caring after a while, just don't leave food out in the open for them :tongue:
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