Dealing with ant infestation

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Punya
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Punya »

....ant-killer stuff all over the place that just makes me feel nauseous....
It probably makes the ants feel pretty nauseous too. Perhaps one of the options discussed in this thread might work.
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
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Fortyeightvows
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Fortyeightvows »

I promise this works.
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!
tenyang
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by tenyang »

I had a problem with ants a few years ago. At the time I was living on the ground floor and had a small garden. After a little while, I started noticing the odd ant here and there inside the house, but I didn't really mind. But soon I started noticing a long line of them, coming into the apartment from the garden every day. At that point I decided I should do something about that. I didn't want them to end up killed by accident, like stepped on or vacuumed when cleaning and so on. I thought it would be safer for everyone if they just stayed in the garden. I noticed they were attracted by the cat's bowl of dry food, so I put the bowl on a tray filled with water. The ants couldn't reach the bowl any more and soon lost interest in it. I also made sure there were no crumbs around or other sources of interesting food for them. I swept up as many ants I could and released them back into the garden, the others just appeared to have left on their own, because in a short time there were no more ants inside.

Have you noticed if there is something particularly attractive for them inside your home, some kind of resource they want (food?)? And how do they get inside? (if it's a hole, can it be sealed?)
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Mantrik
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Mantrik »

You could try Changchub Dorje's Dark Garuda practice as given by ChNN - mantra number 65. ;)

Alternatively, as Simon suggests, redefine it as not being a problem.

I do this with garden 'weeds'. I simply redesignate them as welcome flowers and the problem goes away.
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by 明安 Myoan »

Is there a type of soft brush I could find for sweeping up ants? We regularly have ants in this old house. They come in numbers that ignoring them isn't a possibility since they soon find our pantry. Maybe if I can sweep them up, they'll lose the trail. Cucumber water, cinnamon etc. didn't seem too effective when I tried.

As for weeds, invasives often outcompete native plants which reduces food and shelter for the birds and insects in your area. Especially with some weeds like Himalayan blackberry or English ivy, the "compassionate" thing to do would be to get rid of them and sow some native wildflower seeds :)
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Mantrik
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Mantrik »

Monlam Tharchin wrote: Fri Mar 09, 2018 5:47 pm Is there a type of soft brush I could find for sweeping up ants? We regularly have ants in this old house. They come in numbers that ignoring them isn't a possibility since they soon find our pantry. Maybe if I can sweep them up, they'll lose the trail. Cucumber water, cinnamon etc. didn't seem too effective when I tried.

As for weeds, invasives often outcompete native plants which reduces food and shelter for the birds and insects in your area. Especially with some weeds like Himalayan blackberry or English ivy, the "compassionate" thing to do would be to get rid of them and sow some native wildflower seeds :)
You could try a fly whisk. Very soft and gentle, like the ones used by Jains to sweep path insects aside. Try to make a stash of sweet food close to the pantry that is more attractive.

Weeds here are usually native species trying to return the gardens to a wild state. I have a corner which is completely wild, a few ponds and rockeries. We have ants, slugs, catterpillars, toads, frogs, newts, mice and badgers....and the odd deer strolls across the fornt garden at times. The most badgers we have had in the garden is 5..........I have also designated them as welcome, but not in the house, as long as they do not upset Max the Weimaraner! :)
http://www.khyung.com ཁྲོཾ

Om Thathpurushaya Vidhmahe
Suvarna Pakshaya Dheemahe
Thanno Garuda Prachodayath

Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ (मिच्छामि दुक्कडम्)
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明安 Myoan
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by 明安 Myoan »

Fly whisk, great! Thanks, I didn't know the term.

The garden sounds beautiful! My yard was a big swath of grass and the backyard a bunch of ivy and shotweed. Been slowly transforming it for years :)
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Punya
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Punya »

We recently had an bull ant infestation in, of all places, our linen cupboard. It turned out they were attracted to a couple of small bars of soap. I removed those with tongs shaking off the ants that were still clinging to them and then, because it was on carpet, put down a number of pieces of A4 paper and sprinkled a lot of cinnamon onto the paper. Within a few days the ants retreated and I haven't seen them since. :smile:
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
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marcowilson
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by marcowilson »

Hello all member

Ants and your garden

A portion of the all the more environmentally disapproved among you might think about whether ants are useful to your garden or in the event that they truly cause harm to your plants.

Ants can be to some degree useful to your garden. Since they are predators, they chase different bugs that live in your grass and can help fertilization while they are rummaging. Be that as it may, ants jump at the chance to manufacture settles around the root arrangement of plants, which can stunt development and leave plants more defenseless against sickness.

Many types of subterranean insect likewise eat honeydew, which is discharged by aphids as they devour plants. Ants have been known to shield aphids from different predators, for example, ladybirds, to keep up a dependable nourishment source. Expanded aphid movement in your garden, particularly when they have protectors, can be grievous for vegetation as they can progress unhindered through your garden, sucking out the majority of the delicious plant juice.
Preat712
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Re: Dealing with ant infestation

Post by Preat712 »

First, understand the ant type, after that to solve this problem, then you need to get rid of ones. For better elimination of ants, you should analyze to termite or ants pest control nearest in your region.
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