<p>Ok…we seem to have a ton of those little sugar ants. We have all food in jars or containers or in the fridge. I’m really wanting to get rid of these in a non-toxic way, I used to wipe my counters with vinegar but I’m not thinking that is such a good idea with granite.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? I’m going to Home Depot tomorrow to get something…maybe ant cups?</p>
<p>Man, thumper! What a bummer. I have no solution for you, so I’ll just bump up this thread hoping that someone can offer one. </p>
<p>We had a major sugar ant invasion last year, so I feel your pain, thumper. I wound up using Raid ant baits. It took several weeks, but the ants finally disappeared. The active ingredient is avermectin B1 (for sure Bunsen could tell you more about that than I could!). The commercial name is abamectin, and the label says: “Harmful if absorbed through the skin. Causes moderate eye irritation.” That may be too toxic for a house with little kids or pets, but we geezers were able to avoid contact with the baits.</p>
<p>I have had good luck with the Terro liquid ant baits. The active ingredient is borax. Ants are usually gone in 3 or 4 days. YMMV
Good luck.</p>
<p>Our subdivision was built on an ancient, mile thick ant colony that will still be thriving when we humans are long extinct. </p>
<p>OK, kidding, but only slightly. Every. House. In our neighborhood has ant issues during the warm months.</p>
<p>We have worked hard to eliminate ants inside our house, and now rarely see any.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Terro Liquid Ant Bait Traps are your best friend. They are sold at Lowes and Home Depot. Buy a big pack of them. Place them as close as possible to the place where you see ants entering your kitcken/bathroom. Do NOT wipe away the ant trail, put the Terro right on the trail. The ants go in and then carry the poison back to the colony where it is shared. You will see a ton of ants all over the bait. Do not get grossed out, leave it alone. Within a couple of days the ants will be gone, as the colony is poisoned at the source. We keep a Terro trap permanently on one windowsill of our kitchen, as that seems to always be the entry point.</p></li>
<li><p>We have a service spray the exterior foundations quarterly. The first time the visit they will spray your interior baseboards, but unless you are having major insect problems, you will only ever need your exterior foundations sprayed.</p></li>
<li><p>Trim ALL plants away from your foundations. Branches, flower leaves, vines, bushes, etc should not be touching your house. They provide a handy bridge around the foundation sprayed protection! You don’t need to get rid of foundation plants, just trim them so they don’t touch the house/foundation.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We just had the worst ant invasion we’ve ever had. It lasted for weeks - sugar ants AND grease ants. Hundreds and hundreds. Finally they seem to be pretty much gone. I don’t like the chemicals either, although H did spray here and there a couple of times. We also spread used coffee grounds here and there, which seems to discourage them a bit. Some sites recommend spreading the coffee grounds all around the outside of the foundation, but we don’t drink THAT much coffee. :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure where they are entering! I’m going to get those Terro baits today. I’ll put one behind my mixer on the kitchen counter. And I’ll look around. </p>
<p>We do have a curious cat who will chew anything like that…so they have to be where he can’t get them.</p>
<p>What about inside cabinets?</p>
<p>We had an ant invasion. It didn’t help to spray (non-toxic) the counters because that didn’t get the source, so we just watched them until we saw where they came from. At this place, we put a glob of Terro bait, and it got them, but they would soon find another way into the kitchen. It turned out that there was a large colony living in the mulch outside the kitchen. We had professionals spray on the outside. </p>
<p>With pets or small children, you would not want to have the bait where they could get it. If you can use the traps in areas where they won’t, its the better way to get rid of the ants. </p>
<p>I think ‘Hot Shot Pest Control’ is best stuff at Home Depot for home pest control. It is toxic to sugar ants!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hot-Shot-1-oz-Pest-Control-Concentrate-HG-875-3/100535566#customer_reviews”>http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hot-Shot-1-oz-Pest-Control-Concentrate-HG-875-3/100535566#customer_reviews</a></p>
<p>OK…so I got Terro liquid traps. I put one behind my huge mixer on the counter where the ants have been…but where the nosy cat can’t get at it. I’m not sure where these creatures are entering. </p>
<p>I also bought Ortho spray to spray the foundation on the outside, and in the basement on the inside…and maybe along the baseboards. </p>
<p>So of course…today, I haven’t seen any!</p>
<p>Yay! You scared them away!</p>
<p>Ah but my daughter just showed me where they are coming from…and it’s behind the cabinet above where I out the trap! Good. There is a steady stream of them heading towards their Waterloo!</p>
<p>Raid’s gel that comes in a little tube is incredible. The ants swarm to it as soon as I put down little blob, and then carry it back to the colony. In a day, the ants are history. Just a little blob along the woodwork, so no trap for the cats to bat around, and if it’s against the wall or under a mat, they can’t step in it.</p>
<p>KK…apparently that is how this liquid Terro works also. I just peeked at the trap…and it is filling up with ants! They are coming and going…hopefully going back to the nest to poison their kindred. </p>
<p>If the Terro doesn’t work, I’ll try that raid gel which I can squeeze between the cabinet and wall (which looks like where they are coming from).</p>