# Ants keep coming back !!!



## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 6, 2017)

anyone know what type of ants are these , I use a lot of ants bait and powder, none of them are working ,if u know a product and destroy these ants please let me know , they are killing me !! Thanks


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## G-stars (Jun 6, 2017)

Have you tried ant chalk? I believe it's Japanese.


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## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 6, 2017)

No, but I have kids and tortoises around so I am not sure those are good idea .


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## G-stars (Jun 6, 2017)

It's chalk. You draw a line and they can't pass it. I have used it around both kids and tortoises with no ill effect. Just keep the actual chalk bar away from kids and the tortoises. It works for other insects as well.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 6, 2017)

https://www.google.com/#q=ant+chalk

diatomaceous earth is supposed to work too. You put it (like the chalk) near or around the mound and the very tiny sharp particles causes them to get cut up and they lose their inner moisture and die.

Here are a few others I've compiled over the years:

*Several Home-made Ant Remedies*


1 – Boric Acid

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of Boric Acid, 1 tsp of Sugar, 4 oz water, Cotton Balls.

Mix Boric Acid and Sugar in a bowl. This can be poured over a cotton wad in

a small dish or bottle cap. Keep this from drying out for continued
effectiveness. Place Cotton balls in path of Ants. If the ants are drawn to sugar, if you make a solution of boric acid and sugar, not too much boric acid initially, the ants will eat it up take it to their young and feed it to them. This method will kill the entire nest in about two weeks. The solution should initially be weak because you don't want them to taste the boric acid and you don't want to kill the ants before they feed the rest of the nest. If they are protein eating ants mix the boric acid in broth. 


2 – Another Boric Acid


>> 1 teaspoon boric acid (available at any drug store,, $2.99 for 4 oz) 6 tablespoons sugar

>> 2 cups water

>> mix together in a jar till all dissolved,, label and store safely.

>>Soak a few cotton balls with it, then put them in a small, covered plastic >container (margarine or <?>) with a few small openings in it for the ants to >get in, (I also put a brick on top so other curious creatures could not get >in)and then freshen it 1-2 times a week.

>> This is a slow acting 1 percent solution to get them to take some back to

>> the nest and even feed the queen :>

>>after a few weeks changing to a 1/2 percent solution should keep them gone.


3 - bacon grease

....in a margarine tub which is sunk into the ground level. The ants here can smell animal fat from what seems like a mile away...Around the outside of the margarine tub I place a big circle of boric acid...and cover it with a rock. The ants have to walk through the boric acid to get to the bacon grease, then back through it on the way out. If they get back to the nest carrying it on their legs, it kills whatever it comes into contact with. We have 4or 5 species of ants here...two of which are lethal! 


4 - Found this in Jerry Bakers stuff

Ant Ambrosia

4-5 tbsp. of cornmeal

3 tbsp. of bacon grease

3 tbsp. of baking powder

3 packages of baker's yeast


Mix the cornmeal and bacon grease into a paste, then add the baking powder and yeast. Dab the gooey mix on the sides of jar lids, and set them near the anthills. The pesky critters will love it to death!!""



5 - If you can't find Everclear, liquefy orange peels and pour it around the ant hills. You may get fruit flies, but you won't have any trouble with ants!


6 - I have a friend that put a circle of diatomaceous earth around her aviaries and

effectively kept the ants out that way. She also uses it to directly attack any hills in the area.


7 - I believe that the "new age chalk" is a combination of diatomaceous earth and boric acid. Boric acid is the major component in "Roach Proof" and is a fairly benign and very effective means of insect control.


8 - Amdro is another effective treatment, but it is an actual poison, but safer than others. Both Amdro and Logic are baits that the ants pick up and take into the mound so that the queen eats it.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 6, 2017)

If you try any of these, give us a feedback to let us know which works for you.


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## xirxes (Jun 6, 2017)

The clear Terro brand ant baits are greased lightning at wiping out whole colonies. Home Depot has them and safe around others.


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## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 6, 2017)

Yvonne G said:


> If you try any of these, give us a feedback to let us know which works for you.


Ok


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## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 6, 2017)

xirxes said:


> The clear Terro brand ant baits are greased lightning at wiping out whole colonies. Home Depot has them and safe around others.


I got those and they eat it right away , but they still come back after a week


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## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 6, 2017)

G-stars said:


> It's chalk. You draw a line and they can't pass it. I have used it around both kids and tortoises with no ill effect. Just keep the actual chalk bar away from kids and the tortoises. It works for other insects as well.


I see , when I was kid we use the same thing but for cockroach.


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## Tom (Jun 6, 2017)

xXtortoiseloverXx said:


> I got those and they eat it right away , but they still come back after a week



If they are eating the bait and then returning a week later, it is a sign that there is a very large colony or several large colonies. When one colony dies off, the other colony is moving in to the open territory. Keep putting out those Terro trays and you will keep wiping out your local colonies.


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## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 6, 2017)

Tom said:


> If they are eating the bait and then returning a week later, it is a sign that there is a very large colony or several large colonies. When one colony dies off, the other colony is moving in to the open territory. Keep putting out those Terro trays and you will keep wiping out your local colonies.


I see , good to know .


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## Tom (Jun 7, 2017)

xXtortoiseloverXx said:


> I see , good to know .



I found it also helps to expand the perimeter. When I see an ant colony anywhere near my house, I set out the Terro trays to wipe them out before they get inside my house or tortoise enclosures.


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## MPRC (Jun 7, 2017)

+1 on the Terro. You have to keep retreating with it, but it does work and soon you'll have fewer ants.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jun 9, 2017)

Using seaweed to kill invasive ants
19 May 2017, 07:04 AM

Scientists at UC Riverside have developed a seaweed-based ant bait that can help homeowners and farmers control invasive Argentine ant populations. (Choe Laboratory, UC Riverside)
Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have developed an inexpensive, biodegradable, seaweed-based ant bait that can help homeowners and farmers control invasive Argentine ant populations.

The researchers found the "hydrogel" baits, which look like liquid gel pills but have a jello-like consistency, reduced ant populations 40 to 68 percent after four weeks. After a second treatment, between weeks four and five, ant population reductions were maintained at 61 to 79 percent until the experiment ended after eight weeks.

"A 70 percent reduction is really successful, especially considering we are not spraying an insecticide but instead using a very targeted method that is better for the environment," said Dong-Hwan Choe, an assistant professor of entomology at UC Riverside and an assistant cooperative extension specialist. "With 70 percent control, homeowners really don't see any ants."

Jia-Wei Tay, a post-doctoral scholar in Choe's lab, is the lead author of the paper. Co-authors are Choe; Mark Hoddle, an entomologist at UC Riverside; and Ashok Mulchandani, a distinguished professor of chemical and environmental engineering.

In addition to the applications for homeowners in an urban environment, which was the focus of this paper, the hydrogels have applications in agriculture, including in citrus groves and grape vineyards.

For example, the Asian citrus psyllid has decimated citrus trees in Asia, South America, Florida and now threatens California's citrus industry. To combat the bug in California, Hoddle coordinated the release of wasps that are native to Pakistan and a natural enemy of the Asian citrus psyllid. Unexpectedly, Hoddle found Argentine ants were killing the wasps.

This summer, the team will coordinate research in citrus groves in southern California. The team wants to measure the effectiveness of hydrogels in controlling Argentine ant populations. If the hydrogel baits can control the ants, the wasps can do their job protecting citrus trees from Asian citrus psyllid, which transmit Huanglongbing, a bacterial disease that kills citrus trees.

The Argentine ant is an invasive species with a worldwide distribution. It is a major nuisance in southern states including Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina, and also in California. In fact, a 2007 survey found that 85 percent of all urban pest control services in California were focused on the Argentine ant.

A common method for managing the Argentine ant has been insecticide sprays. However, the downside of this tactic is that the insecticides can harm non-target organisms that do beneficial things. The misuse of the pesticide sprays can also cause environmental contamination.

As a result of these downsides, research has focused on liquid baits that use a combination of sugar water (to attract the ants) and a small amount of toxicant to kill the ants. The problem with the liquid baits is that they need to be dispensed in bait stations, which are costly to maintain.

"Hydrogels eliminate the need for the bait stations. The hydrogels are applied on the ground where the ants forage. Once an ant finds the hydrogel, it drinks from the surface of it. It then goes back to its nest and shares the toxic liquid with nest mates. The ants also create a trail to the hydrogels that their nest mates will follow," Tay said. The hydrogels are designed to be slow-acting, so it takes several days before the ants die. By that time tens of thousands will have ingested the liquid bait.

The hydrogels created by the team are highly absorbent -- the material used is similar to what is used in diapers. They retain water so that they will remain attractive to ants for an extended amount of time.

The researchers used sugar water containing 0.0001 percent of the insecticide thiamethoxam in the hydrogels. "This is 100-fold less than it is used in a standard ant gel bait and 1,000 times less concentrated than spray insecticides containing thiamethoxam," Tay said.

Future research will address the potential use of the hydrogels on other pest insects as well as how quickly the hydrogels biodegrade.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of California - Riverside. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

Jia-Wei Tay, Mark S Hoddle, Ashok Mulchandani, Dong-Hwan Choe. Development of an alginate hydrogel to deliver aqueous bait for pest ant management. Pest Management Science, 2017; DOI: 10.1002/ps.4616


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## Tom (Jun 9, 2017)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Using seaweed to kill invasive ants
> 19 May 2017, 07:04 AM
> 
> The researchers used sugar water containing 0.0001 percent of the insecticide thiamethoxam in the hydrogels. "This is 100-fold less than it is used in a standard ant gel bait and 1,000 times less concentrated than spray insecticides containing thiamethoxam," Tay said.
> ...



I read the whole article all the way through, only to find that they are still using toxic insecticides. Lower concentrations and a different delivery system, but still toxic chemicals…

What will stop other species from ingesting the insecticidal hydro-gel? I wouldn't want that spread around where any of my animals could come into contact with it.

I'll stick with my boric acid based sugar water baits.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jun 9, 2017)

Tom said:


> I'll stick with my boric acid based sugar water baits.


 A common method for managing the Argentine ant has been insecticide sprays. However, the downside of this tactic is that the insecticides can harm non-target organisms that do beneficial things. The misuse of the pesticide sprays can also cause environmental contamination. 
As a result of these downsides, research has focused on liquid baits that use a combination of sugar water (to attract the ants) and a small amount of toxicant to kill the ants. The problem with the liquid baits is that they need to be dispensed in bait stations, which are costly to maintain. 
"Hydrogels eliminate the need for the bait stations. The hydrogels are applied on the ground where the ants forage. Once an ant finds the hydrogel, it drinks from the surface of it. It then goes back to its nest and shares the toxic liquid with nest mates.
I can remember the citrus fields off the 10 fwy and the stray/overspray that would take place to control many things, both good and bad. Were it me I'd prefer these mini less poison filled baits that don't attract other, more helpful critters.


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## Tom (Jun 10, 2017)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> A common method for managing the Argentine ant has been insecticide sprays. However, the downside of this tactic is that the insecticides can harm non-target organisms that do beneficial things. The misuse of the pesticide sprays can also cause environmental contamination.
> As a result of these downsides, research has focused on liquid baits that use a combination of sugar water (to attract the ants) and a small amount of toxicant to kill the ants. The problem with the liquid baits is that they need to be dispensed in bait stations, which are costly to maintain.
> "Hydrogels eliminate the need for the bait stations. The hydrogels are applied on the ground where the ants forage. Once an ant finds the hydrogel, it drinks from the surface of it. It then goes back to its nest and shares the toxic liquid with nest mates.
> I can remember the citrus fields off the 10 fwy and the stray/overspray that would take place to control many things, both good and bad. Were it me I'd prefer these mini less poison filled baits that don't attract other, more helpful critters.



I'll grant that these are better than mass insecticidal spraying on large fields, but they are not better than what I'm using for home ant control.


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## xXtortoiseloverXx (Jun 10, 2017)

i think u guys are right , they are Argentine ants, zoom in 10 times. Very tough to get rip of I hear .


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## SaraP (Jun 12, 2017)

Newbie here. I do have dogs and cats though, so when the ants come, I don't want to be using anything they can get into. I've settled on a pet safe orange oil spray that seems to work well. Unfortunately, the invasions seem to be seasonal--when the weather snaps particularly hot or it's very damp out, they seem to want to come in, then leave when the weather changes.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 13, 2017)

If you are in a humid environment, like myself. Treatment with DE will not work. Because it is forever getting wet. Here's what I've done. It has 100% eliminated my ants. And that's saying something. Use any part of this as you see fit.
1) Any area of the yard that is not used for tortoises gets treated with ant granules. right up to the edge of the pens.
2)The pens themselves have several hidden "Mayonaise" style glass jars with metal lids. Small holes are poked in the lids and ant poison and sometimes an actual bait goes along, too. I place them at a slight downward pointing angle to make them rain proof. These are out of sight. Attract any stray ants and are 100% safe for my animals.
3) Just as important is to remove any ant attracting foods soon after offering them. Some sappy fruit will still find ants.


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## Sulcata.com (Jun 14, 2017)

I've used the ortho ant powder and it works all you have to do is sprinkle a generous amount directly on the mound and the ants will be gone in a day or two


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