Ants GALORE


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Old 08-20-12, 08:43 PM
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Ants GALORE

I've read several wonderful testimonies on how Terro gets rid of ants for good by ridding the entire colony, so I decided to give it a try because I got ants galore in my home. I placed several liquid ant baits which attracted ants within the first hour. At first there was about 2-3 ants in that area, and no other area. I just knew that eventually they would bring in their friends if I didn't kill of their queen. So within a few hours the ants began taking the liquid ant bait. After a while they stopped. And to add to that, MORE ants came out. Now there's a swarm of ants congregating in one area and the liquid ant baits are there with NO ants taking the bait. It's almost as if these ants got wise to the traps. So much for Terro and thanks for nothing. What's going on? Maybe a real expert on how to get rid of ants can help me get rid of them because Terro ain't doing crap now. It's almost as if a genius ant told the other ants not to take the bait. Now they're just swarming around the bait area. That's weird how the Terro liquid bait is just attracting them but none of the ants aren't taking it, unless I just happened to miss them taking the bait and leaving. Anyone???
 
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Old 08-21-12, 04:34 AM
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Terro liquid ant bait uses borax as its main ingredient.
You need patience with these types of ant killers and will need days and weeks to know if its going to work, not hours.

You can make your own by mixing well some powdered sugar and borax but there are many other recipes out there.
We use a mixture of 1 cup powdered sugar to 3 tbs borax and then sprinkles small amounts near where ants travel.
We will also make bait out of 1 tbs peanut butter, one tbs honey and one tsp borax well mixed.

Give these a try and wait at least two weeks to see what the effect is.
 
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Old 08-21-12, 04:51 AM
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I've sometimes had the same experience with the ants being a bit finicky. I get an invasion about once a year. Sometimes the little bait squares I put out get attacked all at once within the first 30 seconds and sometimes they run around ignoring them for a few days, but it's never failed to eventually work.
 
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Old 08-21-12, 05:35 AM
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Yeah, it doesn't work overnight but it has always worked for me.

I also throw granules in a 5' perimeter around the outside of the house.
 
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Old 08-21-12, 05:50 AM
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It's been about 40 hours since I started the liquid bait trap and it seems as if there are more ants than ever before. I don't see any dead ants anywhere, just more ants. It seems like Miller time for them at a pool party. Is this how it's supposed to go?
 
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Old 08-21-12, 05:56 AM
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Yep, pretty much. I never see the dead ones either, only way more live ones than ever once the bait comes out. 40 hours is just the start, it usually takes me several days to a couple weeks to get everything under control.
 
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Old 08-21-12, 01:23 PM
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I read somewhere that there could be up to 500 queen ants in a colony. WOW, what if the ants only take the bait to some of the queens while the rest of them remain? Is the liquid ant bait supposed to kill ALL the ants?
 
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Old 08-21-12, 03:04 PM
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First-don’t spray anything as you will repel the ants from your baiting strategy. If someone sprayed prior to baiting then it will take time to wear off.
Second-try a gel bait for ants if the liquid isn’t working. The gels are generally of a protein matrix as opposed to the liquids that are usually carbohydrate based. Ant colonies need/want one or the other at different times.
Third-maybe they are eating more than it appears; night activity is common in ants.

A baiting program can kill the colony. It seems to be our experience that large colonies need to be baited 2 years consecutively. Not for 2 years constantly, but when they swarm/emerge as they are now. In other words 2 swarming events or more over two years; baiting same; don’t usually have to bait the following year. Patience.
 
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Old 08-23-12, 03:32 PM
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Smile Stick with the terro

If the ants have already invaded the home then it's a good thing that the terro is attracting them. The point of a bait is to have the ants track it back to wherever they are hiding, so the more ants attracted to the bait means the more ants that will get sick from the bait. So if there are numerous ants in the terro then as long as you don't run out of terro and if you're patient then your problem will go away. I've seen many people that gave up on terro too soon and resort to spraying which just spreads the problem. If you can just buy more terro and place it around the exterior foundation and where the problems are inside the home.
 
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Old 08-23-12, 07:01 PM
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Looks like Terro worked after all. I guess I doubted it's trustworthiness due to all the other "swear by" ant killer/baits out there that failed me over and over. First I saw 3 ants, set up Terro liquid bait. 2 hours later, about 30 ants. Next day, swarming with ants (some seem to ignore the bait and go around it). 50 hours into it, about 3 ants. Now, don't see any ants unless they're wandering around somewhere else. I'm going to leave the bait there for a few more days just in case there are some stragglers. I'm actually stunned at how well this product worked. The Ortho home defense MAX ant baits did absolutely NOTHING. Do they even test these products? Anyway, thanks guys and thanks Terro!
 
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Old 08-23-12, 07:20 PM
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Glad you stuck with it and had good results. Yeah, it can be a little counter-intuitive that it seems like you have more ants when you put the stuff out but you really had all those ants the whole time and just didn't know it.

And the ants will be back - maybe next month, maybe next year,... they're everywhere outside and some will find their way in again but now you know what to do.
 
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Old 08-24-12, 03:04 PM
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Heelllllpppp!!!!!! Dang it, they're back -- and with a vengeance!!! I saw NO ants yesterday, maybe 1 or 2 at the MOST. I came home today only to find my place swarming with ants again, What's going on? I thought they were done for when I saw pretty much no more ants. Is this common? where the ants disappear and reappear with a vengeance? The Terro rep on the phone said that they're probably argentine ants and probably have multiple queens. She also made some excuse about how sometimes they come in waves. Is she messing with me or is this true? She said that they will eventually die out and to give it a few weeks. Anyone?I forgot to add, I found the tiny crack in the wall located at the corner of my window. Should I seal this place up after the ants finally disappear? I'm worried that they'll find another crack to come out of.
 

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Old 08-25-12, 06:28 AM
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Not unusual; insects and animals don’t behave in textbook manner. Keep fresh baits readily accessible; gels and liquids work well on small ants. The toxicity of these baits is very low so that they can take enough back to the nest. If they died to soon it wouldn’t work. Re-read my previous post for strategies. Don’t seal the crack yet-if they are bound and determined to swarm, it will happen anyway, at least somewhere.

It could be a reproductive swarm which is essentially a force of nature-nothing you caused. If this is an exterior wall, consider baiting on the exterior side of that wall as well.
 
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Old 08-25-12, 06:37 PM
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As you can see in the second picture, these ants seem to be congregating in one area and not following after the bait. I'm not sure as to why. In the first pic, some of the ants seem to be taking the bait back to the nest through a very tiny hole. The hole is located (1st pic) to the upper right of the window area where the baits are. So the huge empty space within the wall of the 1st pic (located below the baits on the window space) are more than likely colonies of ants with their multiple queens. I am certain if I were to cut the wall open, there would be thousands of ants.
 
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Old 08-27-12, 08:46 AM
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[SIZE=2]I called Terro and the ant expert said that because there's a "crawl space" below my home, and because the ants are crawling "vertically" on the wall inside my home, the ants most likely have their ant shelter below in the crawl space. The ant expert said that there's probably an "ant city" there. He also said that the ants will continue to be attracted to the baits as long as I leave them out. He said that this could go on forever until "ant dust" is used in the crawl space below my home. Wow, just wow!!!
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Old 08-27-12, 09:03 AM
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I can see that being the case - I did tell you they would be back, I just didn't think it would be this quickly.
 
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Old 08-27-12, 02:23 PM
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Continue baiting them with whatever bait they are accepting. It will kill the colony in time. Anything else you do will act as a repellent and work against your baiting program. They will continue to swarm and live in other parts of your house. They could very easily be living in the wall void just below the window. I believe they are coming out under/around the window sill. That is often my experience. Small ants don’t travel far from the nest as carpenter ants do. Just stay the course.
 
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Old 08-27-12, 10:27 PM
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One last question, when do I stop baiting them or seal up the tiny hole in the wall where they're coming from? Should I continue to leave baits out even if there are 1-2 ants roaming? Or do I wait until there are no ants for at least a day? Because the last time ants appeared about 5-10 hours after there were seemingly no ants from the first wave.
 
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Old 08-28-12, 04:27 AM
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There’s no textbook answer to how long to wait. I suggest waiting at least 1 to 2 weeks after you see no activity. At least. Won’t hurt to wait longer, but it would hurt to seal up too soon. They may be active at night or other times when you don’t see them. As posted earlier, the baits are low in toxicity so that ants can take it bake to the nest and pass it around. It works slowly by design so let it happen.
 
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Old 08-29-12, 07:25 AM
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3rd wave of ants, and it seems like they grow in number each 3-4 days. I even contacted an ant expert and he told he that a woman living in the same area as me dealt with these "argentine ants". She said that she used Terro for more than a month and they kept returning like they LOVED Terro. The Terro liquid bait stations were like juice boxes. She was afraid to seal any holes because the ants will find other cracks or holes to enter in and might end up in her bedroom. You can read it here: Ant invasion
 
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Old 08-29-12, 07:44 AM
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Ants are everywhere, this is only the first battle in what will be an ongoing war for you. I also use granules in a 5' thick perimeter around the house to at least keep some of the ones outside from getting in the house.
 
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Old 08-29-12, 07:47 AM
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If they are in fact taking the bait that is a very good sign. Bait acceptance is the foremost step. Keep plenty of fresh bait supplied and leave them alone. This is the way to kill the colony as opposed to conventional insecticides that can cause scattering and budding-off of new colonies. Patience.
 
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Old 08-29-12, 08:14 AM
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[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]I'm thinking that the majority of the ants are nesting "below" my home, and not necessarily around it. There's a 3-4 feet crawl space beneath and that's probably where they're originating from. That's how they can come from within the walls in my home and through the hole located in the wall to the side of my window inside my home. How do I deal with that? They will continue to breed and the source will never be exterminated no matter how much bait I use or how many times I keep replacing them. Sorry for all of these question, but these ants are driving me insane.
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Old 08-29-12, 08:17 AM
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Breathe, relax - this is an ongoing battle, don't let them get in your head. You're smarter than they are and you're going to win but it's not going to be quick.

What kind of access do you have to the crawlspace?
 
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Old 08-29-12, 08:32 AM
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I suspect they are in the wall void underneath the window-that’s how and why they are using the cracks around the window frame and trim. This has been my common experience. Don’t make this too complicated-if they are eating the bait then congratulations-the first and foremost step-bait acceptance is working. Relax and let it and them alone but keep the bait fresh and available.

If not in the wall void, then my next likely spot would be under the floor but above the insulation in the void between floor joists. Not the crawl space per se, but accessed thru the crawl space. If you go in there and begin pulling insulation down, be ready to spray them fast as they will scatter (undesirable) as I warned about earlier. I do not advocate this step now. Leave them alone with the bait.

Take a break and re-read all the posts/replies.

In addition to the current bait locations, can you take bait into the crawl space and place it on top of the foundation wall underneath that window, without disturbing anything? If so, place 3 to 6 stations so you don’t have to go back for a while.
 
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Old 08-29-12, 08:38 AM
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The crawl space entrance is located on the side of my home. There's a latch that can open and give way to the 3-4 feet space below the home. The thing is, I'm a bit disabled and don't have the physical ability to crawl down there and do something about the ant city.

The ants first came through the electrical outlets in the wall in the kitchen area. I sealed that and that's when the ants once came from under the floor near the window area where they're at now. I caulked that area and that's when they started coming through the tiny hole in the wall area near the window. I just don't have physical ability to crawl in the space below, that's if they are indeed coming from there.
 
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Old 08-29-12, 09:02 AM
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I was also wondering if it's possible to get one of those spray can's where you open it and it it fogs up the place with insecticide. You know the one where you close all the windows and let it do its work. You leave and come back later. What if I toss several of those underneath my home in the crawl space and close it? Sort of like tossing grenades and closing it.
 
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Old 08-29-12, 09:42 AM
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Give a neighborhood kid $5 to crawl into the crawl space and spread a bunch of Terro down there.
 
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Old 08-30-12, 10:56 AM
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[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]The number of ants were beyond numerous this time around. The baits were literally stuffed with ants to where they couldn't move. They drowned themselves in the liquid baits. I couldn't take it anymore and got the pest control dude to take care of it. He told me that baiting them is a waste of time and that Terro liquid bait will only continue to attract these "argentine ants" FOREVER. Even the Terro website states that argentine ants are "nearly impossible" to get under control. The pest dude told me that they were nesting in the walls and even if I tried to find out what cracks they were coming through from the outside, I would go insane. He said that there are sub colonies and hundreds of queens, and that there's a MEGA colony of these ants that run all the way from California to Mexico. Anyway, he treated the area and the ants are supposed to die out within a weak. We'll see about that.
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Old 08-30-12, 02:53 PM
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I'm looking at the services that was done on my home and the products that were used were:CYZMIC .015% (interior)TERMIDOR SC .06% (exterior)Wow, what is this? Hopefully this will keep the ants out for a while.
 
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Old 08-30-12, 05:36 PM
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Both good insecticides. Cyzmic is also a repellent; we use non-repellents such as Phantom or Arilon indoors when treating for ants. Don’t like repellents for ants; tends to scatter them as we discussed earlier. Termidor is excellent for ants and termites. Not labeled for use indoors, at least not yet. Both are safe.
 
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Old 08-30-12, 06:58 PM
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I was a bit stunned to discover a few ants alive and very active in the very same area (windowsill) where the baits were. That area was treated and I saw a pile of dead ants. What puzzled me was the few ants that were still alive and seemed unharmed. I also noticed a queen ant still alive, but not quite moving; her antennaes were moving though. I also noticed a spider crawling around. Seems like the treatment caused some of these spiders to scatter from where they were at. Is it normal for ants to be somewhat still clinging to life even after the area is treated? and why are there a few straggler ants still there? Should I be concerned?
 
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Old 08-31-12, 04:53 AM
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The insecticides used are residual insecticides meaning that they leave a residual after they dry. As the ants contact the residual they pick up a toxic dose. The ants that you described as clinging to life, I would describe as dying instead. I personally would have employed an expanded baiting strategy as described earlier-outdoors, crawl space, indoors. If the colonies are that large then that is all the more reason to give the baits time to be taken back to the nest and fed to the remainder of the colony, many of whom never leave the nest. Fipronil can be purchased in gel bait form. I suggested earlier to use multiple baits.

At this point the best strategy is to wait and continue working with the pest control operator that you are using. You’ve picked a direction and strategy so stay with it for the course. Keep it simple now. Live with the situation now and re-assess down the road.

This thread is taking on the appearance of a blog/instant messaging when it is to be used as a do-it-yourself exchange of ideas and experiences with minimal chatting and jokes thrown in. Let us know later on how it’s going.
 
 

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