Conference turris::cooks

Cheryl

I've heard that Lavender Essential Oil wiped around the area where they come in
is meant to stop them from entering, don't know if it kills them as well though 
or not.  Perhaps someone else might know.

Good luck!

Di

        Cheryl,
        
        	Another thing to try is to find the path they follow
        coming into the kitchen and then wash it well with a hot soapy
        mixture. When the scout ants come in they leave a scent trail for
        the other ants to follow by washing away the scent trail the
        others can't follow... You may need to track them right to the
        outside to wipe out the trail as early as possible...
        
        dave

Black pepper works ok.  Sprinkle it up against the base boards.  

There is a commercial mix that is boric acid and sugar.  The boric acid is a 
powder that the ants carry back to the nest with the sugar.  It will kill the
entire nest.  I don't know if boric acid meets your definition of natural, but
it is used as an antiseptic on humans.  There is a LOT os discussion about ants
in SERENA::HOME_WORK.

    I've used hot pepper with mixed success; I sprinkle it on windowsills
    (which is a point of ant-entry in my house) and on kitchen countertops
    and inside cabinets. This seems to discourage ants. Sometimes.
    I don't think it kills them though.
    
    Sue Ann

    One that has always worked for me is whole cloves.  
    
    Find the path where they enter the area and place a whole clove on the 
    trail.  This has stopped ants in both my house and in my RV. 
    
    Larry  

    I've used those Raid ant traps with success.  Put a couple of the
    little cans around the kitchen.  No muss, no fuss, no ants.

Have you tried talking to them? Explaining that this is your house not 
theirs and would they please keep out, or at least wipe their paws 
before entering?

Sheridan
:^)

    Actually, since this is COOKS and not HOME_WORK, we should be making
    suggestions for recipies using ants.  Right?
    
    Cover them with chocolate.  I've heard that chocolate covered insects
    of various types are a delicacy.
    
    
    Steve

    I use vinegar, they supposedly hate the smell and it does help for a
    while, but I notice they do come back.

    What I have done in the past is to spray with ant killer on the outside
    of the house where the foundation and the sill meet.  Right up under
    there.  This makes a barrier.  Then I use ant traps around the sink. 
    They have been known to follow water pipes which are a highway to them.
    If you notice any concentration anywhere remove whatever it is.  We
    just put everything in the fridge which left noplace for them to be
    interested in.  Good luck.
    

Re: my reply .1

oops!

I meant to say try using Peppermint Essential Oil not Lavender Essential Oil.  
Hope you  haven't already tried killing the ants with Lavender Oil, would be 
interested in what the results were if you had, hope they don't love Lavender Oil,
:-)

I remember seeing in the Pickity Place catalog that TANSY was a natural ant
repellent.

					-JP

    Cheryl, my sister has ants in the kitchen she puts out cucumber peels
    and the ant's are gone. She say's it's the only thing she founds that
    really works great.

    Just back on that "eat an ant" thing, you can eat them, and they taste
    of lemon.
    
    To get rid of them without steping over a tonne of useful household
    peelings, I would use a big hammer.
    
    Best of luck 
    
    Emma ;.) 
    
    
    

    Is that a new variation on Guns or Butter?  ;-)
    
    	/Harry
    

Hit them with a hammer??  These are teeny, tiny little ants she has described!
Last week I noticed ants that fit your exact description around my kitchen
sink.  I had never seen such ants before, I call them 'microscopic ants'!
Anyway, they were all marching in a line and going in and out of a tiny hole
next to the window moulding.  I caulked the hole up, cleaned all the ants I 
could see up and hoped for the best.  Next day, more ants- they found another
entrance!  Caulked that up, put out ant traps, and sprayed the whole area with 
simple green, wiped it and the new ants up.  Then I resprayed with simple green,
and just left it.  The ants appear to be discouraged, I've only seen one in the
past four days or so.  Hopefully it will continue to work!

Good luck!

Laura  

    Do aardvarks make good pets?
    
    ed

    Sure...until you run out of ants to feed them! (:

    Just saw a tip on one of the home-repair type shows.  They claim
    ants don't like garlic.  They suggest putting a peeled clove or two
    where you believe they are coming in.
    
    A friend of mine also had the problem and I mentioned she might want
    to try planting some tansy along the foundation where she thought
    they were getting in.  I'll have to ask her if she tried it or not.
    
    
    

Have fire ants made it as far north as New England?  The ants you're 
describing sound just like the fire ants that plague us here in Texas.  
Seriously, I don't think that's what you have; fire ants love heat and 
can't live through a cold winter.  Besides, if that's what they were, you'd 
probably know it by now by the stinging bites on your hands!

Anyway, the only control we've ever found for ants here is to kill them 
outside.  Nothing we've ever done in the house has kept them out.  We're 
not fans of poisons at all, but when you're fighting fire ants, it's 
all-out war.  We spray the foundation of the house with Dursban.  We also 
use an organic control two or three times a summer, called Logic.  It's a 
bait that the ants carry back to the nest and feed to the queen.  It 
sterilizes her and the mound completely dies out within about 4 - 6 weeks.

The combination of those two things, plus scrupulously wiping the kitchen 
counters everytime the tiniest drop of anything gets on them, has pretty 
well got our ant problem under control.

Steve

    Speaking of fire ants -- when I lived in Alabama we used to pour grits
    on the fire ant hills.  They would eat them, the grits would expand and
    voila fire ant bombs!!!
    
    dana

    re:.21 What do those fire ants look like anyway? We found a whole hill
    of these huge (1"-1.5" long) ants with wings, red markings on their
    backs and a painful, stinging bite. I'm in Worcester, so I would think
    it would be too cold, but who knows?
    
    Debbie
    

    Here in San Diego the sugar ants (teeny weeny black ones) arrive
    almost monthly by the hundreds! 
    
    A TBS of Boric Acid powder and grape jelly, mix and heat for 
    10 micro seconds.  Drop a dime size glop on masking tape and stick
    to surface by nest.  You must determine first where nest is as the
    ants may trail even longer to get to the trap.  As said before, they 	
    take this back to the nest to share and it then whacks 'em all out!
    
    W/in 24 hours the ants will be gone. It's been a good 90 days since
    their last visit.  
     
    We zap the outside red garden ants with a poision spray as necessary,
    called Diozinin.
    
    Also heard Grant Kills Ants works very well.
    

    I haven't heard of fire ants north of the mason/dixon line.  Actually I
    haven't heard of them north of the carolinas.  They look just like a
    regular red ant to me.
    
    dana

    those big ants with wings are either carpenters who've found a new home
    or carpenters leaving home to find better digs, consult an
    exterminator.
    
    ed

    Thanks for the replies. We actually think they might be some sort of
    ground hornet rather than ants. We're calling an exterminator...
    
    Debbie
    

    I use the RAID Ant Home killer things. They come in a silver box. Set
    of 4. They're white, almost round and have 3 little doors on them. They
    work great for me. I toss 1 or 2 under the fridge and by the door.  I
    occasionally find a few dead ones on the floor, but at least they're
    dead! (These are the same ones that the author described. Look like
    ":".
    
    beth

    RE: .23
    
    re:.21 What do those fire ants look like anyway?
    
    They're tiny, harmless looking little things.  No more than 1/16 - 1/8
    inch long.  Black.
    
    They definitely aren't in New England.  I was just kidding when I wrote
    that note.
    
    Steve

Found this in the gardening file and thought it might help?  Probably won't
hurt any!!



               <<< PICA::THIRTEEN:[NOTES$LIBRARY]GARDEN.NOTE;2 >>>
                            -< **  Gardening  **   >-
================================================================================
Note 2331.8                       epazote herb                            8 of 8
STAR::DIPIRRO                                         3 lines   3-AUG-1992 14:08
                             -< Ants hate it too >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    	I grew it last year and about the only use I discovered for it was
    that ants hate the stuff. Since I have a constant problem with ants, I
    threw clippings all around the house as an added barrier.



               <<< PICA::THIRTEEN:[NOTES$LIBRARY]GARDEN.NOTE;2 >>>
                            -< **  Gardening  **   >-
================================================================================
Note 2331.4                       epazote herb                            4 of 8
BROKE::AITEL "where's my talking horse?"             14 lines  29-JUL-1992 11:10
                          -< That and ginger too... >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    yep... aesofotida or however it's spelled is supposed to 
    aid digestion. It's available at East West, Lamplighter
    Square, Nashua NH, if you're in this area. One caution...
    this stuff smells quite strong itself. It's used in small
    (like a pinch, not even 1/8 tsp) amounts in cooking. I've
    got my little jar of it stored inside a 1pint canning jar
    with the lid tightly closed. Even so, my spice cabinet 
    has a bit of the scent. Before that, my whole kitchen 
    smelled like the stuff!
    
    But it really is necessary to make dal taste/smell like
    the dal in the restaurants.
    
    --L


    I was golfing with an exterminator once, and i told him i had an ant
    problem... i've had the big black ones and the small ones.....watch
    where they come out....may be several places....and pour some boric
    acid (you buy it in the drug store for about 1.50) .... this gets on
    their "feet" and they track it back.... it kills them.... i always have
    to do it twice before i get rid of them.....

    Is it safe to have this stuff around your kitchen? I mean, will boric
    acid hurt humans? If not I might put some on top of my cupboards where
    they seem to make a convoy....
    
    hannah

    I believe boric acid is used in some opthalmic solutions.(eye washes)
    
    I wouldn't recommend eating it, but I don't think it's like leaving
    battery acid on the counters....
    
    Edd

    When I lived in Manhattan, I dealt with the roaches as follows:
    
    1.  Keep kitchen very clean including sink, counters, and floors.
    2.  Store all food in closed containers.
    3.  Use a spoon to pour a thin line of boric acid along the bottom
    edge of the cabinets and the floor boards.  Replace after washing the
    floor.  Do not apply to a damp floor.
    4.  Don't store paper sacks or cardboard boxes in the apartment.  All
    city food stores have roaches and they love to eat the glue.
    
    I believe it is a mild poison when ingested orally.  I don't think you
    should use it as I described if you have pets or small children.
    
    As an alternative, you could put the thin line of boric acid around the
    inside edges of your cabinets.  If all food is stored in containers,
    there's no risk of contamination.
    
    If the boric acid is dry, it stays effective indefinitely against
    roaches.  Can't tell you about using it against ants.
    
    This should make you smile:
    
     The ants go marching one by one,
     Hurrah hurrah.
     ...
     The little one stops to suck him thumb,
     And they all go marching down,
     To the ground,
     To get out
     Of the rain.
    
    They say the roaches would be the only survivers of nuclear war. :-)
    
    L

    I started this note several months ago and found a remedy.  When our
    dishwasher malfunctioned for 9 hours this summer with hot water pouring
    out nonstop, it solved the ant problem.  

Boric acid is almost harmless.  Just don't eat it in large quantities.  :-)

--PSW

    I'll TRY not to eat it as I put it around my kitchen this year..;-)