Ants in my...well, fricking everywhere!

K

khung_IHB

New member
I live in Columbus Grove, and with the hot weather these past couple of weeks, we've been nigh invaded by ants in our home. Anyone else having this experience? I'm chalking it up to just being a newly developed area, but it's still pretty frustrating. We're finding we have to be especially vigiliant to not leave anything remotely sweet out or uncovered because it <strong>will</strong> be found.



If anyone else is having this same difficulty, what are you doing to fight/prevent it? Any ideas?



TIA
 
new development or old, ants are a problem in southern california. my apartment in l.a. was just as bad as my condo in irvine. if it gets hot enough or wet enough they'll find you.
 
Best $100 I ever spent...



We have two young ones and I was hesitant, my wife more so, but have not had an ant in the home since, two years going. We were so tired of cleaning every single nook and cranny and crumb, and the ants would just come anyway.



www.newportexterminating.com

or

(714) 424-0717



If you're happy afterwards, kick a $10 into IrvineRenter's tipjar.
 
A friend of mine (a bit of an odd guy) suggested leaving food and water outside for the ants to find. He said it works. Sounds a bit strange to me, but who knows. I think the $100 for an exterminator is more logical. :)
 
Go to the store and buy Terro... it is a liquid ant bait. The ants eat it, and die back in the nests underground (no clean up).



It comes in prefilled plastic containers to pierce and leave around the common areas they are showing up... kitchen, bathroom. In my opinion, the prefilled containers are difficult for the ants to navigate. I place quite a few drops of the liquid on a small piece of cardboard and place in the areas they are showing up. (you can use a cut up cereal box, about 2" x 2" squares)



It may take the ants an hour or two to find the poison. But, once they do... they will line up all the way around the droplet like a mini feeding station!



Don't freak out, but the ants will come out in amazing numbers to feast on the poison... RESIST THE URGE TO CLEAN THEM UP! They need to take the poison back to the nest. If you get them back another time, it is a different nest, since this will kill off the first one.



It will take about two maybe three days... and you will be done with them, instead of all this constant spraying and cleaning up.



Be sure to keep out of reach of kids and pets... after all, it's meant to taste yummy to the ants...



They also make a granular product to pour around the foundation of the house to keep them from coming in at all... it does deter them a bit... but mostly they are coming up pipes from underground. Their nests are in the root structures from the trees and shrubs that used to be in the area before the properties were built.



Hope this helps! PM me if you need any more help!



GITOC
 
[quote author="Girl In the OC" date=1209459988]Go to the store and buy Terro... it is a liquid ant bait. The ants eat it, and die back in the nests underground (no clean up).

</blockquote>
I live close to the Tustin Marketplace and I tried the liquid ant bait approach two years ago. It did not work for me at all. The "flow" of ants got less for the time, but they were still there. You still have the ant scouts running all over the place and even after days the flow of ants did not cease.

I got finally rid of them with the following approach: after an excessive outbreak (these suckers found something in the sink) I followed the ant highway to its source, in my case it was the exhaust of the kitchen. Then I sprayed only this part with Ant Raid (in this case from the outside, too, as I did know where the pipe ends) and that was it. They tend to come back of course even through different ways, but usually the entries are easily identifyable.

Good thing with this solution is, that you get rid of them instandly.
 
Yep, I did the same as JOhnDoe. Bought those ant spray cans and followed the ant trail to it's point of entry. Then spray those suckers. Of course, in my case I ended up in the garage spraying the whole night. But eventually they were gone.



I tried the Dirt Devil. That didn't work too well. :)
 
Seriously, I am sure we tried all of these and a few not yet mentioned. Mrs. IR2 and I were extremely concerned about the health issues that could come up since we do have little IR2.1 and IR2.2 at home (and IR2.DOG pictured to the left) but finally broke down and now couldn't be happier.



We can even leave leftovers on the countertops without fear. I never thought that would be such a joy, but it is.
 
I would go with the service, if you are battling the ants for very long. I was able to manage the problem with the usual sprays, traps & salt, at my first two houses, but when I moved to my current house, nothing seemed to work. I even put moats around the pet food (including the dry food) and the little devils made their way across the water. My dog was very, very unhappy! I've had a bi-monthly service for several years and I haven't seen an ant inside, since. I rarely recommend anything, but the $$ for the service is money well spent, for me.
 
I have lived in TR for 10 years. All my neighbors and I have always had huge ant problems (along with West Irvine too). Every year when it gets warm, they are everywhere. The schools even send out notices urging parents not to leave snacks in the kids backpacks because the ants will invade. The only thing that has really worked is to call the exterminator as soon as you first see them. One exterminator visit usually lasts one summer. . . . and you just cannot leave food out anywhere.
 
[quote author="IrvineWorker" date=1209505801]I would go with the service, if you are battling the ants for very long. I was able to manage the problem with the usual sprays, traps & salt, at my first two houses, but when I moved to my current house, nothing seemed to work. I even put moats around the pet food (including the dry food) and the little devils made their way across the water. My dog was very, very unhappy! I've had a bi-monthly service for several years and I haven't seen an ant inside, since. I rarely recommend anything, but the $$ for the service is money well spent, for me.</blockquote>


IW - Leaving water out is the worst thing. People think ants come for the food, and while they do, in hot weather they really come for the water. Everybody needs to figure out what works for them, but we try to seal any cracks through which they can enter and dry out all the sinks with a towel after use as well as wiping up any spilled water. In return, I try to keep the plants on the outside patio well watered so that they can go there for the water. It's not 100%, but it works ok for us.
 
I too tried all sorts of pesticides, buying nearly everything at Home Depot to try and ward off the ants. Putting every single piece of food locked up and sealed was futile. They even were able to raid the sealed cereal boxes in the pantry. My daughter left a couple of crumbs in next to her crib and ants were out in force. For sanitary and peace of mind I buckled and called the exterminators, actually, a few days later one knocked on the door since he was doing my neighbor as well.



The exterminator comes quarterly and in the past two years, not a single ant intrusion (knock on wood).



For those trying to sell their homes, nothing is worse than smelling Raid around the house and fridge....
 
I live in IAC rentals and have noticed a strange thing.If ants are there the spiders wont come and vice versa.During the summer time I usually have a spider problem.I am a bit reluctant to use insecticides because they can be harmful plus they are not long term solutions not to mention they are not safe around kids or pets.



I looked online and found Victor poison free insect killer . Did anyone try this product?I would like to hear from others if they found any safe methods to deal with spiders. I know I can call the leasing office to send someone to spray but that a lot of work emptying the shelves and spiders eventually come back.



Any safe solutions?
 
The Ants in Irvine are so bad they even tried to get in my Freezer.

They got in but it was a little too cold to make it back out.



You get in the habit of always using sealable containers for everything

in the pantry. As well as running the disposal in the sink every morning.

Thats one of their favorite spots to go for lunch.



Seriously. Pay to have the professional come and spray. Once every

summer seems to do the trick. I leave the guy post_it notes at the spots

they like to enter my apartment.



I never have seen so many ants as in Quail Hill. Just walking to Albertsons

you see Millions on the sidewalks every morning when the weather is warm.
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1209477667]Seriously, I am sure we tried all of these and a few not yet mentioned. Mrs. IR2 and I were extremely concerned about the health issues that could come up since we do have little IR2.1 and IR2.2 at home (and IR2.DOG pictured to the left) but finally broke down and now couldn't be happier.



We can even leave leftovers on the countertops without fear. I never thought that would be such a joy, but it is.</blockquote>


Yup... we've got kids and dogs. The dogs have eaten crap and have gotten sick before. No harmful substances can be left in or around the house. We called exterminators that used non-toxic methods to get rid of the ants. No ants since. They do come quarterly.
 
Hey, wow.



Thanks for all the replies. It's too bad that it's such a prevalent problem, but I guess I feel better knowing it's not just us. ;-)



We've already tried the poison baits outside the house, several cans of spray along the many ant-highways, and my fingers are still sticky from caulking up gaps around the cabinets, etc.



I think I'm calling in the professionals now...



(I hope I get a guy like Harvey Keitel from <em>Point of No Return</em>.)
 
I guess we reap what we sow. Building over former agricultural land which certainly had thousands of ant colonies is a no brainer for insect trouble. The ants are just tolerating our intrusion into what was their McMansions :)
 
[quote author="reason" date=1209553126]Oh, wait till the rats start to show up.</blockquote>


The first thing for rats is to chew up the rubber weather strip along the entire base of the garage door so they can go in and out of the garage. The entire slab foundation is bearing on soil and is an ideal weather (heat and moisture) protection for ants.



Then every wall is attached to the foundation by pnematic gun so the cracks along the concrete foundation are the line connecting all the nails right beneath every wall. Then every cabinet is hung or attached to this wall the nail holes are ideal entrances and exits for the ants. Inside the cabinets are Food and water condensation along the water pipe surface lend perfect environment for their thriving habitats.



Buy a house with a raised foundation then one can eliminate the ant problem.
 
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