How do I get rid of ants coming in the house?

I have a spray called Shoo-Fly ant, roach and spider product, non staining and is safe for pets when dry. Spray everywhere where you think bugs can get in, under doors, cabinets, etc. We have gigantic roaches in Texas and this kills everything. I even spray the outside of door sills and under the garage door. You can get this product on line if you can't find it in stores.

Spray around the house with an ant spray. Keep your counters and floors very very clean - no crumbs for them to snack on. I even sprayed the very edge of my counter with a spray suitable for indoors. Be careful doing this, you dont want to get food near it.

Try spreading granules around the whole house. I would also put ant traps inside the house. If you do have pets make sure they don't get into it.

Put a line of chalk in front of place where ants enter house.

I sprayed my foundation outside right up and over the edge of the wood siding with Carpenter Ant & Termite spray from True Value white spray bottle. Got rid of those things after battling them for years. I do it 2x a year, spring and fall. Wear gloves and mask.

The old Hometalk standby for ants is make a paste of boric acid powder and granulated sugar in equal parts, with a few drops of water. You can spread the paste directly where the ants are or you can put it on some cardboard and place it around on that - but not in the reach of inquisitive pets or kids. The ants will be drawn to the sugar and killed by the boric acid.

We've had a major problem with ghost ants this spring and this is what I did.

Borax (Muleteam) will kill the ants but it must be added to something so the ants take it back to the nest so it will kill the whole colony. First be certain also that there isn't any food for them other than the bait, ie sugary bits, crumbs etc. Then make a simple syrup with 1/2 c water and 1 cup sugar, boil in a saucepot until sugar melts. Add 3 heaping Tablespoons of Borax and stir well. Let the concoction cool (it will be a thick syrupy consistency) and then make small dishes of tin foil low enough for them to get in and out of (or anything else that may work the same way) . Put them directly in the path of their trails and leave them be. Do not disturb them coming and going. They should be gone be gone within a week or 2. There should be a noticeable difference within 3 days. Please also note: be certain that you put them in an area where any pets won't get them. I don't know if it will kill any dogs or cats but it may make them very sick.

or there are also the same types of baits made with Borax instead of all the other nasty chemicals to be found at Home Depot.

Mix laundry borax with a little honey on a plastic lid & set it near the door outside. They will take it back to nest & die. U can also draw a chalk line across the doorway or sprinkle talcum powder on threshold. They dry the respiratory systems out.

borax n honey

Ants do not appear indoors in our homes unless there is a food source some where..they have evolved over millions of years to be able to do this to find food at great distances relative to their tiny size..yes traps or chalk may deter them temporarily but if the food source is still around, they come in another entrance. Check for small particles or crumbs or sugar on your floors and counters..pet food left on the floor all day is a magnet for them as well..also as I have discovered this week in my own kitchen, if you toss containers of open food without rinsing out, they find there way into the plastic bag that holds the trash...ant party! I now throw out our kitchen trash into our garage bin before we retire for the night...we live in the deep south and it is now 90 degrees daily so we know we must be way ahead of them until fall....

TERMINIX

I use Terro drops. You need a little patience. The ants drink their full, leave and that's it! No more ants

TERRO 2 oz Liquid Ant Killer ll T200

Available at Walmart and Target.

I have cleaned homes for over 30 years and what the person said about "if you have ants it is because there is food out , is NOT TRUE ! Every summer when it gets super hot & dry small black ants will come in to get to WATER... NOT FOOD. In Every case I have seen ants in a home they were coming in to the BATHROOM around the sinks or tubs....hardly a place where there is food or crumbs and non in the kitchen or any other room. ! When the supper rainy season starts they will crawl up in the outside part of your AC to keep from drowning and get electrocuted between the electrical contact points for the compressor causing the compressor (cooling part) of the ac to stop, it will still blow but not be cool. their dead bodies pile up grounding and stopping the current. Any good & honest AC guy will tell his clients this to save them money ..they get tons of these calls this time of year . I know this owning several houses for the last 3o plus years.

I've wiped the area they are coming in with a cotton ball soaked with vinegar.