What to do about black ants?
by
Louise
+11
Every spring, I have an invasion of small black ants, usually near the window over my kitchen sink. I have a white tile backsplash, so it's easy to see them. I have never been able to trace them back to an entry point. I can sit and stare at the tile and all of a sudden, it seems like an ant simply appears out of no where. When they first started this a few yrs back, I tried to trap each one under a glass and take it outside (I'm vegetarian and don't like to kill creatures.), but there are too many to do this, so reluctantly, I kill them. They'll stay a week or so, on and off (some days I see none, other days I see many) and then they'll be gone until next time. One yr I also found a BUNCH of them coming out of the overflow hole in a bathroom sink. I sprayed all of those and never saw them again. How do other people handle this? I can't let them crawl all over the place.
13 answers
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sprinkle whole cloves around sink..they will leave and not return
Tammie Stalnaker
on Mar 31, 2015
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Baby powder. Sprinkle it over your windowsill and around the sink. One night will probably do it. I don't know why, but I know it works.
AEBJ
on Mar 31, 2015
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I have two tips, the first is cornstarch, and the second is DE. I have used both and they both work. good luck
Deezie
on Mar 31, 2015
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I make a slurry of boric acid, water & something sweet like maple sugar, honey etc. Heat water, add rest. Put into something small like a bottle cap & place around where you see the ants. Don't kill the ants. Let them drink & carry back to the nest. This usually works for me.
Cheri
on Mar 31, 2015
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For tiny sugar ants ~ I make a syrup of: 200 ml sugar; 100 ml water; 50 ml Borax. (To make smaller quantities, halve each ingredient.) Leave tiny drops where the ants are seen. They feed on it and also take some back to the nest.
Joyce
on Mar 31, 2015
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Last year we had Crazy Raspberry ants. I sprinkled baby powder all around the perimeter of my house. With in minutes I had piles of dead ants. The reason is, baby powder scratches them...and they die FAST.
Marcia Martie Hoffman McMurtry
on Mar 31, 2015
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cinnamon deters ants, can be sprinkled where you think they may be coming from.
Connie Mar
on Mar 31, 2015
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Thanks for the tips. Will any of this harm cats? Mine like to get on the counter top and sniff or lick where the ants have been.
Louise
on Mar 31, 2015
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Cheri's boric recipe is good, except it can kill you pets too. I would pour undiluted bleach all around the foundation of your house. You have to try to get this done just before they are due to enter your home.
E. Platt
on Mar 31, 2015
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Sprinkle cornmeal. They injest and die.
Andrea Noll
on Mar 31, 2015
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Is there anything that will just repel them and not destroy them? I'd guess the cloves would do that?
Louise
on Mar 31, 2015
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hi louise i have the same problem in australia. i read talcum powder or baby powder works as a deterant and isnt toxic as they dont like to trek across the soft powder as a rule of thumb i believe. Just watch you dont slip on floor and dont spill water or like myself you will end up covered in sticky white mess and black ants mixed in like glue which stinks like acetic acid. :(
Kittylove
on Jan 10, 2016
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Black ants pollinate my garden!! Here in Eastern On., Corn growers have stopped companion planting and are spraying with pesticides to grow corn every year. Our bee population is being destroyed! I now transplant black and into my garden. It works!
Sandy
on Jul 19, 2016
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