So for two weeks now I’ve had increasing numbers of Terro stations (meaning, ripped up magazines oragmi-ed into Terro pools) with the ants satisfyingly swarmed about them. but it certainly isn’t working at the speed it has in the past.
I am a raving fan of Terro and have used it many times in the past to great effect; but am reaching the end of my ant tolerance and need this to be over within the week. I also want the hill gone, not just out of this specific area. I am a Quaker, and I hate to kill, but they’ve found the house and they like it, so they’ve got to go.
So, is there any DIY product you’d recommend that gets carried back to the hill but will work faster than Terro?
Constraints:
can’t use sprays or foggers because this is all occurring fairly close to my aquarium.
want something that will do in the whole colony, and have no idea where the hill is.
You could try Advion Gel. The active ingredient is indoxacarb as opposed to borax. Works the same way, but is a more powerful poison. Some studies have been critical of its ability to wipe out the colony, as the poison can kill the ants before they return.
You could try experimenting with different ratios of sugar water and borax. Be aware ants can detect borax and will ignore your concoction if the concentration is too high.
I’ve found that Terro works great when it works, and when it doesn’t, it doesn’t.
I’ll start by mentioning that the packaging I’ve seen lately, where you get a bottle of glop and you have to pour it out onto a piece or cardboard or other jury-rigged little platform, is kind of a PITA. What happened to the Terro of Old, that came in little plastic dishes that you just opened up and set out for them?
Anyway, it seems that some colonies of ants will glom onto Terro and pig out until the whole colony is dead, dead, dead. Other whole colonies just ignore it altogether. Some ants in some colonies will taste-test it for a nibble or two, and then ignore it and move on.
Ants, it seems, have very particular tastes, and Terro isn’t for everyone.
ETA: Oh, for the Bad Auld Days when this sort of ant bait contained good old arsenic! :eek:
Just wanted to comment that your “Terro of Old” definitely still exists. We had a minor kitchen invasion about three weeks ago and found the plastic dishes at Home Depot. They were a rousing success. Or, I guess the opposite of “rousing” for the colony involved.
I have used simple chalk to great effect as a non-lethal means of dealing with ants, but I cannot guarantee it will work with your ants or circumstances. Find the entry point(s) where ants are getting into your home. Generally speaking, ants will not cross a chalk line, so if you can find a way to spread chalk around the entry point(s), your ant problem may be solved. However, I have heard tell of the chalk solution failing for others.
Alternatively, you could invest in certain carnivorous botanical specimens that will do your killing for you in a natural, feel-good way. While not “speedy,” it might offer some compensation to you to watch the little buggers get devoured in real time (depending on the variety chosen), especially if you take any secret pleasure (sadistic or scientific) in such observations. Note that such specimens generally require some daily sunlight, a special (inexpensive) soil mixture, and distilled water only.
There are also Terro traps designed for outside. You pop em open and stick them in the ground. You might try putting some of those around the foundation outside near where you are seeing them inside.
They were all over the Terro, but after 2.5 weeks they were still coming strong. Maybe a huge colony, or maybe just the ton of rain we were getting was diluting the effect.
Advion for the win! I placed it on the same bait stations as the Terro, and they swarmed the Advion completely ignoring the Terro from then on. That was last Wednesday night. From Saturday night to Sunday afternoon I haven’t found any signs of ants around.
The Terro was about $4 and probably made a good start to the job, but $11 for a tube of Advion and now the job is done.
Thanks to everybody for the recommendations, and especially to DCnDC for the Advion idea.