# Help! Teeny Tiny Ants!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676 "2006-04-29T00:21:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/1 "2006-04-29T00:21:46Z")
And I mean tiny! The ants are smaller than the size of Lincoln’s bow tie on a penny. They are by far the smallest ants I have ever seen here in Denver. The problem is they are in my kitchen. They seem to be coming from beneath the cabinets. Beneath the cabinets I have hardwood floors and beneath that is the room I am sitting in now. There is no sign of them down here. I’ve looked outside along that wall of the house and found no trace of them there (but they are REALLY small so I could very easily miss them). They have been finding things to eat in my spotless kitchen for 4 days now. My wife and I thought the kitchen was soooo clean that they could not find anything, but they sure don’t eat much. This morning they were in the kitchen sink eating something that I couldn’t even see. The area of the sink where the ants were feeding looked like freshly scrubbed white enamel; indistinguishable from the enamel around it to my eye but they were sure chowing down on something. So how do I get rid of these things. I cannot find where they are coming in. I have a 11 month old daughter, a 3 year old daughter and 3 cats so spreading poison indiscriminately does not seem like a good idea to me. Any suggestion taken!!! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![jawdirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jawdirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jawdirk)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/2 "2006-04-29T01:03:11Z")
Search for “Ant control stakes.” These work pretty well, and if you keep them in a place that the ants can get to but your kids and pets can’t, they will be safe. That said, basically no matter what you do they will be a reoccurring problem, so you should get used to them. Sometimes they are just looking for water in a sink, and sometimes they just hang out in your house because they like the climate. Cleaning helps, but it won’t get rid of them. I’ve heard there is a species of teeny tiny ants that likes to make nests inside desktop computers (they like the central heating). Beware! ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/3 "2006-04-29T01:40:01Z")
> [@Eyer8](#): > > And I mean tiny! The ants are smaller than the size of Lincoln’s bow tie on a penny. Try these descriptions and keys and see if you can figure out what you have. They’re for Nebraska, but the pest species should overlap pretty well to Colorado: [http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/ants/](http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/ants/) Some of these suckers are incredibly tenacious - a friend had tiny yellow pharoah ants and it was a constant battle. Note that not all ants are vulnerable to the same approach - baiting won’t work on all of them. Hence the need to identify the little buggers. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/4 "2006-04-29T01:59:55Z")
Thank you **Tammerlane**. Using the link, they are either a thief or identifies them as either a thief or pharoah ant. The ants are way too small fro me to tell the difference. I may have to take one to work and look at it under the microscope. Anyway, the website says that they even build nests indoors. Great. Does anyone have any good secrets? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/5 "2006-04-29T02:03:42Z")
Oops; I should learn to read what I wrote before hitting submit… ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/6 "2006-04-29T02:20:41Z")
> [@Eyer8](#): > > And I mean tiny! The ants are smaller than the size of Lincoln’s bow tie on a penny. They are by far the smallest ants I have ever seen here in Denver. The problem is they are in my kitchen. They seem to be coming from beneath the cabinets. Beneath the cabinets I have hardwood floors and beneath that is the room I am sitting in now. There is no sign of them down here. I’ve looked outside along that wall of the house and found no trace of them there (but they are REALLY small so I could very easily miss them). > They have been finding things to eat in my spotless kitchen for 4 days now. My wife and I thought the kitchen was soooo clean that they could not find anything, but they sure don’t eat much. This morning they were in the kitchen sink eating something that I couldn’t even see. The area of the sink where the ants were feeding looked like freshly scrubbed white enamel; indistinguishable from the enamel around it to my eye but they were sure chowing down on something. > So how do I get rid of these things. I cannot find where they are coming in. I have a 11 month old daughter, a 3 year old daughter and 3 cats so spreading poison indiscriminately does not seem like a good idea to me. Any suggestion taken!!! Thanks. vinegar, cayenne pepper, citric extracts, bone meal, cinnamon, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, crushed mint leaves, oil of clove, camphor, and perfume. … [\*\* Ant Repellants \*\*](http://www.stretcher.com/stories/980528a.cfm) Boric acid powder is good but keep away from PETS & CHILDREN. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/7 "2006-04-29T02:22:54Z")
I, for one, welcome your new insect overlords. Perhaps you should help them toil in their underground sugar mines? ---
**Author:** ![AnabolicDoberman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@AnabolicDoberman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnabolicDoberman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-teeny-tiny-ants/354676/8 "2006-04-29T02:30:55Z")
Pick up a bottle of [Terro](http://www.terro.com/shop.php?show_prod_detail=1) from the grocery store. It works great. I get the little buggers on my counter. You put this stuff out and pretty soon the whole damn colony is feasting on it. They take it back and feed it to all their friends and neighbors too.