ANTS

[GreenWing]

So, just to let you all know, I'm a bit OCD and keep an IMMACULATELY clean house. Well, there's a little clutter but my hardwood floors are SPOTLESS. I clean/mop every day, wash the grate and her food dishes and change papers daily/ I pay special attention to her cage area, making sure there's not a crumb.

Anyway, it's that time of year and I am noticing one or two scout ants in the past couple of days, around Chance's cage. It is freaking me out, dude! What can I do to prevent them other than doing what I'm already doing?

[Tman007]

Greenwing try using vinegar ants don't like it. Try and find out what area of the house they are coming from and spray there. Hope this helps. they are a pest.
tman007

[KimberlyAnn]

I have yet to live somewhere where the ants don't come in at some point in the year. I second vinegar! And don't worry! No matter if you have a clean house or a messy one...ants will come! Lol

[Pajarita]

Find where they are coming from and put a few drops of mint oil right there plus a line of talcum powder surrounding it. They hate mint and would not walk on talcum powder.

[GreenWing]

And don't worry! No matter if you have a clean house or a messy one...ants will come! Lol

Noooooooooooooooo

Greenwing try using vinegar ants don't like it. Try and find out what area of the house they are coming from and spray there. Hope this helps. they are a pest.
tman007

Thanks, yes they hate vinegar but it doesn't keep them away for good. Diatomaceous earth (food grade) is pretty effective. I need to get teh hubs to caulk some areas, that might help.

Find where they are coming from and put a few drops of mint oil right there plus a line of talcum powder surrounding it. They hate mint and would not walk on talcum powder.

Thank you, yes MINT is very effective. Haven't tried talcum powder, is it more effective than Diatomaceous earth?

[Pajarita]

I think it works on the same principle: they don't walk on it because, when they do, they can't breathe.

[JaydeParrot]

I only had a problem with ants one year, I found the hole in the wall where they were getting through and filled it with ant killer powder, I haven't seen them since.

[Pajarita]

I don't use poison in my house or my garden. I don't like to kill anything but, even if I did not mind it, I have pets and I am very environment-conscious so no poisons anywhere (not even chemical fertilizers).

[Wolf]

Good for you Pajarita! I have 6 acres and we have a garden as well as dogs, cats and birds, we use no poisons, such as herbicides or pesticides. Also we make a lot of compost, so we have no use for chemical fertilizers. We also recycle just about anything that we can.
I make jewelry and also do artwork out of wood, primarily. A fair percentage of the things that I make are made either entirely of or contain things that I recycle.
It just makes good sense to quit wasting our resources and poisoning our world. This is my story, and I'm sticking with it!

[Pajarita]

Excellent philosophy! I was born and raised in a third world country so, to us, using things until they literally fall to pieces and recycling is a way of life so hardly anything gets thrown out in my house but, what we do throw out and it's recyclable, we put it out for the city to pick up. People have forgotten how to respect the earth and it's time they go back to the way it used to be or the next generations will have nothing left.