[benbsb29]

I didnt know who else to ask, and so thought it was always better i popped the question to my extended family which is TBHP.

Moved into the current apartment in May and all was well. That was untill we discovered the ant menace which has struck this house. Red ants which seem to be quite carnivorous and unforgiving in nature - they spare nothing, and can even give Tom Cruise from the MI series a lesson or two on how to breach almost any lock, covering or packing.

They have targetted small tidbits left behind on the kitchen table, managed to breach through the casserole lid, making holes in plastic bags and attacking paav, and the list goes on. They havent even spared the poor onions. We have stopped using a dust bin in the literal sense as it used to be their fav hang out, despite the bin having a proper lid. Use a plastic cover suspended somewhere into which we now dump the waste. Used to work until this morning wherein i discovered they had scaled that too !!

Can anyone please help me out with this, with regards to how i need to tackle them, and what pesticides (??) i need to use and so on. No little kids in the house and so these being nibbled or picked up by kids is out of the question.

Please provide me with suitable tips so i can launch my own version of 'Independence Day'. I need to fight lest i am doomed.

[rahul_intlad]

Benny I think things have gone a little out of hand,maybe you should try the professionals[pest control].

[ajitkommini]

1. Do napthalene ***** have any effect on ants?
2. I remember we used to use some powder a long time ago (gammaxene I think) but not sure whether it's pet-safe / kid-safe
3. If you can track down where they are coming from and block the source - maybe a hole in the wall or something
4. Try using that crazy lines / lakshman rekha stuff
5. If all else fails, call pest control!

[benbsb29]

I wanted to know what was the name of powder i need to use. Havent tried anythign so far, just managing so far by keeping the place clean. Thats when they have started attacking packaged food.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by ajitkommini

1. Do napthalene ***** have any effect on ants?
2. I remember we used to use some powder a long time ago (gammaxene I think) but not sure whether it's pet-safe / kid-safe
3. If you can track down where they are coming from and block the source - maybe a hole in the wall or something
4. Try using that crazy lines / lakshman rekha stuff
5. If all else fails, call pest control!

I agree with ajit, its important to find the source, do you have kikad tree nearby, if yes, that it. if not look for their source.

Laxman rekha is effective, just powder it and sprinkle it in/on/around their den. You can also use DDT around their source/tree(available with these agro chemical shops) its poison but nothing that a pet or others will be tempted to eat. But you have to be cautious, if you have small children around.

[amitoj]

Benny, i got a pamphlet a couple of days back from the builders which had listed a few things to do to control the ants menace.
1. Pour boiling water into the cracks in the walls. Usually they are where the wall meets the floor.
2. Use mint essence.
3. Use sodium bicarbonate.

I can give more details later today when i get back home.

[viper]

Hi,

I have a solution that worked for me in my outhouse at Khandala. we used DDT powder procured from a shop selling fertilisers and put them around all the window sills and doors. Within less than 24 hours there was not a single ant dead or alive in the house. They just vanished.

Not recommended to be used if you have any pets or children in the house as it is a harmful pesticide.

Viper

[benbsb29]

Amitoj, please do pass on what you have recieved. Would try it out for sure.

Viper, no lill kids or pets, as i had mentioned. But DDT is supposed to be banned, right? Will try that as a last resort if everything else fails.

[jango]

@ Ben the easy way to take them out of ur house, is to buy a kilo of Sugar and place it outside ur home.... just wait and watch them walk out :-)...Jolkes apart why don't u use HIT, they take care of ants and mosquitoes as well !!

[deepakhon]

We have ant menace too and we are using something called "Lakshman Rekha". This looks like a chalk and you need to draw a line wherever you do not want the ants to come. The ants, upon crossing this line, become unconscious. You can then collect them and throw them away. This has worked for me till now. As this is a chalk which is harmful, this should be strictly kept away from kids/pets. This is available at most of the grocery stores.

[sammyboy]

Hey Benny , I am facing the same problem ...i bought a can of HIT and it is pretty effective however it is not a one stop solution .After a couple of days they are back with full force .
They are such a menace that nothing is safe .Turmeric powder(Haldi) works to an extent especially around food stuff where you should not use insecticides . Try it and let me know if you find any difference .

[DCEite]

Change your house, Ben.

[ad75]

ben,

safest would be the chalk stuff (lakshman rekha etc).though it leaves marks on the wall for sometime but can be removed with a damp cloth once the ants are off.this is very effective.

you can try out those prays (hit/baygon etc) but they do stink & can give you headaches.

[DriverR]

Had a similar problem, though not to the extent you are facing. I normally use a combination multiple attackapproach. I use gammaxene, plus Mortien (All insect spray) with detergent. This normally works.

To effectively combat the menace, you HAVE to find out from where they are coming in. I normally never use above insecticides unless I have located the source else they will again be back. Once I locate the hole in the wall from where they are coming out, I hit them hard starting from the food source. Once at the entry/exit point, I sprinkle some gammaxene+detergent, and then use a wet/soft detergent bar, Vim or Rin or something like that to plug the gaps. This effectively blocks that gap for a very very long time. Do note that ants are VERY resourceful and will find other ways to get to the food. You will have to continue locating and cutting off the entry/exit points. I really do not think you will ever win the war in the long run, but you will ensure that the number of ants attacks gets reduced. Even now, if I leave food crumbs, ants will come, but they have to find a new way to get to the crumbs as I'm blocking off all known points. Hence ants attacks have reduced to a large extent at my place.

Please also note that ants find food route through scent. If you disrupt the food supply scent line then they will not come. Something as simple as dettol can disrupt the supply line.

If everything else fails....get an Anteater!

[spadival]

Once they are in, its difficult to get them out. Have you tried storing food stuff in sealed PET containers, like Pearl PET?

The ants dont attack the dustbin, because there is no food there, only dust and waste paper. We have a seperate bin that can be closed (actually a small Amul Masti Dahi container ) for storing left over food till we can throw it away.

During my bachelor days, I got soo fed up with ants that I eventually suspended whatever little food packets I had on a clothes line inside the house. The ants got there too

Originally Posted by viper

Not recommended to be used if you have any pets or children in the house as it is a harmful pesticide.

Viper

DDT sale is supposed to be banned in India (and elsewhere).