Does anyone know how to get rid

[moonbabygo]

of the little ants? There all over my kitchen and I don't like using chemicals.

[11 Bravo]

1. 'Tis the season. I've used ant traps with some success, but ...

that may go against your feelings about chemical methods.

[moonbabygo]

6. I would worry about my cats

getting into it. I'm googling it now, but was hoping someone here knew of non toxic mixtures to use

[11 Bravo]

11. I've got a dog, so I worried about the pet angle as well. But ...

she can't get up on the counters and behind the potted floor plants they way cats can. Good luck!

[Buzz Clik]

28. Unless your cats are inclined to mindless chew things (like a dog might), the traps are fine.

The ones the simply lay on the floor are the best, but they are most accessible to your pets. The plastic stick-up variety are nearly as good (if you can guess where the ants go), and can be put out of your cats' way.

I use both of these frequently, and my cats have never paid any attention to them.

[safeinOhio]

2. I've had good luck with

Terro ant killer. I read about, it think, it's Borax as a less toxic wa, but haven't tried it yet.

[Sherman A1]

7. We use Terro and it takes a bit of time

to be effective, however it does seem to be. In the short run you can spray vinegar about. I understand it confuses their little chemical signals that they follow.

[trotsky]

3. Terro - it uses Borax. n/t

[safeinOhio]

12. I know they reformulated it years ago

because it had a very deadly poison in it, but it worked really fast back then..I think some old lady used it on her husband.

[In_The_Wind]

4. I use Diatomaceous Earth

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

[moonbabygo]

8. great link thanks! nt

[gordianot]

5. Use chemicals borax baited sweet traps.

Keep it away from kids and pets, you need never have to touch the poison. I live on a giant ant hill.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

9. I have a recipe for that.

2cu sugar, 1 cu water. Mix until it's a syrup. Then I add 2 TBSP of boric acid. Mix it, then put a bit on a piece of cardboard near where the ants are. If they start dying around the bait, then dilute it a bit. If their numbers don't start to dwindle in a couple days, add more boric acid.

[AirmensMom]

16. We used to do that.

It was actually sort of funny to watch the ants gather around the bait like cows at a feeding trough. Sort of looked like a hairy blob. Next day they'd be gone.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

17. Yup. I mixed up a mason jar full earlier this year when we had an issue in the kitchen.

They were gone within a couple days, and I have a BUNCH of this stuff to use later.

[-none]

10. Do you rinse out the pop cans?

The ants are there because they have found a source of food. Find that that source. Anything else is diddling with the symptoms.

[Jennylynn]

37. Exactly

Get rid of the attraction. Works.

[LanternWaste]

13. First, identify their paths and wash them with soapy water to remove pheromone trail

First, identify their paths and wash them with soapy water to remove pheromone trail. Then, spray all baseboards, cracks and counter tops with vinegar three to four times a day. Finally, after a week of this, powder the cracks and baseboard with DE.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is completely natural and organic. It is made from tiny skeletal remains of algae-like plants, but it's lethal for insects. Its microscopic edges will cut through the body of insects, drying them out and killing them. If ingested by carpenter ants, it will shred their insides. There are different types of DE, so keep in mind you must get food grade DE for pest control-- but it's family and kid-safe.

[JSup]

20. ^ best answer from my own experiences

First, identify their paths and wash them with soapy water to remove pheromone trail. Then, spray all baseboards, cracks and counter tops with vinegar three to four times a day. Finally, after a week of this, powder the cracks and baseboard with DE.

This, right here.

Keep surfaces clean. If they find your bag of sugar either move it or place it in a canister with an airtight seal (they can squeeze into one without a seal).

Leave no food particles anywhere and if you see an ant, kill it so it can't report back and wipe the whole area (because of aforementioned pheromone trail) so no others can find the path it took.

[frogmarch]

14. Chalk or lemon juice

This won't kill them, only repel them.

Once years ago, I got tiny red ants in my keyboard, and almost every time I hit a key, an ant or two scurried out and ran up my finger. So I drew a line with chalk around my keyboard, and when the ants already inside it had eaten all the cookie crumbs there were inside my keyboard, out they came to be swept into a jar and taken outside, and voila, no more ants!

[Faux pas]

15. I use

CedarCide. Non toxic and smells great. Sold online at their site.

[bigbrother05]

18. Used to get CedarCide at my local garden shop

Works inside and out, keep bugs out of my shed.

[Faux pas]

19. It is great stuff

good for fleas too.

[bigbrother05]

21. True, but luckily didn't have the flea issue

Many years ago, had a bad problem in a new location. Used a nightlight over a shallow pan of soapy water, problem solved in a couple of weeks (flea birth cycle).

[Faux pas]

36. No flea issues

here either. Gave it to some friends for their wild wandering dog lol.

[lonestarnot]

23. Smell like cedar?

[Faux pas]

35. Yep.

[lonestarnot]

40. I like cedar.

[Orrex]

22. It depends. Are you on good terms with your little uncles?

[moonbabygo]

25. LOL good one! nt

[malaise]

24. Ordinary vinegar is excellent

Dilute half and half and spread

[AgerolanAmerican]

26. dish soap makes a great barrier

totally non-toxic and if you can isolate the entry points, pour some dish soap there and they won't be able to pass

[voteearlyvoteoften]

27. amdro outside terro inside

[yortsed snacilbuper]

29. Coffee grounds,

spread your old coffee grounds out side on the grass, it will drive the ants away, I've been doing it for years and don't have any ants around here anymore!

[Trust Buster]

30. Three steps will alleviate your problem.

1) Continuously clean the surfaces the ants travel like the floor and counter. Ants leave a scent for future ants to follow as if they're building a road.

2) Find the ant hill outside in close proximity to their entry point into the house and destroy it.

3) I don't know if your distaste for chemicals is strictly an indoor thing or not. If you don't mind using chemicals outside, buy a gallon of Ortho ant spray and spray it on your brick foundation around the area of the entry point they're using to get into your house.

[Warpy]

31. Sweep them up and dump them outside

then mop the trail with white vinegar.

[femmocrat]

32. Bay leaves.

Just lay them around where you see the ants and they will avoid that area.

[Petrushka]

33. Mix equal parts baking soda & powdered sugar. Sprinkle along baseboards.

http://www.herbsandoilsworld.com/the-worlds-best-homemade-ant-killer/

[stopbush]

34. Call the exterminator and let him use the chemicals.

[alfie]

38. Orange oil

works quickly, they don't come back and it smells good. I occasionally spray it around the foundation below my back door.

[EX500rider]

39. Anteater.

[lonestarnot]

41. Helmet head.