Anyone know how to get rid of ants?

We have a growing ant problem in the garden with 3 large, spreading nests under the lawn (and bare sandy, patches where the nests reach the surface). Any activity in the area brings them swarming out and all over whoever / whatever is in the area.

Anyone know any ways to get rid of them that won’t harm our cats, dogs, toddler or any of the other wildlife that passes through the garden (rabbits, badger, birds, etc.)?

Thanks!

Boiling water tipped in the holes

kill two birds with one stone and make some art:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJ2jMZ-gaI[/video]

Cool casting. The OCD element of me would want to display that the other way up however.

‘no animals were harmed in the making of this piece’…..or not.

At point of entry -I put a small cap of honey on the outside of and a cotton ball of ammonia on the ‘inside’.

Magnifying glass and a nice sunny day.

Takes a while though!

I was about to post the same question albeit I have no idea where the nest is in the garden. Boiling water a sure fire remedy?

You won’t get rid of them. I’ve tried everything and they return every year. Anything you buy only really kills those on the surface and for every one of them there is probably a few thousand others deeper underground. I’ve tried the stuff they’re supposed to take back to into the nest and kill more, that does seem to work better, but they still return. Just have to keep at it and hope over the years they reduce in numbers and eventually disappear.

Get a cat:

Might just try living with them or buying an aardvark. Anybody know where you can get one? Tried Pets at Home, but they just called the police on me.

Different ants seem to respond differently to different bait for me.
Have several nests, driveway, front lawn, back garden. Sprinkle granules on/around nest in the back garden and they gleefully all rush out to carry dinner home and kill themselves.
Driveway ants on the other hand pick the granules up and take them away from the nest then just carry on.

Basically, buy every ant killing product you can find on Amazon, and then spend a month experimenting to see what works.

Not very helpful i know – good luck 😀

Makes you wonder who’s conducting experiments on who, really.

Thanks for the tips. The little buggers are now invading the kitchen, too, which is a sod as I’m slightly cautious about just how noxious some of the remedies are. (I have accidentally discovered that a direct application of Mr Muscle Glass Cleaner has a pretty terminal affect on ants, though).

Might have to forego eating for a few days whilst I carpet-bomb the kitchen with all the chemicals known to man.

I chuffing HATE ants!

dose them with some prescription medication and alcohol and after a year or so they’ll book themselves into rehab and you’ll be free to enjoy your garden in peace.

Don’t tread on an ant, you’ll end up black and blue
You cut off his head, legs come looking for you

These things work really well. Came home from holiday to find the buggers in the house. Put one of these down and they were gone by the morning

The little buggers are now invading the kitchen

I’m all for live and let live but that’s a step too far for me. I had this on Friday when I returned home. I had no problem locating their entrance but there was no way I could’ve filled it with anything. So, in a rather gruesome and brutal fashion, I set about killing every single one with my finger tip and leaving the smeared remains all along the trail/procession route. I must’ve killed around 60 ants in total before they got the message and turned back in what looked like a state of panic.

It’s nasty but needs must and it’ll save you having to use chemicals, something I tend to avoid if possible.

If they are coming in your house put a ring of cinnamon powder at their entry point.
They won’t cross it. Worked a treat last year and your house will smell like Christmas.

Might just try living with them or buying an aardvark.

My inlaws had an aardvark burrow under their porch in their house twice. Apparently it’s a real problem and they can ruin foundations by undermining them!

Quick thread hijack,

I started finding ants in the kitchen, dosed the perimeter with a load of ant powder and they seemed to get the message. I could see them crawling about outside but with no clear indication as to where the nest was.

My back yard is concrete (old garage base) and tarmac, and had a bit of a serious moss / weeds problem. A few weeks ago I doused the lot with glyphosate and then I had at it this weekend with a power-washer. I’ve uncovered a small hole in the tarmac, maybe 2-3 inches across at the mouth and tapering down to a hole about the width of my finger before it gets too dark to see anything. I’m quite happy to write this off as wear and tear of the tarmac, it’s old and pitted in places, but is it possible that this is the ant nest? Can the buggers chew through tarmac or is that highly unlikely?

What do you call an aardvark with a flick knife?

Or one that runs away from a fight?

don’t use boiling water on your lawn – it kills all the grass too.

any powder has worked for us in the past – they take it back into the nest.

Nowdays we have a dog that likes to dig the nests up. Our lawn looks like the Somme 🙁

We have them coming into the kitchen as well. Blocked all visible holes up but they still find a way in. Going to put a load of the powder stuff down outside (concrete yard) and some of those trap things inside.

If that doesn’t work I’m burning the house down.

I suppose if you find the nest, and it’s in the garden, couldn’t you dig it up?

remove the turf to save it so you replace, and then dig the rest up and put elsewhere? or could just stick a hose down the entrance to the nest for an hour? Should kill most. Suppose if you get the queen, the rest will sod off.

Tried something similar, peeled the turf back and went mental with the ant powder. Replaced turf and they’ve been a bit quieter since.

Yet to be convinced, will probably spend flying ant day ambushing them as they rise from the garden…like last summer.

stevied – hasn’t worked I’m afraid, these were my first port of call
teasel – like you, live and let live is my mantra… apart from the few hundred I’ve dispatched by squashage. Still not getting the hint, though
zippy – an old granite house with exposed stone (inside and out)… it’s riddled with (tiny) holes, so I might have to ring fence the whole house with cinnamon. Hmmm, pricy, but would be worth it, if it works!
Wwaswas – Sorry about your lawn.. but at least you don’t have visiting badgers
Haze – “Flying ant day” is a myth. These little sods have been getting their wings for the last week-and-a-bit.

I think burning the house down might indeed be the only option.