Subject: Re: Hymenoptera (Ants) Home Invasion Question

From: [email-masked] (Aaron Morris)
Date: Tue, 03 Jan 95 11:06:43 EST

>In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] "Brian Mau" writes:
>
>>   My home is constantly being invaded by small black ants (San Francisco,
>> California variety) and I'm running out of ideas about how to discourage
>> them from coming in.  I do not want to use chemicals/insecticides and I
>> wouldn't mind them except that I end up stepping on them when they lay
>> down trails through my kitchen and bedroom.  Sealing the house is out of
>> the question becuase it is a very old post-1906 home with many cracks and
>> holes for them to get in.
>
Look into Boric Acid or diatomatious earth as an effective organic control
for your ant invasion.

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From: [email-masked] (TheBugLady)
Date: 4 Jan 1995 00:18:16 -0500

There are a couple of things I might try.  The nicest thing is to try to
locate the nest(s) outside your house (follow their trails) then try to
convince them to move further away by flooding the nest with water every
other day for about a week.  Buckets of soapy water poured down their
nests bums them out even more.  This sometimes works, but not always.  I
usually try it first.  If that doesn't work try making up a boric acid
bait.  First you have to do a taste test.  Put out a bit of honey and a
bit of peanut butter and see which they prefer.  Mix the preferred food
about half and half with boric acid (available in most garden stores and
hardware stores).  You don't need much - I usually fill a plastic milk
bottle top with the bait and put it near their lines of march.  They take
it back to their nests and feed it to their larvae and queen and the nest
dies out in a week or so - usually.  Luck!

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From: [email-masked] (Curtis B. Sisk)
Date: 9 Jan 1995 21:21:34 GMT

>Look into Boric Acid or diatomatious earth as an effective organic control

The Boric Acid is a great Idea.  I have found that a 50:50 mixture of boric acid and peanut butter as a "toxic" 
bait works to rid my house of periodic invasions from the California fire ant.  Try a sugar watter, honey, or some other
sweet material mixture with boric acid in a small open container (away from dogs, cats and children) and see if this 
will help your problem.  You may want to leave several of these bait stations in areas where the ants will find them
in areas that will not bother you.

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From: [email-masked] (Curtis B. Sisk)
Date: 9 Jan 1995 21:22:14 GMT