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Posted by kiarillia on 11-Jul-2007 19:32 Report
HELP! How do I get rid of ants???
OK this is really disgusting, but... I have ants in my freezer!!!
 
Not sure how they're getting in or why - they're mostly around the door, and on the door seals, only a few have made it further in. And yes, the cold is killing them, or at least stunning them so I can wipe them away... but I really want them gone!
 
Obviously because of where they are I can't use any of my normal nasties like ant rid or surface spray - do any of you wonderful people have any suggestions as to how I can get rid of them (short of wiping them away every hour - I've been doing that, and I'm over it! Now I'm after a quick fix!)
 
Please help!
 
Kym
 
Replied by birdlover on 11-Jul-2007 19:34 (Ref 660960) Report
You need to find out where they are getting into your house from, spray them, and they should not come back.  But, if they do another spray and they will learn
Replied by countryscentsations on 11-Jul-2007 19:37 (Ref 660966) Report
Hi Kym
 
The ant rid attracts them, smells like honey or a sweetener to them, what about putting some in a little cap ontop of the freezer (a little bottle lid)
 
Hopefully it will attract them away from the seals
 
 
Nicki Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Replied by kiarillia on 11-Jul-2007 19:47 (Ref 660989) Report
Nicki - trust me, I'd be doing that if I could, but it's a freezer at the bottom of my fridge, and as I have 3 kids, the antrid is not really an option even if it was practical.
 
Birdlover - they appear to be levitating in there or something... maybe some sort of weird time travel thing? I can't see a trail of them anywhere... unless... maybe they're coming in behind the fridge somewhere - might have to get hubby to pull the fridge out and have a look... could definitely put some ant rid down back there.
 
Any other suggestions....
 
Kym
Replied by marfyfieldsmafia on 11-Jul-2007 19:50 (Ref 660993) Report
Hi Kym
 
Do you have any eucalptus oil............just wipe down round the door seals etc.........that should work
Replied by countryscentsations on 11-Jul-2007 19:51 (Ref 660997) Report
Ok... sorry about that lol, hopefully someone with pest control or the like will see your post and have some suggestions!
 
Good luck ;]
 
NickiPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Replied by the-safety-shop on 11-Jul-2007 19:59 (Ref 661011) Report
Our pest man old us the best way is nutrasweet.....that fake sugar. APPARENTLY it was originally made for this purpose then people discovered we could eat it??? I haven't tried it though!
Replied by scarlettohara1963 on 11-Jul-2007 19:59 (Ref 661013) Report
Bay Leaves are supposed to be a deterrant - generally ants come in to get water and it doesn't matter how clean your house is either - could you have a leak near your freezer perhaps?
Replied by bronh on 11-Jul-2007 20:03 (Ref 661020) Report

Apparently putting Talc powder down where they are coming from is meant to stop them
Replied by dreamweaver120 on 11-Jul-2007 20:08 (Ref 661031) Report
Ants are coming in for water. Because the weather has been very dry.
The pest ppl have been to my work several times laying sprays to
stop them. They are getting into the toliet bowls, mens trough ( nicer word ) and sinks.
You can't leave a coffee cup or lunch anywhere they are there instantly.
I sprayed them with WD40 stpped them dead. LOL 
Now it is raining a lot they have gone away. Dad use to follow the trail
outside and pour boiling water on them. I know they won't cross over talc
powder if this helps.           dreamy
Replied by marranie on 11-Jul-2007 21:35 (Ref 661166) Report
Seeing i dont really like killing anything i put a little bit of catfood or some wet bread with honey out the back and they stay outside and are not a problem.... if you really want them to move further, just move their food further away
cheers
kris
Replied by marranie on 11-Jul-2007 21:38 (Ref 661171) Report
ps... the 'nutri sweet' was invented as an ant poison... that in itself should be a good enough reason for no one to eat it... giving it a lovely name that makes you think of nutrition for a poison... ugh....
Replied by shoppinggirl01 on 26-Jul-2007 18:50 (Ref 681526) Report
Hi! We cured our ant problem by getting them drunk! Just fill the lid of a soft drink bottle, or the lid off a jar, with alcohol. They seem to like red wine or cooking sherry.The ants get into the alcohol and get so drunk that they all die off! (Keep this away from the kids though!) Goodluck!
Replied by servicewithasmile on 28-Jul-2007 17:24 (Ref 684354) Report
Hi Kym ,
I truely sympathise .. they drove me nuts a couple of years ago in our kitchen  pantry .. the pest inspector put some special powder in some of the wall cavities but as was poisonous he said the best thing for for us to do in the kitchen was to place newspaper down on the bottom shelf of the pantry as they hate walking on it ...we havent had an ant inside since  :o)
Hope you manage to get rid of the little buggers ..
Cheers ,
Kelly :o)
 
Replied by prim-n-raggedy on 16-Sep-2007 02:01 (Ref 757937) Report
Hi there, try putting cornmeal where ever you see ants...the little pests eat it and take it home but later die because they cannot digest it... safe to use around pets and kids too!. It will take about a week or so before you notice any difference.
Danni
Replied by mother_bear on 17-Sep-2007 23:43 (Ref 760715) Report
I found the best and safest thing to use is Ant Sand
Replied by terri4304 on 21-Sep-2007 23:41 (Ref 767706) Report

mix up some bicarb and sugar. The sugar attracts them and they eat the bicarb while eating the sugar, they take the bicarb back and the other ants also eat it, and it gets rid of the whole nest (also works for other rodents)
Replied by happychick on 22-Sep-2007 19:31 (Ref 769043) Report
I agree mother bear....antsand is the best. I had a terrible problem with them in the kitchen. There were ants in the pantry, fridge, cupboards....they were everywhere and getting into everything. I don't know how much bread, honey, peanutbutter & cereal etc. etc. I threw out. I found the trail outside where they were coming in....sprinkled antsand in the cracks between the wall and the cement and after a few weeks they were gone! I even managed to get rid of a huge nest that I discovered in the garden by sprinkling the antsand in the garden. It may take a few weeks but be patient....they will disappear. Oh and by the way...if you want to kill them in the meantime while waiting for the antsand to do its job, just spray them with Nifti. You can wipe them away and clean at the same time lol!
Replied by lady-misty on 24-Sep-2007 07:51 (Ref 771303) Report
Maybe the little ants are looking for water. I give them a bowl of water and they all go around the dish and have a drink. It's kind of nice to see them and it reminds me of a water hole out in the jungle, but it's in my kitchen. They have nice little faces, and are little family unit, just like us.
Sometimes I put my old honey and jam jars out in the garden for them.
I guess it's all how one views the beauty of the natural world.
Love lady-misty
 
 
Replied by moonlacegypsy on 01-Oct-2007 21:26 (Ref 783712) Report
Sprinkle pepper where they are getting in. This has always worked. The pepper may not look too good but I guess it is better looking than ants. LOL
Replied by just-do-it on 07-Oct-2007 20:30 (Ref 792841) Report
Another something to deter the ants is BORAX (or boron) powder sprinkled around the bottom of your house posts, along the walls ant trails etc as it stops them climbing. I also put it under my pot plants to stop them getting in the soil, however don't put it in the pots as I killed my precious plants with a lethal dose of trace elements  when I watered it in thinking I would get the little buggers that way.............LOL. 
Replied by adorabull on 06-Jan-2008 13:37 (Ref 935717) Report
Hi,
 
I've just been out and brought the ingredients for this recipe below. I substituted borax (That I brought from Bunnings) instead of boric acid. I'm going to use it with the lid on with holes in it so I don't poison my Furbabies!!
 
 
 
Here is the link
Replied by geoffwin on 06-Jan-2008 17:29 (Ref 936134) Report
sic 'em Rex
 
:-)
Replied by tylune on 07-Jan-2008 10:58 (Ref 937016) Report
lol @rex

as mentioned before ANTSAND it's brilliant .
we couldn't get in our front door a few weeks back.The front verandah was covered in ants  as soon as you vibrated the boards by putting your foot down...... Most embarrassing if someone was waiting for yo to open the front door,to find them dancing a jig.
I pored Ant sand on the veranda,down the cracks and in every ant hole i saw. They take it back to the nest and it kills the queen............ I didn't know ants had a queen....
It took about a week to see a real difference, but now we can get to the font door with out being covered in them.there are still a few about, but they are in normal ant quantities.
For indoors if you can see where they are tracking in,you can use the honey style "ant rid" anywhere along the trail.iIused to put it inside the track in the kitchen window,the kidies never go there. Anywhere high on the ant trail that the kids or pets cant get to is fine. I was a bit worried about the ant sand and the cats but they were fine,its quite coarse grained and it just fell off again after they walked on it.
good luck
Bee
Replied by Capanart on 07-Jan-2008 13:31 (Ref 937232) Report
I have just sprinkled powdered ginger under the doors inside and hot chilli powder outside.........somethings gotta work. Tried all the above.
Replied by Capanart on 07-Jan-2008 13:33 (Ref 937235) Report
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Replied by just-do-it on 09-Jan-2008 00:50 (Ref 939700) Report
Here is another remedy that has just worked for me this week due to another influx of the little blighters.  Instead of the dry and looking for water they moved in because of all the rain and thinking they were going to drown.............no win situation>>
 
In a 500ml spray bottle of soapy water add garlic.  Now I used the crushed garlic in the jar from the supermarket, about 2 teaspoons but also had the problem with it being forced up the spray hose and blocking it. No filter on the end of my cheapy bottle...lol     Best to let garlic settle on bottom.  Even used it inside and knocked em down.  Son came home from work and asked why the house smelt like garlic bread!!!!!!!!          But it worked and is still working
 
Replied by Capanart on 09-Jan-2008 13:51 (Ref 940232) Report
Thanks justdoit, I am just trying the string wiped down with hot chillies around the doors. See how I go and then I will try your suggestion if no success, Thanks.
Replied by just-do-it on 09-Jan-2008 14:20 (Ref 940255) Report
hey artflow, did you have a look at the link in the above reply from 'adorable' on 6/1. Thats the one I was talking about with the borax.   Boy, somethings gotta work for you soon         cheers chrissy
Replied by Capanart on 09-Jan-2008 19:19 (Ref 940553) Report
Hiya just-do-it, ooh I missed that one. Will check it out if my latest ploy fails, lol.
Replied by rooster-dave on 16-May-2008 05:12 (Ref 1149903) Report
 
AN OLD FAHIONED remedy for ant control is BORIC or BORACIC ACID.  A natural product mined in USA, previously you could get it at any pharmacy - no longer.  So I got to the supplier - and now have it available
 
ITEM 4284321
 
 
For the control of ants, cockroaches, fleas, silverfish .......................
Replied by rhemaangel on 18-May-2008 17:35 (Ref 1155284) Report
Ants really HATE the smell of oranges and cinnamon & cloves. You can grind the peel up into a powder easily after it has dried & mix with the spices & sprinkle under your fridge, or around where the trail is. Smells nice to the human nose, but ants HATE it. LOL!
Replied by alicespringsnt on 20-May-2008 22:00 (Ref 1159592) Report
I think I have tried almost everything for ant problems. I live just outside Alice Springs in the bush where ants of all varieties thrive. I try to avoid chemicals and have done research on natural alternatives. After lots of research (not just the internet, but also CSIRO and local aborigines), I have fixed the problem.

I'll share them all with you, but first let me paint the picture that I have common black ants, jumping brown ants, inch ants, meat ants and bull ants.

Solutions...

INCH ANTS
Each are an inch long and their bite feels like a red hot coal on your skin for about 30 minutes. Extremely painful, but...... they devour cockroaches, aphids and white ants. They only bite on contact, meaning, they don't bother us unless we bother them.

BLACK and BROWN ANTS
They will not cross lavender oil !
They hate tannic acid which is found in Tea Tree oil.
They go for sugar when it's dry and meat when it's wet. Borax kills ants.
To rid yourself of them, wipe lavender and tea tree oil mixed together and wipe on surfaces that you don't want them to cross. (can stain wood and other porous surfaces).
Take boiling hot water and dissolve as much sugar (80%) and pure borax (20%). It will form a thin syrup. Pour into small covered plastic containers with a hole in the side and soak and insert a wick of cloth. Place container near ant nests or trails. When cool, the liquid will crystalise. Ants eat it and die.
Borax in this form will not be devoured/eaten by any other thing so it is safe to use.

MEAT and BULL ANTS
Oh so easy to rid yourself of these. Boiling water poured down the ant holes and it's all over red rover. May take two or three goes at it.

Ants will not cross fresh tanned leather. A hide at your doorstep is a good barrier, but eventually the tanning chemicals fade in strength and aroma and the ants will cross it.

Now the clincher that kills them all on contact !

diatomaceous earth
It is a natural product being powderised fossil algae. It has been used in a coarser form in pool filters, but is harmful if inhaled. It is an extremely fine abrasive and on contact with ants, it erodes/destroys their exoskeletons and they die of dehydration.
Wearing a protective breathing mask, on a day with no breeze, scatter around your property boundaries you wish to protect and it will last for months killing all ants (and some beetles) very quickly after contact. This product is ideal for large areas where other methods are not cost efficient.
Replied by brown-dog on 25-Jul-2008 15:26 (Ref 1293336) Report
I am on my tenth bottle of Ant Rid.  Not working!!!!!!  I will try some of your idea's.
Replied by vk3kcg on 22-Sep-2008 23:03 (Ref 1397175) Report
I have tried a number of products but one called best-ant-bait.com works the best on common ants.
Replied by chicky882 on 02-Jun-2009 11:45 (Ref 1778571) Report
try citronella oil wipe ant trail with rag soaked init and presto no more ants
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