Got ants?

Got ants?

I do.  It's that time of year again and the little brown ants have invaded.  I can't find where they get in, but I guess it doesn't matter, they will find another way if I destroy an entrance.  So, how to get rid of them?  One sure way is to remove all food from your house, all food like things, waste food, everything.  Hmmm, not practical.  And after all, it's MY house not theirs!  I haven't identified the species exactly, but suspect it is the brown House Ant or Odorous House Ant.

So, I do an internet search to see what other people do.  There are lots of natural solutions suggested.  And, naturally, these people never tried these things, just reposted from somewhere else.  Maybe these things worked for someone somewhere, or maybe someone imagined that they worked, or maybe someone just thought these should work, but do they work?  Since I have some volunteers in my house now, this will be a good chance to test out these suggestions of "guaranteed" solutions to this problem.

One often suggested way to get rid of ants is to wipe everything down with diluted vinegar.  Diluted?  Why?  If diluted is good then undiluted should be better.  I tried vinegar.  When wet the ants don't want to cross it, but they won't cross water either.  Once the surface dried the ants were happy to resume previous activities.  Result?  FAIL.

I read that if you draw a chalk line the ants will not cross it.  So here's my line ants!  Cross that! I dare you!  So, they did.  Apparently they did not read the rule book or accepted the challenge and I lost.  So, chalk line - fail.

I read that Boric Acid works.  Boric Acid actually has to be ingested by the ants.  They don't find Boric Acid yummy, so you have to prepare it in a way to get the ants to eat it and take some back to the nest.  This will eventually kill the nest, but will not keep ants away.  You will have to endure the infestation until the nest is destroyed. 

Borax.  This works like the Boric acid as a poison to the ants.  Haven't tried it.  You have to mix it into something tasty - and keep your pets and kids away!  Instructions here http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Rid-of-Ants-or-How-to-Kill-an-Ant-Invasi/

Coffee grounds.  OK.  Ants aren't fond of coffee grounds, but climbing over them?  No problem.  Conclusion, ants are not affected by used and dried out caffeine.  Coffee grounds - fail.

Basil leaves.  The ants don't cook apparently and had no use for basil leaves and they didn't scare them off either.  Basil leaves - fail.

Bay leaves.  I haven't tried it, but it is said that leaving bay leaves in  your cupboards will keep the ants out.  I've heard that it doesn't work, so bay leaves - probably a fail.

Ground cinnamon.  I've seen that you should leave cinnamon sticks lying around.  The ants don't really care.  They avoid the sticks, but that's about it.   I tried sprinkling ground cinnamon around a group of ants and the results where interesting.  The ants in the circle started inspecting the cinnamon particles.  They did this for quite a while. When I sprinkled the cinnamon around  the counter top the rest of the ants seemed to lose the trail.  I sprinkled cinnamon along the edge of a cupboard they seemed to like and they no longer entered the cupboard.  Unfortunately the ones hiding in the cupboard wouldn't cross the line either, so were stuck in the cupboard.  I assisted them in not being in the cupboard anymore, if you know what I mean.  I am seeing many fewer ants now, so the cinnamon seems to work.  Update later if I see that they have actually left or come back with hazmat suits.  Ground cinnamon - so far, pass.

I have some more things to try.  I've seen the following: garlic cloves, black pepper, mint, cucumbers, vo-do and magic (I'm sure these don't work), baby powder, cloves, Ivory soap, and Windex (really?).  If I find a miracle I'll up date it here. For now I'm sticking with the cinnamon and will try to make a Boric acid or Borax poison treat for the little beggars.

And now, about those spiders.....