How to get rid of ants

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quickymart

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#302302 13-Nov-2022 21:04

While away on holiday for a while I've come back to find ants in random places in my house, some in places I had never seen before. I don't know if this is because the place was vacant or anything, but they are a pain in the neck!

I squash all the ones I see, but I know that's not the problem with ants - it's always the 10 behind that one that you don't see.

I'm trying these: https://www.bunnings.co.nz/kiwicare-no-ants-gel-bait-stations-3-pack_p0309110

but in the event these don''t work (one trap seems to have dozens of ants on it but the other two don't - so far) can anyone suggest an inexpensive solution to be rid of them fully? How do these trap things work anyway?

Note I need something the ants can access but children can't. Otherwise do I need to get a professional pest controller in?

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#2995640 13-Nov-2022 21:12

Fire burns ants. Poison is probably more practical.

Jase2985

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#2995642 13-Nov-2022 21:13

Tasmex Exterm-An-Ant

pih

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#2995643 13-Nov-2022 21:14

Do Kiwicare products work? NO. It says it right there on the bottle. 🤣

Check out my thread here for suggestions: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=141&topicId=284327

robertsona

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#2995647 13-Nov-2022 21:22

Gel bait is the best approach. They take it back to the nest and hopefully poison the queen.

However, I strongly recommend https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/nopests-ant-bait-20-grams/p/372153 over the KiwiCare product. Squirt a long thin line or two as near as possible to where you see them enter the house and then give it 24 hours.

And then be prepared to rinse and repeat in a few weeks... and again in a few more weeks!

quickymart

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#2995651 13-Nov-2022 21:26

Thanks, I'll see how the Kiwicare stuff goes first and then try ExtermanAnt if no joy. I'll just use the existing Kiwcare bait stations and fill them up if required 🙂

jarledb

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#2995681 14-Nov-2022 01:45

Get someone in to spray around the outside of your house as well as using the bait stations inside. Works well for us, and we are in an area with lots of ants. Need to spray a couple times a year, and it is a good idea not to let grass and bushes grow up against the house.

PS: I recently learned that ants either will go for sugar based bait stations or protein based bait stations. So if they are ignoring a sugar based bait station it can be a good idea to use a protein based one and see if they go for that.

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MikeAqua

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#2995717 14-Nov-2022 08:41

quickymart:

I'm trying these: https://www.bunnings.co.nz/kiwicare-no-ants-gel-bait-stations-3-pack_p0309110

These work for me. But I'm in Blenheim and our ants are pretty chill.

Mike

quickymart

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#2995728 14-Nov-2022 08:55

jarledb:

Get someone in to spray around the outside of your house as well as using the bait stations inside. Works well for us, and we are in an area with lots of ants. Need to spray a couple times a year, and it is a good idea not to let grass and bushes grow up against the house.

PS: I recently learned that ants either will go for sugar based bait stations or protein based bait stations. So if they are ignoring a sugar based bait station it can be a good idea to use a protein based one and see if they go for that.

Good idea but that won't work, unfortunately - this is the top floor of a building, so I'll have to do stuff on the inside.

They certainly are taking to one of the Kiwicare baits in the pantry but I'm skeptical as to how well it will work now.

hsvhel

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#2995729 14-Nov-2022 08:57

I buy these and place them where needed

https://www.flybusters.co.nz/shop/DIY-Pest-Control-Services/DIY_Ants/Extermanant+Ant+Bait+-+100ml.html

Work well for my enviroment

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neb

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#2996083 14-Nov-2022 17:14

quickymart:
I'm trying these: https://www.bunnings.co.nz/kiwicare-no-ants-gel-bait-stations-3-pack_p0309110

This topic has come up before on here, Kiwicare ant products (and some of their other stuff as well but in particular ant bait and the like) is utterly useless, it doesn't work at all. Check the other thread for advice, but Exterm-an-Ant is pretty good, it's standard borax-based stuff but stays liquid for a long time unlike DIY bait which you need to keep re-wetting several times a day. Just shop around for the Exterm-an-Ant, you can find it for a lot less than the usually-charged price if you go to smaller retailers or online places.

If you want to save money and don't mind extra faffing around, you can also DIY it with borax, you can get 1kg of it for about half the price of a single squeeze bottle of Exterm-an-Ant. If you're in Orkland I've got more than I'll ever need that you can grab some of.

neb

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#2996084 14-Nov-2022 17:15

quickymart:
They certainly are taking to one of the Kiwicare baits in the pantry but I'm skeptical as to how well it will work now.

Oh, they love the stuff, and over time you'll see their numbers increase as you keep feeding them with it.

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networkn

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#2996085 14-Nov-2022 17:16

I was going to suggest burning your property to the ground with a flame thrower would definitely fix the problem. But I thought better of it.

neb

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#2996091 14-Nov-2022 17:29

robertsona:
However, I strongly recommend https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/nopests-ant-bait-20-grams/p/372153 over the KiwiCare product. Squirt a long thin line or two as near as possible to where you see them enter the house and then give it 24 hours.

If you're not in a huge hurry, source it from anywhere that isn't NZ. The active ingredient in the above linked product, indoxicarb, is priced at $4,000 a gram if you buy it from Mitre10. In the US it's sold as concentrate that you can make gallons of the stuff from (Google tells me a gallon is some antique liquid measure of around 4L).

tweake

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#2996097 14-Nov-2022 17:34

i found the boric based liquids worked well. i suspect sugar based. (exterm-an-ant works great)

most of the protein based use far better chem, which gets taken back to the nest an nukes the whole colony, but they are very picky in eating it. the ones i've tried they ignore. typically with protein based timing is the key. there is only certain times when they are heavy into protein. the same issue with wasps baits.

you can't use the good chems with sugar because of by kill, the big one being bees which is also illegal.

frankv

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#2996098 14-Nov-2022 17:35

Squashing ants is only ever a short-term win. If you squish them and drag their writhing pain-wracked bodies across a surface, it will deter other ants from crossing the smear for a few days. But really, you need to get rid of the nest. The nest can be some distance away and in another building. We found one in the garage, and wiping that out quickly solved our kitchen ants problem that was a good 15-20m away. We tracked down where they were in the wall cavity, ripped off the hardboard lining, and gave them a few good doses of fly spray. It was interesting to see the ants desperately trying to save the eggs.

Most of the stuff on the market therefore aims not to poison the ants directly, but to get them to take the poison back to the nest, where hopefully it will poison the queen and therefore wipe out the nest.

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