Ant control experiment

[The Snark]

This seems to work but the proportions are very fussy, as are the ants. A combination of one of the more odoriferous honeys, baking soda and water deployed with a sprayer.
The basics are simple, few ants can resist honey. An integral function in virtually all ants utilizes formic acid. Neutralizing the acid likes them semi blind them and can bring their digestion to a halt. So the proportions of water, honey and soda are critical and evaporation eventually causes them to ignore the bait.

It appears we have the ideal ants to experiment with here. Red ants just slightly larger than the common sweet and grease eating ants in the US. These have driven off or killed the other 20 or 30 species we usually have. These ants are primarily lone foragers, only loosely following trails so targeting ant trails doesn't work very effectively.

Barring continuously spraying them where ever they are found the plan it to apply the solution where it remains effective, appetizing as long as possible with contaminated ants managing to get back to the nests.

Anyone else care to experiment? My too watery most recent solution is 1/2 tablespoon soda and five tablespoons of honey in 3/4 liter of water. Effective for less than 10 minutes. Supposedly it only takes a few micrograms of soda on an ants mandibles to take it out of the gene pool.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

This seems to work but the proportions are very fussy, as are the ants. A combination of one of the more odoriferous honeys, baking soda and water deployed with a sprayer.
The basics are simple, few ants can resist honey. An integral function in virtually all ants utilizes formic acid. Neutralizing the acid likes them semi blind them and can bring their digestion to a halt. So the proportions of water, honey and soda are critical and evaporation eventually causes them to ignore the bait.

It appears we have the ideal ants to experiment with here. Red ants just slightly larger than the common sweet and grease eating ants in the US. These have driven off or killed the other 20 or 30 species we usually have. These ants are primarily lone foragers, only loosely following trails so targeting ant trails doesn't work very effectively.

Barring continuously spraying them where ever they are found the plan it to apply the solution where it remains effective, appetizing as long as possible with contaminated ants managing to get back to the nests.

Anyone else care to experiment? My too watery most recent solution is 1/2 tablespoon soda and five tablespoons of honey in 3/4 liter of water. Effective for less than 10 minutes. Supposedly it only takes a few micrograms of soda on an ants mandibles to take it out of the gene pool.

I'll give it a go, not sure the species of ant we have here in Scotland, but I lost an H Mac sling a couple months ago, kept a few of my slings in a boiler room and the nice weather brought ants with it. They are all moved into the room upstairs now though, somehow they are not interested in getting upstairs. I managed to get rid of the vast majority of them, spraying the outside of the house with an ant pesticide I got at a local store. Numbers have decreased from me finding 30 to 40 a day in the house to 5 or 6. I'm guessing there was more than one nest of them as I've followed a few of them and there is multiple points outside where they go in little gaps in bricks and under steps that are good distances apart for there size (7/8 yards) these holes lead to under my house.

 

[The Snark]

It seems the ideal target is to have only enough soda that won't inhibit the ants eating it. The honey is problematic in that it eventually solidifies and looses it's odor? They ignore it after a while. Sure would be nice to find either a killer or even simply a deterrent that is entirely non toxic. Harmless to the animals kept.
I might try adding glycerin to the mix hoping the extend it's effective time period.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

It seems the ideal target is to have only enough soda that won't inhibit the ants eating it. The honey is problematic in that it eventually solidifies and looses it's odor? They ignore it after a while. Sure would be nice to find either a killer or even simply a deterrent that is entirely non toxic. Harmless to the animals kept.
I might try adding glycerin to the mix hoping the extend it's effective time period.

I have found the ones here hate lemon dish soap. @Charliemum told me that one and it definitely works as a barrier.

 

[Charliemum]

I have found the ones here hate lemon dish soap. @Charliemum told me that one and it definitely works as a barrier.

Yes it works great we have a huge colony under our garden but they never come in our house they used to but not after I started using lemon dish soap around the perimeter of every wall in our house. Keeps them out n us safe without anyone being hurt squashed or poisoned .
I do it once in spring, once in summer n done its cheap n works. Only ants that get in are cat related and put straight bk outside .

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Yes it works great we have a huge colony under our garden but they never come in our house they used to but not after I started using lemon dish soap around the perimeter of every wall in our house. Keeps them out n us safe without anyone being hurt squashed or poisoned .
I do it once in spring, once in summer n done its cheap n works. Only ants that get in are cat related and put straight bk outside .

So much nicer than me, I hold a grudge, it's personal. Kill the ants!! Lol

 

[Charliemum]

So much nicer than me, I hold a grudge, it's personal. Kill the ants!! Lol

All life is precious I was raised by a hippy .

 

[Kada]

If you want to kill the queen and colony in their nest directly, without repeat sptaying/baits etc, strongly recommend boric acid bait traps. Over the years of me trying both at home and in fields, nothing has come even remotely close to being as effective and it is relatively safe. Solves the problem at it's source and requires little effort and no dangerous chemicals. Also, very small quantities of said salt to wipe out an entire kingdom.

Slightly more toxic than baking soda, I would imagine. But the msds is still pretty good.

 

[scottyk]

If you want to kill the queen and colony in their nest directly, without repeat sptaying/baits etc, strongly recommend boric acid bait traps. Over the years of me trying both at home and in fields, nothing has come even remotely close to being as effective and it is relatively safe. Solves the problem at it's source and requires little effort and no dangerous chemicals. Also, very small quantities of said salt to wipe out an entire kingdom.

Slightly more toxic than baking soda, I would imagine. But the msds is still pretty good.

This times 100

The Terro ant bait on Amazon rid me of an infestation of large, aggressive black ants that laughed off every other attempt I made to eradicate them. The borax is relatively benign, and because it needs to ingested as opposed to being a contact poison, is pretty safe as far as these things go. I usually get some ants in my house every spring, and laying these out for a few days always takes care of the problem quickly. I have multiple herps, inverts and aquariums in my house and have not had issues with them. I just make sure to put the baits where the dog can't get them...

 

[The Snark]

Well, another bright idea that isn't going to work. With small ants nests the bait and carry back to the nest may work with Sod. Bicarb. or Boric acid. I did a careful survey of the yard here and found two major traffic vents to the nest about 12-15 feet apart. There's simply no way packing minute amounts of toxin back home is going to make a major dent on a nest that size.

 

[Kada]

Well, another bright idea that isn't going to work. With small ants nests the bait and carry back to the nest may work with Sod. Bicarb. or Boric acid. I did a careful survey of the yard here and found two major traffic vents to the nest about 12-15 feet apart. There's simply no way packing minute amounts of toxin back home is going to make a major dent on a nest that size.

I promise you it will I will only speak of boric because once I found it it was, and is, always 100% effective. Even with massive colonies, millions strong, wide dispersal and even under concrete and a few hindered meters square at that.

The effecrove ingredient is the same, boric acid. The only difference is:

Type of bait
Ratios of such
Placement (eg. Don't put it in full sun and it becomes a rock, nor put it somewhere they dont readily find it...)
Quantity

I make basically dough. Luke for bread or pizza. Mostly because it fermented well, is readily edible and everything eats it. Watch your cockroaches die off as well getting rid of the ants.

I use wheat flour. Mix in sugar. As many know, ants tend to be food triggered by 2 basic types: sugar and protein. So I make 2 batches.

For the sugar batch it's only wheat, sugar, pinch of yeast and water. Rolled into balls and thrown around where the ant trails are.

For the protein side of things it the exact same thing but I add some cheap pet food type protein. If I have expired, clumpy fish food, I add that. Etc make dough balls, throw around.

1 week, basically no ants.

I do put the balls where kids and pets won't be able to touch them. Once upon a time I placed the dough balls in woofle ball type structures so dogs etc would eat them.

Promise you, even the most intense tropical species of ants. 1 week. Queen is dead. You might see a couple random stragglers, but that's normal life and not worthy of much worry

 

[The Snark]

@Kada It's certainly worth a try. If for no other reason than to see what mom nature throws our way next. Down in the tropics bio-activity is the ruling order of things and no such thing as a vacuum. There is no doubt in my mind if we manage to eliminate this particular species of ant there are probably several dozen standing at the door ready to take their place.
Maybe we should be grateful for the present ants. Looked at with perspective they are a pleasant alternative to our white tiled floors literally turned black by the black ant hordes which happened like clockwork for a couple of months every year in the past. Those ants literally carved trails in the hard clay of our driveway 2 inches wide and a half inch deep.
Memories of the cats queuing in the stairs meowing pitifully as the ants cart off the last specs of their food and wouldn't mind seeing what cat on the paw tastes like.

 

[Kada]

Haha. If there is one thing to be sure, ants are pretty amazing! Will certainly need to reapply bait if it's like that. Quantity

My only real hatred in the ant world are the aggressive stingers. Now that fire ants are fully naturalized where I live, I can say I do actually dislike certain species haha