Ants

[The Snark]

Since we are living on a multi-species ant hill I've become an expert on getting rid of ants. The simple solution being -> _________.
Or move. (Near hermetically sealing your house is only a temporary fix).
No, I'm not being facetious or even jesting. Either you eradicate all including every one in all their tunnels, or you move.
Jeff Goldblum paraphrased, Ants will find a way.

And if you don't live in tropical climes, be happy happy. The micro ants are the worst. Red, 1/10th of a mm long and bite like fury and having bit, they latch on. Spotting them, which almost needs a magnifying glass, and killing them isn't enough; their mouth parts can hang on and continue pumping in the acid.
I've often mistaken their bites for mite bites, if it starts itching it's a mite, if only the burning sensation it's those ants.

 

[Matt Man]

We had them bad last summer, but they kept mostly to the kitchen (after the cat food, which I ended up making a moat for). There were so many places they were coming in, my daughter started duct taping them until I could seal them. I also used mrs myers lemon verbena cleaner to remove the pheremones (and it killed them, too). It's a neverending battle all summer, but I wasn't expecting it this soon or in this room. I just built a acacia wood shelf/table for them and have the smallest in their own moats right now. Looks like I'll have to buck it up and moat those table legs. And thank you for the info on the outside trail. I didn't do that last year, but will definitely do that now.

You are welcome. I think Lysol works as well. They are pretty common here in a Diego, we've been battling them for years. You find the line of them marching on the outside and just blast away

also the path they are using inside the house

oh and leave water outside. They typically come in looking for water, and the food is just a happy side

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Since we are living on a multi-species ant hill I've become an expert on getting rid of ants. The simple solution being -> _________.
Or move. (Near hermetically sealing your house is only a temporary fix).
No, I'm not being facetious or even jesting. Either you eradicate all including every one in all their tunnels, or you move.
Jeff Goldblum paraphrased, Ants will find a way.

And if you don't live in tropical climes, be happy happy. The micro ants are the worst. Red, 1/10th of a mm long and bite like fury and having bit, they latch on. Spotting them, which almost needs a magnifying glass, and killing them isn't enough; their mouth parts can hang on and continue pumping in the acid.
I've often mistaken their bites for mite bites, if it starts itching it's a mite, if only the burning sensation it's those ants.

That sounds absolutely horrid. You are right, they will find a way if they really want to, but I'm gonna make getting to my T's as difficult as possible. I also live in the center of a horizontal triplex, so sealing myself and my T's off ain't possible. :-\

 

[The Snark]

they will find a way if they really want to, but I'm gonna make getting to my T's as difficult as possible.

There is one simple solution which works in the case of terrariums et al. Vigilance and diligence. If you have pervasive invasive ants barriers will work. BUT, the barriers will need maintenance just like your animals. So you always allocate some time and energy to the barriers along with caring for the animals.
As a case in point, some huge ant nests are across the road from our house. They use the power, phone and fiber optic wires as a bridge. So I eliminated that source by once a week removing and replacing inside out duct tape on the wires. Fortunately they are conveniently accessible and simply leaving a step stool with a roll of tape nearby and in about 3 months the hordes in the attic have been eliminated.
The alternative to barriers is eliminate the ant food sources. In our case that would mean cleaning the roof of bird poop and leaf debris on as regular a basis as changing the duct tape. I gave that a pass. Keeping all your terrariums free of all food sources is of course a certain route to ending up in a room with soft walls and eating with a rubber spoon.

Ant-icedant. I thought putting out interesting bugs and animals for the ants to clean was a great idea. Nothing left but the chitin, right? Wrong. After the feast they dissolved the connective tissues then carried the pieces of chitin off. With vertebrates nothing was left but a pile of loose bones and some hair.

 

[Arachnopets]

You are welcome. I think Lysol works as well. They are pretty common here in a Diego, we've been battling them for years. You find the line of them marching on the outside and just blast away

also the path they are using inside the house

oh and leave water outside. They typically come in looking for water, and the food is just a happy side

Lysol definitely works to kill pheromones (it also drowns the ants). However, it is just temporary and will need to be reapplied. See my post here:

Ant Control - Are Baits Okay?

I've got a bad ant problem in my tarantula room. There are a series of steps I'm taking to get rid of them and (hopefully) prevent them from returning or at least from getting into enclosures. I'm wondering, if I put down one of those baits where the ants take it back to the colony and it's...

arachnoboards.com

We used Lysol as a barrier (so the ants did not continue to create new trails), while the Terrro bait did the rest. If you do decide to use the Terro bait (which I highly recommend), DO NOT try to kill the pheromones or the ants. It will be counter productive to the purpose of the bait (which is to bring the poison back to the Queen to kill the colony).

 

[thedragonslapper]

Are your Ts on a shelf or something? I keep a barrier of cinnamon sprinkled all around my T shelf specifically to ants away from them. They won’t walk over the stuff to save their lives. I’ve never seen any ants in the room where I keep mine even in the hot season, and it does look weird keeping cinnamon on the floor but I’m not taking chances.

I did have a problem with them in my kitchen last year. I laid Terro down for them and haven’t seen anymore since.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

There is one simple solution which works in the case of terrariums et al. Vigilance and diligence. If you have pervasive invasive ants barriers will work. BUT, the barriers will need maintenance just like your animals. So you always allocate some time and energy to the barriers along with caring for the animals.
As a case in point, some huge ant nests are across the road from our house. They use the power, phone and fiber optic wires as a bridge. So I eliminated that source by once a week removing and replacing inside out duct tape on the wires. Fortunately they are conveniently accessible and simply leaving a step stool with a roll of tape nearby and in about 3 months the hordes in the attic have been eliminated.

The alternative to barriers is eliminate the ant food sources. In our case that would mean cleaning the roof of bird poop and leaf debris on as regular a basis as changing the duct tape. I gave that a pass. Keeping all your terrariums free of all food sources is of course a certain route to ending up in a room with soft walls and eating with a rubber spoon.

Ant-icedant. I thought putting out interesting bugs and animals for the ants to clean was a great idea. Nothing left but the chitin, right? Wrong. After the feast they dissolved the connective tissues then carried the pieces of chitin off. With vertebrates nothing was left but a pile of loose bones and some hair.

--I'll try the reverse tape on the top of the shelf where my T's are, and just replace it every week. I keep my small collection of T's in a corner of the living room, and as fantastic as that tape will look, it is what it is. I have to laugh at the irony of dedicating funds to a nice shelf and enclosures, then covering it with upside down tape. Have I mentioned I hate ants?


--The only food source I could find there is the crickets. Last summer I had 0 problems in that room, so I'm surprised. Also have plants there, so when it dries out over the summer again, they could become ant hotels.

--That is both amazing and terrifying.

Are your Ts on a shelf or something? I keep a barrier of cinnamon sprinkled all around my T shelf specifically to ants away from them. They won’t walk over the stuff to save their lives. I’ve never seen any ants in the room where I keep mine even in the hot season, and it does look weird keeping cinnamon on the floor but I’m not taking chances.

I did have a problem with them in my kitchen last year. I laid Terro down for them and haven’t seen anymore since.

I currently have fresh-cracked, black pepper and cinnamon sticks all around the shelf, the smaller slings in moats and the crickets in a moat on the opposite side of the room. I tried fresh cut garlic, but wow. Too much..there are other methods left to try. I went to the local home improvment store last night and bought those plastic dishes that you put under plants to hold the water to make leg moats for the shelving unit, but it's wood, so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to use that method (even though the legs will be slightly raised above the water). I also bought Terro. I'd rather make barriers to my home than use poison, but if it gets to that point where what I'm doing isn't working, I'm prepared.

 

[The Snark]

Overview: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/ants-the-equilibrium-theory.361023/#post-3333555

'll try the reverse tape

Try to find a tape that doesn't leave a messy residue.

The only food source I could find there is the crickets.

It doesn't need to be a food source, or it could have similarities of known food sources. And feces is always a trigger and target food source. A powerful odor message of potential multiple food sources.

We used Lysol as a barrier

Contains terabenthene, turpentine. One of natures most powerful insect repellents. More than, it is also a selective biocide and minor preservative. Thus the reason to never use evergreen woods or materials in a terrarium. Especially cedars. Cedar wood being the preferred material for building ship hulls for centuries., resisting rot and ship worms
@HooahArmy Could probably give us a run down on those related chemicals.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Try to find a tape that doesn't leave a messy residue.

Does this exist? I may need to lay a plastic sheet or something on the tabletop first, as that tape will definitely ruin the wood.

It doesn't need to be a food source, or it could have similarities of known food sources. And feces is always a trigger and target food source. A powerful odor message of potential multiple food sources.

Yikes, I may be screwed there. I make sure to keep the enclosures as clean as I possibly can with the least amount of disturbing the spiders, but one of my Avics is super messy. That girl poop cannons it everywhere. Walls, ceiling, all over the leaves. I wouldn't be surprised to she her little, pink butt oscillating while doing it. One of these days, I expect to see full on grafitti in there, or maybe even a mural.

Thank you all for your help. I was up half the night that first night the swarm hit terrified the ants would get to my slings. I feel more prepared now to create a multi-layered defense against the army of tiny, acid pukers and your prevention and barrier techniques have been a huge help.
I'll also make sure to keep the Lysol barrier outdoors only at entry points (if not using Terro), while the spiders are protected. Though now I'm curious about the lemon stuff I was using in the kitchen last summer. It has a long list of oils).

 

[The Snark]

Though now I'm curious about the lemon stuff

All citrus has similar properties to turpentine, if usually weaker. Mom nature doing her thing. Being selective as to what animals access the fruits / seeds. Freaking absolutely amazing world, isn't it? The infinitely complex web of life.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Totally. I think we get so accustomed to the synthetic, automated, paved over world we live in that it’s easy to forget how amazing nature truly is.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

I mix powdered ant killer and melted down jolly rancher. I see one or two here and there but the and problem I had is pretty much gone now

 

[Arachnopets]

I'll also make sure to keep the Lysol barrier outdoors only at entry points (if not using Terro)

We used the Lysol barrier indoors and we did not have any issues. I sprayed all outdoor entry points too, so no additional ones would enter. I literally watched them for a while, found where they were coming in from, sprayed Lysol all around to create the barrier that leads directly to the Terro bait and the original entry point from outside. Then continued to watch and reapply the barrier if some decided to get daring and try to cross over. I kept reapplying until I witnessed them solely heading in to the bait and back out again. You MUST leave that original trail untainted so they can go back out and bring it to the colony and the Queen.

FYI - Terro works best when it is placed at the ants point of entry. Not just placed anywhere. Last thing you want is the ants creating new pheromone trails, in addition to the ones already existing.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

FYI - Terro works best when it is placed at the ants point of entry. Not just placed anywhere. Last thing you want is the ants creating new pheromone trails, in addition to the ones already existing.

I used the lemon spray inside last summer the same way you did the Lysol, but only inside, and sealed the hole afterwards, but yeah, they just found another way. And I totally didn’t think of putting the traps at the entry point, but it makes perfect sense and would keep them further from my T’s. Thanks you!