How can I get rid of ants in my house if I have a tarantula?

[Fade]

I have 1 tarantula in my bedroom and I have found ants mainly in my bathroom, a couple in a spare room, 1 in my living room, and 1 on my bed in my bedroom. All 4 rooms are close to eachother. We are thinking of calling an exterminator. What can I do to protect my tarantula and what methods are a no go.

Thanks.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

If you bug bomb the house obviously you need the Ts out of the house and a lil ways away lol.

 

[EulersK]

How bad is your infestation of ants, and what type of ants do you have? My uncle is a professional exterminator, and I used to work for him during the summers. One of his highest margin services was ant extermination. He would go in, spend ten minutes of actual work laying down boric acid in the offending areas, and laugh his way to the bank. It was such a simple job that he had to look busy just so that his clients felt like they got their money's worth.

Terro brand boric acid works best for residential use. The best part is that you basically drop the liquid onto your bait and the ants go to the bait. Meaning you don't have the issues of fumes that a lot of other pesticides carry. At least try this $4 solution before calling an exterminator.

Special note: Wash your hands like mad after setting up your traps. Boric acid is a powerful pesticide that will easily travel from bottle, to your hands, to your enclosures after handling.

 

[Fade]

How bad is your infestation of ants, and what type of ants do you have? My uncle is a professional exterminator, and I used to work for him during the summers. One of his highest margin services was ant extermination. He would go in, spend ten minutes of actual work laying down boric acid in the offending areas, and laugh his way to the bank. It was such a simple job that he had to look busy just so that his clients felt like they got their money's worth.

Terro brand boric acid works best for residential use. The best part is that you basically drop the liquid onto your bait and the ants go to the bait. Meaning you don't have the issues of fumes that a lot of other pesticides carry. At least try this $4 solution before calling an exterminator.

Special note: Wash your hands like mad after setting up your traps. Boric acid is a powerful pesticide that will easily travel from bottle, to your hands, to your enclosures after handling.

Thanks for the tip. They were in the bathroom last year as well, and just started popping up again now that it's warm. I've probably killed 40 or so i don't know. I only see 1 ant at a time. They are small and black. I am guessing they are the small black ants that are common on the east side of the U.S.

Also how do I prevent the ants into my tarantula's kritter keeper? Is petroleum jelly good? I saw antscanada recommended a mix of baby powder and rubbing alchohol as well.

 

[EulersK]

Thanks for the tip. They were in the bathroom last year as well, and just started popping up again now that it's warm. I've probably killed 40 or so i don't know. I only see 1 ant at a time. They are small and black. I am guessing they are the small black ants that are common on the east side of the U.S.

Also how do I prevent the ants into my tarantula's kritter keeper? Is petroleum jelly good? I saw antscanada recommended a mix of baby powder and rubbing alchohol as well.

Yeah, boric acid will work like a charm on those ants. Here's the thing - things will get worse before they get better. You're essentially feeding the ants with your bait, meaning you'll certainly see the typical line of ants going to and from the bait. Do not kill them! Let them do their thing. They're taking the pesticide back to the colony, which will kill just about the entire colony. It shouldn't take more than a day or two before you stop seeing ants all together.

I've seen a dozen different recipes for that, but in my opinion nothing beats good old petroleum jelly. Easy to apply, and it doesn't need to be re-applied like many other recipes. You'll see a lot of recipes that require baby powder, and those came from ant keepers who actually want their ants to survive. This is not something you want.

 

[chanda]

Terro liquid ant baits work great! It does take a few days for them to take effect, during which time you may notice an increase in ant activity as they swarm on the baits, but that's what you want. It means they're taking the bait back to the colony.

 

[Fade]

Yeah, boric acid will work like a charm on those ants. Here's the thing - things will get worse before they get better. You're essentially feeding the ants with your bait, meaning you'll certainly see the typical line of ants going to and from the bait. Do not kill them! Let them do their thing. They're taking the pesticide back to the colony, which will kill just about the entire colony. It shouldn't take more than a day or two before you stop seeing ants all together.

I've seen a dozen different recipes for that, but in my opinion nothing beats good old petroleum jelly. Easy to apply, and it doesn't need to be re-applied like many other recipes. You'll see a lot of recipes that require baby powder, and those came from ant keepers who actually want their ants to survive. This is not something you want.

Thanks again. Wouldn't them all being killed mean food for other pests? I think their nest is either in the attic crawl space or somewhere in the basement.
Also is boric acid just in a bottle and you spray it where you saw the ants, and holes you see in walls? Do I need to be careful with that stuff around my tarantula? I appreciate it

 

[Ran]

For the ones you can see, a shop vac followed by a little talcum powder! I line the base boards with talcum powder and that forms a barrier that acts as razor blades to ants.

 

[EulersK]

Thanks again. Wouldn't them all being killed mean food for other pests? I think their nest is either in the attic crawl space or somewhere in the basement.
Also is boric acid just in a bottle and you spray it where you saw the ants, and holes you see in walls? Do I need to be careful with that stuff around my tarantula? I appreciate it

Ants can be deadly to a tarantula. It sounds like you just have the typical scavenging variety, but there's no telling without a proper ID. I wouldn't worry about killing them off, honestly.

The Terro brand comes in a bottle with little cardboard squares that you put the acid on. The boric acid itself is a bit gooey, almost like karo syrup. Then you just put those squares on the ground/counter/whatever. If you have a dog or cat, be sure that they can't get to it. As for your tarantula, like I said, this stuff is a powerful pesticide. So yes, it would be deadly to your tarantula if it comes in contact with the acid. That's why I said this before:

Special note: Wash your hands like mad after setting up your traps. Boric acid is a powerful pesticide that will easily travel from bottle, to your hands, to your enclosures after handling.

 

[Fade]

Ants can be deadly to a tarantula. It sounds like you just have the typical scavenging variety, but there's no telling without a proper ID. I wouldn't worry about killing them off, honestly.

The Terro brand comes in a bottle with little cardboard squares that you put the acid on. The boric acid itself is a bit gooey, almost like karo syrup. Then you just put those squares on the ground/counter/whatever. If you have a dog or cat, be sure that they can't get to it. As for your tarantula, like I said, this stuff is a powerful pesticide. So yes, it would be deadly to your tarantula if it comes in contact with the acid. That's why I said this before:

yeah, thanks. Just picked up the Terro traps and gonna put them in the window sills, near cracks, and on the floor. Hopefully it doesn't attract other ant colonies or pests. Thanks again for the help