Ant problem

[ripvanwinkle]

After being ant free for yrs, they have come back. Not bad but they're back. Wanting to head off a full blown invasion and nip the problem in the bud, I called a ant exterminator company and he came out and did inside the house. He also sprayed outside around the foundation.

I have a side walk close to my house and I showed him the ants there and he said he could only spray up to only 3 ft outside the house due to his exterminator license. He said the company would have to get a landscapers license to spray more than 3 ft outside the building! Now this is really crazy stupid.

[kadee79]

Not really stupid...it keeps some from spraying things that might destroy your whole lawn and anything else near where they sprayed...landscapers should know what is safe for the turf & other plantings while an exterminator may never learn that.
If you decide on a landscaper, be sure they know what they are doing...that they have had some kind of instruction/schooling in their craft...many don't!

[ripvanwinkle]

Jun 10, 2019 22:32:47 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Not really stupid...it keeps some from spraying things that might destroy your whole lawn and anything else near where they sprayed...landscapers should know what is safe for the turf & other plantings while an exterminator may never learn that.
If you decide on a landscaper, be sure they know what they are doing...that they have had some kind of instruction/schooling in their craft...many don't!

Sweetheart, my yard looks like General Sherman's civil war march through the South. Between crabgrass, moles, and weeds, killing my yard would be a improvement . And get rid of the pests.

Still stupid.

[weltschmerz]

Jun 10, 2019 22:27:19 GMT -5 ripvanwinkle said:

After being ant free for yrs, they have come back. Not bad but they're back. Wanting to head off a full blown invasion and nip the problem in the bud, I called a ant exterminator company and he came out and did inside the house. He also sprayed outside around the foundation.

I have a side walk close to my house and I showed him the ants there and he said he could only spray up to only 3 ft outside the house due to his exterminator license. He said the company would have to get a landscapers license to spray more than 3 ft outside the building! Now this is really crazy stupid.

Makes sense to me.  We can't have people spraying poison around, willy-nilly, especially on public property. Many homes abut on public land.
Poison can sicken or kill anything from bugs to birds, to cats and dogs, not to mention kids.

[ripvanwinkle]

I guess I have to go to Lowes and get a Ortho lawn bug/pest killer and put it on myself. Make a 15ft wide kill zone.  Between my house and the side walk, a WW1 no mans land. A Korean Demilitarized Zone.

[resolution]

You can probably just use a little bit of diatomaceous earth and that will keep the rest of the yard safe for the weeds.

[NastyWoman]

Jun 11, 2019 6:26:17 GMT -5 resolution said:

You can probably just use a little bit of diatomaceous earth and that will keep the rest of the yard safe for the weeds.

and now for some "vivid description" of how this works:

"Diatomaceous Earth (often referred to as "DE") is an off white talc-like powder that is the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton. When sprinkled on a bug that has an exoskeleton (such as bed bugs, ants or fleas) it compromises their waxy coating so that their innards turn into teeny tiny bug jerky.

 or  or  ?

[resolution]

I agree it's not the most humane solution, but it does prevent the wildlife you want to keep alive from being damaged.

[kadee79]

DE along with a couple other things also work well on carpenter bees down here in the south.

[Bluerobin]

In your local stores, you can buy bug killer.  I have some that has since been banned, but one I found had granules that could be spread over the affected area.  Pretty effective and it lasted for a while.

[Tiny]

Jun 10, 2019 23:54:20 GMT -5 ripvanwinkle said:

I guess I have to go to Lowes and get a Ortho lawn bug/pest killer and put it on myself. Make a 15ft wide kill zone.  Between my house and the side walk, a WW1 no mans land. A Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Geez, how old are you?!    My oldest brother (who remembers when dirt was new and when Methusalah was young) just goes to the Big Box Home Improvement store and buys a bag of Ant killer stuff that you apply to the perimeter/foundation of your house. I think it's brand name is Amdro  or something like that.  It's a 5 pound bag of "pellets" that look like kitty litter).    He does it every spring.     

When the pavement ants came into my house (and found their way to my kitchen and the cat food bowls)  thru a basement window casing, I used liquid Terro ant bait for two weeks (ants LOVE cat food and tell all their relatives where to find it and then post notices about it so the ants in other subdivisions can join in the feast...) and then applied some of the ant repellent/killer pellet stuff around the foundation of my house (in case, once they couldn't get to the yummy cat food thru their "path" they decided to find another way in) when the number of ants looking for yummy cat food dwindled, and lastly I re-caulked the window casement where they getting into my house.   the Terro killed enough ants to stop the "and they told two friends who told two friends" thing. So, by the time I caulked the window there weren't many ants looking for the "road to premium cat food that never runs out".   Problem solved.   

That pretty much solved the problem.  I re-caulk the window every 3 to 5 years (it's a southern exposure so the caulk doesn't always last long...) 

No need to create a 'dead zone" - although maybe your ants are Fire Ants or some other dangerous kinda ant so maybe a dead zone is necessary. 






   

[Tiny]

Jun 11, 2019 13:35:07 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Jun 11, 2019 6:26:17 GMT -5 resolution said:

You can probably just use a little bit of diatomaceous earth and that will keep the rest of the yard safe for the weeds.

and now for some "vivid description" of how this works:

"Diatomaceous Earth (often referred to as "DE") is an off white talc-like powder that is the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton. When sprinkled on a bug that has an exoskeleton (such as bed bugs, ants or fleas) it compromises their waxy coating so that their innards turn into teeny tiny bug jerky.

 or  or  ?

I'd go with the  .   I have House Centipedes (they give me the willies!) and Spiders who I consider "roommates" as they are both carnivorous and eat other bugs.  I try not to squish them.  They are fair game for the cats, though.