[VeggieMama]

I have been having a problem with ants in my bathroom,of all places.Every morning I see a few here and there,maybe 3 or 4 at a time.Does anyone know why they would be in the bathroom and how do I get rid of them?I should say that my bathroom is fairly clean with no food crumbs on the floor from what I can see.
Thanks for any advice :)

VM

[rabid_child]

We have big black ants. They bite. They don't go into traps. The cats won't eat them.

I think we ought to get an anteater. I think thats the correct solution.

[VeggieMama]

Thats the strange thing-I have no idea how they are getting in the house.They are just your ordinary black ants,at least they look like it.

VM

[Frost]

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We have big black ants. They bite. They don't go into traps. The cats won't eat them.

I think we ought to get an anteater. I think thats the correct solution.

Big black ants sound like carpenter ants. Theyll try and bite if you pick them up but they dont have a stinger and the bite is just some pressure. They arent really aggressive.

They make their nests in dead damp wood (hence the name). They dont eat the wood though so if the nest happens to be within the house there is usually little damage. A lot of the times the nests are outside and the ants come in looking for food.

Also they can have multiple nests, one with the queen and several satellite nests with worker caravans.

Where I used to live we had old rotting wooden fences and tree stumps so every once in a while we would have carpenter ant caravans in the house.


The best way to keep ants out ive found is to just be clean with your food items and oil. Once they scout your terrain and find nothing they move on elsewhere. The sonic repellents I use dont work on ants and spiders (they work on most everything else) so other than an externminator, keeping a real clean area is the only alternative.

[Daral]

I find that my cat does a good job of killing insects. It's kinda funny, because she enjoys toying with them, and after a bat or two of the passive paw, the insect is dead, and she looks at me like "why isn't my toy dancing on its own anymore?" and wanders off.

This is a nice, brutal solution to any ant problem, unless the cats wont go for the ants as someone above mentions...

[Bobsy]

I second magyka's idea.

I just moved into a new house and the garden was very overgrown. I found about seven anthills while mowing the front (I haven't tackled the back garden yet!). I sprinkled paprika on the anthills and then gave them quarter of an hour to get underground (this is quite amazing to watch). Then I raked over the soil, and mowed the area.

I've been out there to check since, and they all seem to have moved on somewhere else. (Probably to the back garden ;) )

I don't think paprika hurts them, they just dislike it.

I have ordered some ant 'traps' though, in case they come indoors or become a problem.

See if you can find where they're coming in (it may not be obvious), and then try the paprika/chili powder trick. I think lemon scents and mint are also unpleasant to them (but you may want to check this), so it could be an idea to get a lemon scented bathroom cleaner and go over the whole room with it. Since it doesn't sound like a real problem yet, this might discourage them from coming in. I've read squirting lemon juice along windowsills and skirting boards can help too. :)

I have read that mixing borac acid with equal amounts of sugar is a good way of killing an ant colony. Leave little bowls of it along the line and they will take it back to the colony, eventually killing them all. If it kills them straight off, then you've used too much borac acid. This is probably the best way if you have an ant problem, since it's safe around kids and pets.

[rabid_child]

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Big black ants sound like carpenter ants. Theyll try and bite if you pick them up but they dont have a stinger and the bite is just some pressure. They arent really aggressive.

They aren't agressive in a toxic way, but they'll be in the bathroom and you're sitting on the can minding your own business and feel a pain in your foot its cause one walked up to you and bit you!! The bastards.

[Coney]

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I think we ought to get an anteater. I think thats the correct solution.

I think that's the way to go.