Ants in my...well, fricking everywhere!

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
Bk,



Bingo! That's how the little critters got into the garage. They chewed up the side weather strips. Silly me, I called the builder and complained. They ended up screwing on some makeshift metal pieces to cover the holes. From then on, no more rats.
 
Well, be thankful you don't live in Phoenix. My parents get regular scorpion visitors inside the house ! No kidding ! Dad got stung last year trying to scoop one up...
 
find where they are coming from... then seal it up with toothpaste. i do that w/ my IAC apartment and it works.



btw, ants come out before it rains.. they sense a difference in air pressure or something, so if you see them on a cloudy day, it'll be raining soon.
 
[quote author="anteaterscientist" date=1209653275]find where they are coming from... then seal it up with toothpaste. i do that w/ my IAC apartment and it works.



btw, ants come out before it rains.. they sense a difference in air pressure or something, so if you see them on a cloudy day, it'll be raining soon.</blockquote>


AS - Your walls and flooring also sense a difference in the air pressure or something (humidity and heat levels?). They expand and contract accordingly, creating gaps and cracks, rendering the toothpaste solution ineffective. It is an impossibility to hermetically seal the home, and add to your frustration trying to do so. Been there done that.
 
<blockquote>* Make a cone out of the sheet of paper (like a funnel). Tape the outside of the cone so that it stays in place.

* Check that the cone fits snugly into a glass or cup.

* Cut off the tip of the cone so that you now have a funnel.

* Pour a small amount of cider vinegar into the glass or cup. (Rum mixed with orange juice also works very well - additionally, a half teaspoon of baker's yeast in water can also suffice)

* Insert the funnel into the glass or cup, but don't let the bottom of the funnel touch the liquid. Tape the funnel in two or three places from the outside so that there is no gap between the glass and the cone.

* Place your newly created trap on a flat surface. The flies will be attracted by the smell of the fruity vinegar and fly into the cone. The flies will slip down the cone and will either land in the vinegar and drown or will be trapped and not able to get back out. If you leave the trap overnight, the trapped fruit flies will eventually fall into the vinegar and drown.



Make sure your choose right type of vinegar. White vinegar does not work. Malt vinegar and red wine work, just not as well. Beer sometimes works, too. Balsamic vinegar also works well. Wine works extremely well, and a wine bottle with an inch or so left can be used without an additional funnel.



You can forgo the funnel if you put a small bit of dishwashing detergent in the cup with the vinegar and stir. The fruit flies are still attracted to the vinegar smell, and the detergent traps them. The detergent actually reduces the surface tension of the liquid allowing the flies to more readily sink and drown.</blockquote>


the question with fruit flies is whether there's some place they're breeding in your home that you don't know about. some garbage tucked away somewhere that you have noticed. maybe a rotten or diseased house plant. gunk trapped in your garbage disposal is also another possibility.
 
EvaL



I have the exact same problem. I didn't realize they were fruit flies.. I thought there are some type of knats. Within seconds a glass of wine or my iced tead would be full of them. Here's want I did...

I filled some small custard cups with old crappy wine and set them about in strategic places as traps. It worked. The little cups were teaming with them in no time. The ones that didn't drown in it, I found dead on the front window sill. I think they may have gotten drunk from the custard cups, and flew to what they thought was an out, hit the window, and passed out!
 
Thankfully, I haven't had any ant problems inside the home just yet. They roam around outside on my driveway etc. I just purchased my home a few weeks back so it could be premature to declare victory on my ant-free situation.



I just recently purchased a Ortho Home Defense bottle and sprayed it around my house. So far so good. I do not want to spray it outside since I still want them to roam around freely and not go inside..
 
<blockquote>I just recently purchased a Ortho Home Defense bottle and sprayed it around my house. So far so good. I do not want to spray it outside since I still want them to roam around freely and not go inside.. </blockquote>
We did this as well and so far it has worked out nicely.
 
Thanks Acpme & Beth! :kiss:



The little buggers must have known I was talking about them because I haven't had a one harass me or try to swim in my wine tonight. I had left some bananas out to ripen but they are now tucked away peeled and in the freezer. I wonder if that's what brought them in? In any event, I'll poke around this weekend for stray breeding grounds.
 
<blockquote>I had left some bananas out to ripen but they are now tucked away peeled and in the freezer. I wonder if that?s what brought them in? </blockquote>
I've been putting my bananas in the microwave. That seems to help for me.



Eva, I didn't know you can freeze bananas. What do you use them for once you freeze them? I always thought they would turn to mush.
 
I use them for smoothies, which has become my husband's breakfast of choice. I buy them green and leave them on the counter until they are slightly under-ripe (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistant_starch">resistant starches, FTW</a>). I then peel them, pop them in a ziplock bag, and put them in the freezer. Since the bananas are frozen, the smoothie requires less ice.
 
<blockquote>(resistant starches, FTW)</blockquote>
Thanks, Eva. You just gave me my "Learn Something New" item for the day. ;-)
 
Well, OK, now I have one more...



I am living in one of these Irvine Apartments for 4 years now and had problems with ants twice and successfully won the war (little "Mission Accomplished"-banner). Otherwise I had no problems with insects ever, no flies, no spiders, nothing... reason might be, that I am at the third floor and my earlier infestation might have had something to do with my previous neighbours in the floor below me.

BUT yesterday I saw the first cockroach ever in my apartment, caught it with a paper towel and flushed it down the toilet. I know, that there are plenty of these suckers at the garbage containers and around the garages and so forth, but this was the first time I noticed one in my apartment. I immediately checked with a flashlight under and in all cabinets, the stove, the refrigerator, the washing machine and so forth but could not find any other or any evidence, that there might be more. Could it be coincidence or are these things like ants and I have a serious problem? Is one cockroach a reason to panic?

I have never dealt with these things before, in Germany the cockroaches are much much smaller and with almost certainty I can say that whereever I lived there were none (if you dissamble the whole kitchen you would notice). How can I figure out if there is a real problem? Are there glue traps or something for these things that I can setup for a couple of days to find out if I do need to call the landlord to exterminate everything living (besides me) in my place? These things are too big for my taste...
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1209682391][quote author="anteaterscientist" date=1209653275]find where they are coming from... then seal it up with toothpaste. i do that w/ my IAC apartment and it works.



btw, ants come out before it rains.. they sense a difference in air pressure or something, so if you see them on a cloudy day, it'll be raining soon.</blockquote>


AS - Your walls and flooring also sense a difference in the air pressure or something (humidity and heat levels?). They expand and contract accordingly, creating gaps and cracks, rendering the toothpaste solution ineffective. It is an impossibility to hermetically seal the home, and add to your frustration trying to do so. Been there done that.</blockquote>






Materials do expand and contract with heat, especially metals. Yikes, what kind of floor and wall would crack because of <em>sudden</em> heat changes? Toothpaste was recommended for openings no greater than 0.050" wide and 1.5" long. It's just a alternative (rather than bombing my place with Raid).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top