as most of you guys have heard me complaining about our weather, it has been raining for nearly a month now and every now and then i will see a black ant marching across my floor..the past few days the numbers of these large (huge) black ants have increased dramatically..they are all over my house, every where i look, i see a stinking Ant..anyone else have this problem? what do they want? and how do i make them go away? I am loathe to put poisons down with my new kittens and two dogs, but i am suddenly becoming infested around here..any ideas?

Call a professional, looks for someone the eco-friendly.
We were seeing small ants in the kitchen and could not figure out where they were coming from till I had a problem with the cable tv. The support guy had me go to the basement and root to ONT. To do this I had to open the network box and remove the connector form the battery backup after unplugging the unit. Soon as I opened the door on the box ants were every where. I grabbed the ant spray and made short work of them. Apparently the 1/2 high space over the battery which was warm from being kept charged, was a great place for the ants to nest.
This could be your issue, ants have built a nest in your home and are scouting for food...
The pro will find the nest and once removed you will probably not have to put poison around where the pets can get into it..
Or I could be completely wrong about all of it

I have a great solution for you! Google Boric Acid and ants. There is an easy to mix solution that will draw ants to the boric acid and sugar solution. They carry the boric acid crystals back to the nest and it wipes out the nest in the heart of the matter. Boric acid, for you younger folks, is a treatment that was used for eye infections and many other medical problems before our reliance on antibiotics. It is a weak acid so you don't have to worry about getting burned or poisioning your animals. I had to order mine through the pharmacy, though, because it doesn't sell enough to keep it stocked. It only cost a few bucks. Also, there's a great book "tiny game hunting: Environmentally Healthy Ways to Trap and Kill the Pests in Your House and Garden" by Hilary Dole Klein & Adrian M. Wenner that has lots of solutions that actually work for most of your pest problems.

At any rate, do this right away or call a professional. Large black ants in great numbers within the house may be carpenter ants. They may be eating your house!
Barbara

thank you airscapes, I have been reading and one of the sites tells me to use cornmeal, the ants cant digest it.I have been this morning scouting for where they may be coming from by my trail ends in my basement..from there I lose it. It also tells me they hate cucumbers and to use peels to deter their entry.

so i shall have to pick up some cornmeal and give it a try.

thanks barb, i shall have to get some of that too..have an arsenal on hand

Other natural things to use but not poison to our four legged family : Spread coffee grounds, use string soaked in cayenne pepper, lemon juice, or cinammon. Outside plant peppermint to keep them away.

There is also a product called Amorphous diatomaceous earth----BUT make sure you get the kind that is NOT for swimming pools. The safe kind for use with pets and people has less than 1% crystaline silica. the swimming pool kind has something like 60%. This is for fleas, ants, cockroaches etc. I think you can even put this on your animals.

I've heard of that. Great idea!
Barbara

Sell the house and move to England. No skunks, no huge ants, no nasty biting things or venemous creatures! It's lovely over here.

So that furry thing on your head and ears is not for the weather in jolly old England???

Aww that's gross, at my old appartment we had a bunch of little ants, we never got rid of them... i'm glad i'm out of there.

my ex is or was a exterminator ...I am talking to him on the phone right now ...he said first you need to see if they are coming in to nest or if the ones you are seeing are scouts they call forgers ...they will come 100 yards to look for food ...he recommends you pick one up and ask them ..lol just kidding ..he told me to tell you that ...anyways you can find out by searching around in a basement for cob webs ..when you find a cob web you look to see if there are body parts in them such as a leg or shell left from the black ant that is a sign there are staying around and nesting ..also look for sawdust near maybe a old leak in the roof or anyplace where there could be old water damage even if it has been fixed ..the ants are called carpenter ants and they love soft wood ...they will do the same thing that a termite will do but slower once they make themselves at home.
Look outside for a dead tree even off in the yard ..look for any branches that are touching or hanging on your roof ..they can come in like that because its a easy shot ... do you have fire wood pile up against the house ? if so it should not be .
As far as boric acid well he says it is a repelent they will die if they get into it ...but if you for sure see that they are nesting then he said it may cost you but you should call in someone who deals with them and not do it yourself ..because they will damage your home while you are unaware ...if you do not see them nesting then he recommends puting out carpenter ant bate traps you can get them from ace hardware ect...and place them around the house .

whew ....so glad me and the ex can still talk . when it comes to bugs he knows what is the best thing to do ..if you call in someone it will cost you thats why he said to check yourself to see if they are nesting .it lets you know that hey you really need this instead of counting on them because he said they will picth you a great story to sell you a account ....and know your stuff when they come by saying .. I want to be treated for carpenter ants only . and be firm .

Hope this helps . oh yeah I asked him about the kittens and he said its fine ...people use Orkin or rose ..two places he has worked for over 14 years ..they treat with new born babies in the house . just follow what they say IF you even need them to come in .. if you have other concerns he said call him at ...lol just kidding he is a funny guy .. he said just ask me and I can call him so you get a straight answer.

That was a winter shot. It's too hot to sit in the sun here today! It's been about 28 today.

HAHAHAHAH it is 29 at the moment and a very nice day here, out in the sun with welding garb on fixing the legs on the Kitchen chairs.. well actually just came in for a drink and a short rest.. back to work, gota sand, prime and paint them! Next weekend will be in the upper 30s to 40! East Coast Philadelphia PA Oh wait.. your in England.....tomorrow July 4th.. .. I am sure we can tie this all back to the ants marching and parades or some such thing

28?? is that winter over there now?


Kim thanks for the info, they are foragers, at least that is what the one said that i asked he could be lying, perhaps i should try waterboarding the lil guy, make him talk..

seriously hubby scouted and found they are marching in from a hole around a water pipe..he has sealed the hole and put some liquid ant bait in container lids all across the upper wall ledge..

I can see them coming in under the register this morning, and leaving the same way. and we followed them to their spot..I havent seen one for hours marching in under the register..
the little buggers.

I think that is great that you and the ex can still talk..when my ex and I talk we have several choice words for one another..but i guess we do allright.

Yes. Been meaning to have a word about that! We're thinking of re-possesing the USA. We don't don't think you're looking after it properly!

trust me, with what they have done to it, you guys wouldn't want it.

Hey then it would be England's Crime rate that would be through the roof

not to mention the budget

The ex and I made a deal if we divorce because we cant stand living together we MUST at least get along after the divorce to show the kids we did the best thing by divorcing and not still argue afterwards making them scratch their heads wondering what the heck .

when we are alone we still have choice words . lol

Kay, big black ones sounds like Carpenter Ants to me. They eat your house. Bad news. Get a professional, seriously -- a reliable one who knows something, not a sleazy chain. Doesn't hurt to make sure.

I know each year here around the first really hot day, the carpenter ants fly in swarms from nests in dead trees in the woods, looking for new homes/queens or whatever. Their flight is shortlived and the wings drop off, but they are everywhere and are horrible. If they are that large, then they are carpenter ants and can destroy wood. If you have them in your house, then do get rid of them!

we found where they were marching in from, a hole in the cellar wall around a pipe..a perfect marching line to and from, too bad ppl cant unify and work together like them..hubby siliconed the hole and put some poison along the top edge of the cellar walls..and I have not seen anymore marching around, some were small, some were like massive huge..My kitten went after a big one, then was hopping around i grabbed her and looked and it was attached to her lower lip, when i pulled it off I heard **snap**where his jaws were so tightly clenched into her..she was shaking her little head..that must have hurt.
thanks guys, for the info, and advice, I think they are under control. I really have no idea what they were after, just scouting around i guess.

how is the ant problem Kay? Does anyone know how to encourage bumble bees to relocate a nest? It seems they have found a new home in the middle of my garden..it is impossible to weed with large fuzzy buzzing bees..thanks
Kat

no more marching ants..it was pretty wierd though, first i noticed one here, then my hubby noticed one there, no real cause for alarm, then i seen a few here, and he seen a few there, now my spidy senses are tingling..then holy cow, there was a whole army of them marching to and fro, big ones, small ones, fat ones and thin ones..EEK! they were marching to and fro but they are gone now..hubby siliconed that hole and poisioned the base of the cellar and none have been spotted since

great news! I look for those black ants all the time now..lol

It remainded me one anecdote.

To man's house appeared cocroaches. There were so many of them so he didn't new what to do about that. He went to wise-man and asked for solution. Wise-man told him just to ask cocroaches to leave, but not laugh whatever happens. Man was confused, but still went home and followed instructions. He asked cocroaches to leave... and what a miracle ... cocroaches lined up and started to march out. At the end of the line was little cocroach with peg leg and was very very sad. Cocroach looked so funny, that man couldn't bear up and started to laugh. At that moment little cocroach looked at him, smiled suddenly and shouted to others: "Hey guys, come back! He was just kidding"

I really do hope your ants won't come back!

that was cute

I think that's in celcius

Yesterday, I went to my aunts house and ever since I could remember she always had aunts in her house. She uses white vineger and the wont come near it, and that wont be a poison to your pets, because you wouldn't want to hurt them.

cool, no kidding, the grandmas, aunts and elders always know the answer thank you for that

lol, thats very true np:)