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Could it have something to do with that
parade of annoying little ants marching
across your floor and up over your counter
tops?
With Memorial Day arriving this weekend, if
ants haven't already shown up in your kitchen
or breakfast room, they probably will. These tips will
help keep the pests at bay.
Ant Story
Why are ants so hard to get rid of? When the
little buggers find food, they leave an
invisible (to us) but powerful chemical trail
on the ground so the rest of their colony can
follow. As many as half a million individual
ants can live in a colony, so even if you
kill the ants in your house, the hordes in
the colony can still follow the trail to
your door.
Prevent Breaking and Entering
Spraying alone won't do the trick. You might
kill the ants you see, but not the ants that
will surely follow them. To prevent ants from
coming into your home in the first place:
� Repair holes in doors, screens, floor
boards, and other points of entry.
� Create a sticky barrier that will either
repel ants or trap them as they try to cross.
� Caulk cracks in doors and windows. Use
petroleum jelly or glue as a temporary
barrier.
Put Food and Water Away
� Sweep floors after meals.
� Don't leave open dishes of pet food on the
floor.
�Keep trash cans covered.
� Store food in containers closed with rubber seals, as
ants can enter screw top jars via connecting threads.
� If you compost, empty the compost bucket
daily.
Control Ants That Do Get In
� Mop them up using a wet cloth or sponge.
� Spray using a mixture of one teaspoon of
liquid soap in a bottle of water. Make sure
to spray the trail they followed into the
house, and as far outside the house as you
can follow it.
� If you find an ant nest, flood it with water
to force the ants to evacuate.
Kill the Colony
The only way to really prevent ants from
coming back is to stop them at their source.
� Diatomaceous
earth: The sharp edges on this microscopic
shell mixture will puncture the ant's body, but not
before it tracks the stuff back to its nest
and spreads it around to other ants.
� Boric acid baits work in similar
fashion. Ants eat some of the bait themselves, then
pass the rest on to other members of the colony
on their return to the nest.
Make your own ant bait: Dissolve a cup of
sugar in two cups of boiling water. Cool. Add
a tablespoon of 100 percent boric acid. Shake
well. Punch holes in the tops (or sides) of
small plastic containers or film cans. Place
cotton balls or cut-up sponge pieces inside,
then fill with bait and set the containers
along problem ant trails, spilling a few
drops on the trail. (Label the baits clearly
as poison.) From: Tiny Game Hunting by University of California
Press.
If you want to spray, here are some eco-friendly
options:
BUGS 'R' DONE
Fertile Garden Bioganic
Home & Garden Spray
Poison-Free Ant and Roach Spray from
PlanetNatural
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