ANTS!!!!

We have an extreme ant problem. At any given time you can find an ant on any surface or in any cupboard in our house. Before boiling the jug you have to check for ants, before getting any plate, cup etc you have to scan it for ants it is just gross and really getting to me. All our food is in sealed containers yet the outside of all of them have ants on them trying to find there way in (icing sugar was soo bad it's now kept in the fridge) I've honestly never seen anything like it, even all through our bathroom. We have tried so many things to contain them, many many different baits left out for months...all they seem to do is attract them. Ground cloves, bleech etc to detract them, I clean with either disinfectant or bleech every day and spray with flyspray constantly. I rang an exterminator who said you can't get rid of ants but you can kind of control them a bit for $200 plus gst each 6 months minimum. I think we're going to have to somehow do this but was just wondering if anyone else had cheaper bright ideas to try first????

What about talking to the council to see if they can help??

Will be interested to see what they say to you.

We have an ant problem, but by the sound of it no where near as bad as your house.

We struggled to have none at any given time, they are in our kitchen, I totally removed everything cleaned and left bait down and they still came back. I cleaned everything again and removed the bait stations and they still hang out after rain but not near as bad.

There was a Jane Yee (stuff.co.nz) blog about household tips last week and quite a few people had tips about getting rid of ants. Peppermint oil and Eucalyptus are sposed to be great. I think you just put a few drops on a cloth a wipe around the anty areas. Guess that would be a lot of wiping for you - but maybe worth a try?

Linky

Councill recommended an exterminator and that was all they had to say. Yip they're in our walls and ceiling etc. We found one nest when we knocked out a wall but other than that we can't actually pinpoint where they're coming from, they're just there!!!

Gosh I didn't know they had corrosive poo, that's just revoluting and has made my decision to invest in the exterminator. I'm embarresed when people come round as they always comment on the ants crawling about. I guess it will also help with the flies ocme summer and the numerous cockroaches and whitetail spiders we get.....hehe our place must sound just soo unhygenic yet it smells like a hospital with all the bleach I use.

We have ants too, although our last home was worse. Palmy is just full of them, you'd never be able to control them because they'd just camp out next door and then come back when it's safe The best thing we ever did was bait them outside - better to do in summer but if you're desperate, you'll probably find a way!! That seemed to pull them all out instead of lead more of them into the kitchen