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Ants!! Help :(

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Last Wednesday my husband noticed we had some ants in the conservatory... a few little blighters soon turned into a whole army including flying ants. It seems that they have made a nest next to the external wall of the house (internal wall of the conservatory), we think the nest is under a box we made to house the underfloor heating and we can't remove it without taking off the skirting board either side.

We have been using Nippon ant killer since last Wednesday and they are definately eating it and taking it back to the nest but it doesn't seem to be making the blindest bit of difference - even more worryingly today I noticed a pile of what we thought were wood shavings but actually seems to be empty larvae skins - I can only presume they are multiplying beyond belief and it is really starting to upset me :(:(

Has anyone got any suggestions? I am thinking of ringing the council tomorrow for some advice but they charge £100 to come out so want to exhaust other options first.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    buy some bait station things, they work really fast and really do work. we get them by the front door sometimes and these work real fast.

    These http://www.lovethegarden.com/products/pestdisease/antstopbait.html
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The bait station idea is similar to the Nippon we have been using, do you know if Ant Stop works any differently?

    I am willing to try anything but having my conservatory shut up for the last 9 days in this hot weather has really depressed me and I need something that is fast acting!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm not sure but we get them really bad sometimes and they are gone withing a hour or so! I really really reccomend them. Other stuff we have tried before never works. They die within it too, not 100% sure how it works.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Tweety wrote: »
    I'm not sure but we get them really bad sometimes and they are gone withing a hour or so! I really really reccomend them. Other stuff we have tried before never works. They die within it too, not 100% sure how it works.



    Outside, I use fire. Nothing beats some lighter fluid down the nest and a match. Inside? Doesn't bog standard ant powder around the nest entrances work?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ant powder not very good when you got kids around so i dunno but i remember years ago it was crap!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Whowhere wrote: »
    Outside, I use fire. Nothing beats some lighter fluid down the nest and a match. Inside? Doesn't bog standard ant powder around the nest entrances work?

    Everything I have read says Nippon works a lot better than conventional ant powder - I will try some of the 'Ant Stop' to see if that does any better.

    All other suggestions gratefully appreciated!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ok...

    Council = useless, told me to call Rentokil
    Rentokil = slightly less useless and told me someone would call me for a free survey. The survey consisted of a bloke ringing me and said I could use normal buy over the counter stuff or they could do it for the amazingly cheap price of £220!

    So, 'Ant Stop' bait station is now in place.

    Do you think I am better off sticking with one type or putting down the Nippon as well? Part of me thinks that it might stop them going to the more effective one and the other part of me thinks the more I can throw at these buggers to kill them the better!! :mad:

    Any thoughts?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Buy the ones i said and the buggers will be gone :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We read somewhere that they hate cinnamon, so we chucked some around where they were getting in, and it did actually work!

    We didn't have that many though, I don't know if it'd work as well on a big nest.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I always seem to recall my mum killing off ants nests with a lot of boiling water - it seemed to kill them all pretty instantly
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know a technique that apparently works, but you must be careful. Soak some tobacco in water, so the nicotine goes into the water. Then pour the water into the ant holes. They absorb the nicotine, overdose and die. Don't get it on your skin though, as you might overdose and die too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote: »
    I always seem to recall my mum killing off ants nests with a lot of boiling water - it seemed to kill them all pretty instantly

    This would potentially work if they weren't in our conservatory! :)

    We also have the problem that they aren't 'coming in' - they have made a home quite happily inside so they have no inclination of going out :(
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