Guys...I have an ant problem.

Dark Fact · 06/20/2007, 03:06 PM

Well, by looking at the subject header, you guys can figure out that I've got a major problem dealing with those pesky ants. However, it's not a household problem, it's the amount of colonies that are springing up in my yard every year.

My dad bought some powdered ant killer from a local hardware and gardening store but it failed to do the job. I need to know what is a surefire way to get rid of black ant colonies to which they will never come back?

I want a good remedy or a good product. No exterminators or toxic chemicals that can fuck up my lawn. I've checked over the web but answers seem to vary between the sugar and Borax recipe to pouring hot water over the ant hill with some people saying one thing works while the other doesn't.

Suggestions?

NecroPhile · 06/20/2007, 03:27 PM

Sorry, but there is no magic wand that will forever rid your lawn of ants. New colonies will keep moving in to replace any that are destroyed, but that doesn't mean that you have to like 'em. Try boric acid or some more pesticides from your local hardware store, and remain vigilant. Just think of the ants as another little yard project, like trimming the bushes (which can also be a good bedroom project).

Seldane · 06/20/2007, 03:28 PM

I always poured boiling water on the ant homes when I had the same problem some years ago (I don't live there anymore). It always killed them all, and they disappeared, but unfortunately they always came back somewhere else on the lawn a couple months later. It's a war that is impossible to win, I'm afraid.

Kitsunexus · 06/20/2007, 04:34 PM

Toro Ant Killer. The ants love it, and it kills them ALL within a couple of hours.

...it is sort of kinda highly toxic though...

terrormask · 06/20/2007, 05:23 PM

Grow more grass.

TR0N · 06/20/2007, 09:52 PM

Get a ant eater jk. Dunno most of what been mention all ready is some thing, toxic to get rid of them i'm afraid.

Dark Fact · 06/20/2007, 10:18 PM

Me and my dad have agreed on the Borax ant hotel solution. We really need those pests reduced or flat out gone because there are already 8 or 9 of these fucking colonies on my property and more can still arise.

We'll see if that helps.

Kitsunexus · 06/21/2007, 12:02 AM

Hey, Toro is highly toxic to ants, but it doesn't fuck up the lawn.

Turbo D · 06/21/2007, 12:16 AM

I always just go and smash in their ant hill. Then I watch them squirm and try to rebuild it. I tried drowning them but those black ants can swim and evade the flood. Damn ants

Kitsunexus · 06/21/2007, 12:28 AM

Quote from: turbo D on 06/21/2007, 12:16 AMI always just go and smash in their ant hill. Then I watch them squirm and try to rebuild it. I tried drowning them but those black ants can swim and evade the flood. Damn ants

One time when we were little, me and my siblings built what we called "Antzwisch", a glorified ant concentration camp. It had little traps for the ants, some of which was inspired by Viet-Cong stuff we read (like we made little holes, put toothpicks in them, and put grass over the holes), we had poison food, even the good ole' magnifying glass, but most importantly, we had the "SQUISHER".

I can't exactly remember how we built the squisher, but I remember that the buisness end was a flowerpot.

One particular Squisher death sticks out in my mind. It had rained prior to the Ant Holocaust so the area was a bit muddy. A lone black ant, for whatever reason, ran into the squisher range. The order was issued, and the flowerpot went down.

Ever see one of those cartoons where Wile E. Coyote gets embedded in the cliff and you see a hole that's exactly his shape? That's what happened here. He was wiggling around in a sort of death seizure, so we used our magnifying glass and finished him off.

At the end of the day, the deaths numbered in the hundreds. We were about to put the dead in the furnace (a re-christened EZ-Bake Oven) but our parents told us to quit torturing innocent creatures and to put our shit away. Fuckin' hippies.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the rise, heyday, and fall of the Fourth Reich.

terrormask · 06/21/2007, 12:34 AM

...............................................................lol

Seldane · 06/21/2007, 05:25 AM

Quote from: terrormask on 06/20/2007, 05:23 PMGrow more grass.

Actually, mowing the lawn more often will ruin it for the ants.

terrormask · 06/21/2007, 03:16 PM

The reason I said grow more grass is because bare lawns usually get the worse ant infestations. And yes, mowing the grass also keeps the bug problem down.

Dark Fact · 07/04/2007, 08:58 PM

Mowing the lawn? Every time I mow over those little ant hills, it just causes the colony to swarm. How's that get rid of them?

WoodyXP · 07/05/2007, 01:32 AM

Take a roto-tiller to the ant hill, completely destroy it. And then follow that with a couple pots of boiling water. That fucks them up
good and they never come back(to that particular area at least).

Keranu · 07/05/2007, 04:41 AM

Are the ants actually that annoying when they are outside and not invading your home?

Dark Fact · 07/05/2007, 11:29 AM

It's my dad that has the problem with them more than me.

He's the one asking me for advice.

NecroPhile · 07/05/2007, 12:51 PM

Step One: Dig small hole in center of ant hill.
Step Two: Insert one pound of gelignite.
Step Three: Remove self to safe distance and detonate.
Step Four: Ant hill removed, but now shell shocked ants are everywhere and you have a crater in your yard. But what the hell, it was fun.

nat · 07/05/2007, 12:56 PM

Quote from: WoodyXP on 07/05/2007, 01:32 AMTake a roto-tiller to the ant hill, completely destroy it. And then follow that with a couple pots of boiling water. That fucks them up
good and they never come back(to that particular area at least).

Words of wisdom from our resident pcengine-fx.com intellectual, WoodyXP!

He says much, yet speaks little.

Dark Fact · 07/05/2007, 05:19 PM

What if I put gasoline on the ant hill and set it on fire?

Seldane · 07/05/2007, 07:14 PM

The gasoline alone will do. It will mega-kill them, I assure you. I actually did this as a kid. Funny you should mention it.

offsidewing · 07/06/2007, 02:06 PM

Ahem, the Borax solution is the best. Mix Borax with powdered sugar and leave it someplace where you often find ants loitering. The ants can't tell the leathal Borax from the powdered sugar and take it all back to the colonies crib. Then, everyone chows down and it's a scene fit for Jim Jones.

For the record, if you have loose soil, you could grow the equivalent of a 70's porn bush for a lawn or mow twice a day and the ants will still live more densely populated than Tokyo or that dirty city in India. They love loose soil.

Dark Fact · 07/07/2007, 02:24 PM

I wonder if you can even buy anteaters in pet stores?

BonkThis · 07/17/2007, 09:52 AM

Bleach and lots of it!!

TR0N · 07/17/2007, 11:49 PM

Speaking of ant problems now i'm having it

So far been useing bait traps it's been killing them, but there's more that take there place.

I think there under the house since... it just has a crawl space space for storeing stuff no basement.

Guess i gota call in pest controll soon....

This dry weather sucks it's drawing the ants in since there looking for water.

Dark Fact · 07/26/2007, 01:40 PM

I was watching TV recently and noticed an ad for RAID foaming outdoor ant killer. It looks interesting enough. You think it could work? Has anyone else bought the stuff?