Ants

[Cindy]

Ok, many of you know me and that I live in Australia. A fantastic country. Except we have every deadly creature you can think of. Spiders that can kill you, the most lethal snakes, crocodiles, very big sharks,

We also have ants. Lots of them;  Australia is really the cover for the biggest Ant colony ever. And most are horrible:  we have inch ants, that tear flesh off you, jumper ants, that can be lethal. Fire ants, great little critters. And a new type that I have discovered " Cindy Antum Bedum". I found this species a year or so ago when I woke up in the middle of the night covered in ants in my bed.

I am a clean woman. I generally shower twice a day. I clean my house. I am in fact house proud. I wash my bedding weekly. More often if I've been lucky, that hasn't happened for a while .

I woke up last night again covered in ants. There is no real way of describing how you feel waking up in your bed covered in ants. I'll start with saying it is unpleasant. You can use your imagination to go further. I levitated to the shower, scattering insects along the way. They seemed reluctant to leave me, I then found their trail and sprayed poisons over them. I was conscious of going into the front garden naked, as my next door neighbour has just started to talk to me again after finding me in my nightie in my garden several months ago when my security alarm went off; but I did and I sprayed enough carcinogens to blight the next several generations who will occupy the area.  I changed my bedding. I tried to go to sleep.

Today I have trails of ants to vacuum up.

Why me? I'm not there Aunty.

Anyone else had this problem, and I don't mean the bad puns.

Cindy

[AbraCadabra]

Gosh hon,
I had all sorts of problems in my life to date. Ants in and on anything that has something sweet in it, oh yeah.

Am guessing those critters just though you the sweetest thing about yet, honey pie :-)

Didn't you at least enjoy for a moment getting tickled by lots of significant OTHERS??

Giggle,
Axelle

[Arch]

I've had ants in the kitchen, ants in the bathroom, but never ants in my bed.

One thing I learned from my ex: most of the time, the ants were just thirsty. They were going for the small amount of wetness at the bottom of the sink or in bowls and cups on the drainboard. We started to leave the garden hose on a slow drip in the back yard, and that took care of the problem.

Somehow, I don't think that is going to work for you...

[V M]

I woke up last night again covered in ants.

Ants in your bed?    That would drive me completely nuts!!! We have ants where I live, red lil' devils that bite... I've seen them around the building and garden area and people have complained about getting them in their places, but luckily none have made into my apt. except a couple of strays that came in on my clothes from the garden

I was conscious of going into the front garden naked

That will get you arrested quicker than most anything where I live

Sorry that happened to you Sis 

Hugs

- Virginia

[Cindy]

Oh they had a trail from the front garden under the front door directly to my bed and back again. Arch we have had a wet winter for Aus so that should not be the problem and I don't use 'sugary' body lotions or soaps. It was a horrible feeling, I'm laughing it off to deal with it, but I'm a bit reluctant to go to bed. I have put down kilos of ant kill powder around the house today, probably kill me before the ants.

They were tiny, not to gross people out but they were in my ears, my bottom my pubes, I felt foul.

I'm trying to laugh it all off but it was horrible.

Sorry

Cindy

[tekla]

Yikes, just reading that made my skin crawl.

[juliekins]

Sorry to hear about the ant attack, Cindy.

Julie and I have been waging a major battle with them in our home this summer, mostly in the kitchen. We try to always keep it free of food and enticements, and with ant traps. These aren't any normal ants- their kharmacized marauders.

Let me explain. My lovely wife, Julie, has taken on the task of repairing and completely renovating our backyard hot tub. In so doing, she located a significant colony in the insulation of our spa. Of course, Julie destroyed their little ant Las Vegas hotel. In so doing, she set off a terrible, bad kharma plague of the critters who are seeking a new hang out.

What she didn't realize was that these weren't ordinary ants-they're giant, hot tub deprived monsters!

[tekla]

It's Nature, red in tooth and claw, if you push in one place it's just going to bulge in another place.  Silly humans, thinking they got's some power or something.  There are 5,400 species of mammals, and over one million species of insects, with an additional hundred thousand species of spiders.  It's a war and we're losing.  Any sort of thinking that we are somehow masters and mistresses of the universe is wrong.  Bugs are.

[Julie Marie]

First thing I would do is sprinkle a healthy dose of diatomaceous earth (DE) around the perimeter of your house and anywhere you know ants have created a path.  DE is a white powder harmless to humans and animals but lethal to insects with an exoskeleton.  These insects walk over the DE and it abrades their exoskeleton.  It's like dragging your body over shards of broken glass.  Once the exoskeleton has been abraded, the bugs begin to dehydrate and die.  It's like draining the water out of them.  Also, when the ants walk over the DE, they pick up some of the DE on their skin and when they go back to the nest, they pass it on to other ants and spread it through the nest.

You can usually find DE at a farm supply and some home centers.  Some companies make DE with a bug killing agent in it.  Problem is ants can sense this and avoid it (and it's harmful to humans and animals.)  You have to get them to walk over the DE for it to be effective.

One problem is DE has the consistency of baby powder and you can imagine what would happen if you sprinkled that all over your floors.  It actually tracks worse than baby powder and it can transfer to everything.  So I would place the DE with that in mind.

I put DE near the corner of the house where I thought they were coming in (closest to the hot tub) but I didn't get under the deck, which is adjacent to the kitchen.  But I did notice right after spreading it we didn't have ants in the house for a while.  However rain will wash DE away over time.  I just need to repeat the process and crawl under the deck to spread it there too now that they have found our kitchen their one stop shop again.

[tekla]

Proper use of the word exoskeleton in a sentence makes me so hot.

[Julie Marie]

Proper use of the word exoskeleton in a sentence makes me so hot.

Meet me out back, by the dumpster, tonight.  10PM.  Don't be late.

[Cindy]

First thing I would do is sprinkle a healthy dose of diatomaceous earth (DE) around the perimeter of your house and anywhere you know ants have created a path.  DE is a white powder harmless to humans and animals but lethal to insects with an exoskeleton.  These insects walk over the DE and it abrades their exoskeleton.  It's like dragging your body over shards of broken glass.  Once the exoskeleton has been abraded, the bugs begin to dehydrate and die.  It's like draining the water out of them.  Also, when the ants walk over the DE, they pick up some of the DE on their skin and when they go back to the nest, they pass it on to other ants and spread it through the nest.

You can usually find DE at a farm supply and some home centers.  Some companies make DE with a bug killing agent in it.  Problem is ants can sense this and avoid it (and it's harmful to humans and animals.)  You have to get them to walk over the DE for it to be effective.

One problem is DE has the consistency of baby powder and you can imagine what would happen if you sprinkled that all over your floors.  It actually tracks worse than baby powder and it can transfer to everything.  So I would place the DE with that in mind.

I put DE near the corner of the house where I thought they were coming in (closest to the hot tub) but I didn't get under the deck, which is adjacent to the kitchen.  But I did notice right after spreading it we didn't have ants in the house for a while.  However rain will wash DE away over time.  I just need to repeat the process and crawl under the deck to spread it there too now that they have found our kitchen their one stop shop again.

Just what I have done, I remember now your problems, whatever you do don't have a hot tub!!!

I'm very much a let live person, unless I'm being invaded. I'm about to go to bed and have been searching the house, I been feeling itchy all day. Ugh

Cindy 

[Medusa]

And what about change door for tight one

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Cindy,

There are a number of reasons as to why they were in your bed= 1) If you've eaten or drank something whilst sitting in bed =2) Your natural body odor  "sweat" =3) the washing power/liquid you used for your bedding or nightwear 4)  A random search for food... ->-bleeped-<- happens 

Why not feed them outside...Find out what species of ant it is and what food source they prefer and feed it to them outside and gradually move the food source away from the house...That's the best environmentally sound  pesticide free solution...[providing their are an indigenous species]...

When it comes to aerating the soil ants come a close second to worms, in some place they even do better than worms...

Metta Zenda

I forget to add "You might have spilt something on your "skin" and not washed it off completely"

But look on the bright side...It could be worse...It could be bedbugs-they are making a come back in many parts of the Western world...

[Arch]

If they are little tiny things, they may have been pharaoh ants. For the last couple of years I was living in my last place, I had a problem with them. Do you use body lotion? They may have been attracted to that. Pharaoh ants like sweets and fats. They liked dry cat food, so I periodically had to move the food bowls. These ants LOVED the cream I used in my coffee--I once left an unwashed cream bottle on the counter for a few hours, and the ants were frantically drowning in it, in droves. Ick. Almost made me give up coffee; it's hard to get the bottles squeaky clean.

[Anatta]

If they are little tiny things, they may have been pharaoh ants. For the last couple of years I was living in my last place, I had a problem with them. Do you use body lotion? They may have been attracted to that. Pharaoh ants like sweets and fats. They liked dry cat food, so I periodically had to move the food bowls. These ants LOVED the cream I used in my coffee--I once left an unwashed cream bottle on the counter for a few hours, and the ants were frantically drowning in it, in droves. Ick. Almost made me give up coffee; it's hard to get the bottles squeaky clean.

Kia Ora Arch,

Place the cat's food bowl in a dish of water=moat around the food bowl- you can actually buy pet food bowls with a moat tray attached ...

If you can't buy them in your area -go into business with a person who mold's  plastic, make your own "Sir Arch's Pet Food Moats" and sell them...I'm sure they'll be popular... 

Metta Zenda

[Julie Marie]

Just what I have done, I remember now your problems, whatever you do don't have a hot tub!!!

I'm very much a let live person, unless I'm being invaded. I'm about to go to bed and have been searching the house, I been feeling itchy all day. Ugh

Cindy

If all else fails you can always build yourself a screened in bed.  Some 1x2 slats, some aluminum screen (many ants can chew through fiberglass screens) and a staple gun.  At least you'd be able to sleep without the ants.

[Amazon D]

First thing I would do is sprinkle a healthy dose of diatomaceous earth (DE) around the perimeter of your house and anywhere you know ants have created a path.  DE is a white powder harmless to humans and animals but lethal to insects with an exoskeleton.  These insects walk over the DE and it abrades their exoskeleton.  It's like dragging your body over shards of broken glass.  Once the exoskeleton has been abraded, the bugs begin to dehydrate and die.  It's like draining the water out of them.  Also, when the ants walk over the DE, they pick up some of the DE on their skin and when they go back to the nest, they pass it on to other ants and spread it through the nest.

You can usually find DE at a farm supply and some home centers.  Some companies make DE with a bug killing agent in it.  Problem is ants can sense this and avoid it (and it's harmful to humans and animals.)  You have to get them to walk over the DE for it to be effective.

One problem is DE has the consistency of baby powder and you can imagine what would happen if you sprinkled that all over your floors.  It actually tracks worse than baby powder and it can transfer to everything.  So I would place the DE with that in mind.

I put DE near the corner of the house where I thought they were coming in (closest to the hot tub) but I didn't get under the deck, which is adjacent to the kitchen.  But I did notice right after spreading it we didn't have ants in the house for a while.  However rain will wash DE away over time.  I just need to repeat the process and crawl under the deck to spread it there too now that they have found our kitchen their one stop shop again.

hey thanks for that info


.. i use boric acid which works great too

[Anatta]

hey thanks for that info


.. i use boric acid which works great too

Kia Ora Amazon,

Quote from Wiki

"Based on mammalian median lethal dose (LD50) rating of 2,660 mg/kg body mass, boric acid is poisonous if taken internally or inhaled in large quantities. However, it is generally considered to be not much more toxic than table salt.[4] The Thirteenth Edition of the Merck Index indicates that the LD50 of boric acid is 5.14 g/kg for oral dosages given to rats, and that 5 to 20 g/kg has produced death in adult humans. The LD50 of sodium chloride is reported to be 3.75 g/kg in rats according to the Merck Index.
Long term exposure to boric acid may be of more concern, causing kidney damage and eventually kidney failure (see links below). Although it does not appear to be carcinogenic, studies in dogs have reported testicular atrophy after exposure to 32 mg/kg bw/day for 90 days. This level is far lower than the LD50.[5]
According to boric acid IUCLID Dataset published by the European Commission, boric acid in high doses shows significant developmental toxicity and teratogenicity in rabbit, rat, and mouse fetuses as well as cardiovascular defects, skeletal variations, mild kidney lesions.[6] As a consequence, in August 2008, in the 30th ATP to EU directive 67/548/EEC, the EC decided to amend its classification as reprotoxic category 2 and to apply the risk phrases R60 (may impair fertility) and R61 (may cause harm to the unborn child).[7][8][9][10][11]
At a recent European Diagnostics Manufacturing Association (EDMA) Meeting several new additions to the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) candidate list in relation to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals Regulations 2007 (REACH) were discussed. The registration and review completed as part of REACH has meant the current classification of Boric Acid CAS 10043-35-3 / 11113-50-1 as of 1 December 2010 will be listed as H360FD (May damage fertility. May damage the unborn child.) [12] [13]

D E's a safer approach if you are going to put "powder" in and around your house...

However, I've use Boric acid for both cockroaches and ants, however if you are going to use it, make it into a liquid "bait" [for ants] and put into non target animal proof containers ...You can find how to make up bait solutions on/in our friend the bible "google"...

Metta Zenda

[tekla]

build yourself a screened in bed

Sounds like a vacation in hell.  Crawl into your ant free cage at night while all around you the walls are moving.  Nope.  I don't like it.  Not one little bit.