Rod Caster Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Anybody ever have to deal with these? They are tiny (very tiny), redish/transparent ants that are really hard to get rid of. I've read up about them and tried a few traps/poisons, but they keep coming back! Grrr. I can't wait till winter when the spiders and ants disappear... I'm at point of considering caulking every opening/crack/ in my condo.. Including baseboards and cupboards. I'd rather drink a 0.5 beer in place of a Keiths than have these things. Tips or anecdotes would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) Ran into these a few weeks ago in our daughters apartment. Looked like coffee grounds on the counter top and if you stared long enough you could see the "camo" ones moving on the counter. Opening the cupboard I know what they really like, I figured it would be sugar and after going thru every package she had in the cupboard I found they had made their way into a bag of sweet coconut! So try sprinkling a bag of sweet coconut on your neighbours deck! lol I hit them with raid and cleaned the cupboards. Edited August 4, 2011 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Anybody ever have to deal with these? They are tiny (very tiny), redish/transparent ants that are really hard to get rid of. I've read up about them and tried a few traps/poisons, but they keep coming back! Grrr. I can't wait till winter when the spiders and ants disappear... I'm at point of considering caulking every opening/crack/ in my condo.. Including baseboards and cupboards. I'd rather drink a 0.5 beer in place of a Keiths than have these things. Tips or anecdotes would be appreciated. Ants will lay a pheromone trail when they find something yummy.See if you can follow them back to where they are getting in, then blast the hole with Ant Out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted August 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Ants will lay a pheromone trail when they find something yummy.See if you can follow them back to where they are getting in, then blast the hole with Ant Out My problem is that I'm in a condo... The are between walls and under cupboards..I'm on the third floor so they likely live in the walls. They search like bees... Randomly everywhere, then they hone into places they like and then move on. Buggers! Wayne: I noticedthe ones here like protein. I put ant poison on a piece of raw salmon and they swarmed it.. But from what I read, they set up several colonies in a small area, so one application isn't enough. If by next year I can't resolve this issue, I'm taking it to condo manager who already knows me well from other repairs I've initiated. Is she still seeing them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) Don't know... we're all at home! Leah will be there tomorrow and I'll get her to send me an email from Jen's tomorrow night. Edited August 4, 2011 by irishfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 RC There is another product out there made from Diatomaceous earth. Completely non toxic to humans or anumals.Its a powder that gets on thier body, and they bring it back to the nest, killing all the ants inside.They sell it at CT and Walmart in the garden section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Outside ants up at the lake.... I put a hurt on them just by sprinkling borax everywhere they had a hill. If you look at a squirt bottle of the liquid ant killer borax is the main ingredient. Don't know if it will work on the itsy bitsy buggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted August 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 RC There is another product out there made from Diatomaceous earth. Completely non toxic to humans or anumals.Its a powder that gets on thier body, and they bring it back to the nest, killing all the ants inside.They sell it at CT and Walmart in the garden section. This may work since they walk around wherever they please, but some spots are more traveled than others. Good idea, I'll check out this product. Wayne: borax seems to work, but I'll need a lot of it because they have several nesting areas... I might as well fumigate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 At least you can buy a big box of borax for less than the price of a squirt bottle of killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitespinnerbait Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 Mix up equals parts of sugar and baking soda, put in a bottle cap or small dish type thingy near the affected area......end of story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 Google "boric acid for ants" and try one of the recipes. I believe you can buy boric acid at Shopper Drug Mart. Worked better than the store-bought ant traps and sprays for me this year. Good luck Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtucciarone Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 I recently had these same ants trough out our kitchen, finally called a pest control specialist. He said with these ants the worse thing to do is to try and kill them were you see them, by doing this the colony splits and then instead of one colony you have two. You have too bait them so they take the poison back to their nest. The exterminator used a product called Advance 360A , don't know if it is available to the public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTHM Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 I'm sorry, but I gotta ask, "DO they "walk like an Egyptian?"" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted August 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 Thanks TUTs, I've heard about the splitting.. Its so hard a to resist killing those buggers on-site! I'm gonna buy some products this weekend and bait them all around the condo. HTHM: they do! But I think they do it just to taunt me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTHM Posted August 6, 2011 Report Share Posted August 6, 2011 Thanks TUTs, I've heard about the splitting.. Its so hard a to resist killing those buggers on-site! I'm gonna buy some products this weekend and bait them all around the condo. HTHM: they do! But I think they do it just to taunt me. Then be careful, they may come back and taunt you some more..... (I kill me!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted August 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 I bought some Raid liquid ant killer 7.7percent borax content and put it on some high quality cat food. The ants are all over it! Hope this works. Don't worry, the cat can't get at it... Or can't it?haha No, it can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esoxansteel Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 heres some good info, with pharoah ants you should never use chemical sprays as that will scatter the colony and will cause the ants to set up satallite colonies, or multiple colonies within your home, most if not all ant baits, are too strong for tiny pharoah ants, hense ants are social insects and readily feed one another, with those baits been too strong they do not have a chance to feed on another, so heres what you have to do buy a little bottle of liquid ant drops which will be 5% boric acid and liquid sugar, usually a little white bottle with a red cap, and also pick up a jar of mint jelly, you than have to mix the mint jelly with the ant drops but it MUST have no more than 1/2% boric acid, so you really have to cut down the concentration of the boric acid, that concentration will allow the ants to socialize and feed each other, and you will eventially get them all, do not give up as they are tough to get rid of, and do not be disappointed if and when you start to see more, as they start to forage on the bait you made up, also very important make sure their is no other food souce available to them as well, ie dirty dishes left in sink, counter spills, etc as this will give the pharoahs other food sources, you want them to feed on the mint jelly/boric acid mixture only, you can put the bait in areas where you are seeing them, always read the label on the ant drop jar for more info, I would put the bait in small clean caps ie beer caps, and monitor which ones are showing the most activity, then you can add more bait placements to the areas showing the most interest, keep baits fresh at all times, changing every day or every other day. good luck I would have pm you but this is good info for anyone else who is experincing pharoah ants, are you 100% sure they are pharoah ants, as thief ants are very similar in size and color, and a microscope would be needed to verify which ones they are, regardless you would use the bait mixture for both ant species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esoxansteel Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 In case you were wondering, im an exterminator, and have delt with pharoah ants and other pests for over 28 years, so the previous post, is essentially the way I handle pharoah ants if you have any other questions feel free to pm me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 In case you were wondering, im an exterminator, and have delt with pharoah ants and other pests for over 28 years, so the previous post, is essentially the way I handle pharoah ants if you have any other questions feel free to pm me Wow! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. They are all over my borax/cat food mix right now so I'll try it for a few days and if they come back I'll change to a more diluted bait mixture as you have suggested. I've also noticed them looking for water... Would a diluted mix of borax or boric acid with water potentially work? Thx again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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