Anyone know how to kill ants safely?

[Colin_T]

I have a major ant problem here and have tried the natural methods of controlling and killing them but it isn't working due to the queens living under paving and the concrete slab of the house. This is preventing me from being able to drown them with water or vinegar, or use ant napalm on them.

I am trying to poison them with borax and sugar mixed in water, and bicarb and icing sugar but they don't touch it. I tried borax in fish oil but it doesn't dissolve. I have tried pouring white vinegar all over the paving but not enough of it gets between the pavers and into the nests. I have used cinnamon but it needs to be replaced every day and doesn't kill them, it just makes them dig new holes and pop up somewhere else in the unit.

I don't want to use anything dangerous because I was exposed to Bifenthrin in January 2023 when the idiot property owners and strata company had the front of the units sprayed and didn't tell anyone they were going to do it. I have major health issues because of that.

If anyone knows of a way to poison hundreds of ant colonies and queens that are inaccessible, please let me know. I have access to ant trails and can get them to come to any part of the unit with a potatoe chip or peanut, but I can't get them to take poisons or baits.

I live in a windy area and there are birds, frogs and lizards out the back. The ones that lived out the front all died last year after they sprayed. So no toxic powders and nothing that harms the nice creatures or me.

 

[gwand]

Size 12 shoes and start dancing

 

[Fishmanic]

lay down a long trail of potato chips that lead right to the landlord's house

adopt a group of anteaters to devour the pesky invaders

 

[GaryE]

A lot of powders, boric acid, etc get carried back to the queens. As long they stay dry, they can do a lot of damage. I had an exotic fire ant nest or two in my old fishroom, a converted garage that a man who travelled to the US south a lot had parked his car in (weird idea to put a car in a perfect fish spot). I couldn't wipe them out but I knocked them back to next to nothing every year. If I didn't, my feet got bitten, and it stung.

An old aquarium tech friend, diatotomaceus (sic?) earth was useful. It stuck to them and was a dessicant. There were some syrupy commercial things in little bottles that helped.

 

[Colin_T]

I can't use diatomaceous earth here due to the wind. It just gets blown away thanks to the 40+kph easterly winds we have.

How did you knock the fire ants back Gary?

Any idea what the name of the syrupy things is?

 

[Magnum Man]

So I manage a food ingredient factory… lots of sweets and am limited on what we can use in the building… I found that using an acid quaternary sanitizer spray at 300 - 400 ppm ( at this strength,!it doesn’t require rinsing on food contact surfaces ) but it kills ants instantly, and if using a mister bottle on squirt, you can lay a trail down, where the ant road is, and they will quit using it… or if on mist, and you spray a perimeter 6 inches or so, they won’t cross it… it won’t kill the hill, but if you have cracks or areas they are getting in, you can make them go somewhere else

 

[anewbie]

Ok not your situation but i've had 2 or 3 large black ants i've found. I just toss them into the festivum aquarium and well that seems to take care of them fast enough.

 

[Colin_T]

I found that using an acid quaternary sanitizer spray at 300 - 400 ppm ( at this strength,!it doesn’t require rinsing on food contact surfaces ) but it kills ants instantly,

What's an acid quaternary sanitizer spray and where do you get it?

 

[Archerfish]

Try this. It works.

Amazon.com

 

[JuiceBox52]

I’ve always used diatomaceous earth, it will kill all insects and spiders. No chemicals either

 

[Colin_T]

I’ve always used diatomaceous earth, it will kill all insects and spiders. No chemicals either

Do you know of any way to stop it blowing around?
We have a lot of wind here and stuff gets blown everywhere and there is new dust being blown in every day from the desert.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Do you know of any way to stop it blowing around?
We have a lot of wind here and stuff gets blown everywhere and there is new dust being blown in every day from the desert.

Just sweep it into the cracks and hope for the best. Even small amounts can help