I can not get rid of the ants!!

[Linz2491]

I don't know what else to do.
I took the tortoise out and had him in a smaller tank for two weeks and the ants were still in his enclosure. I put dE on the soil and mixed in. Still there.
I took the coco coir out and poured boiling water twice into the bucket.
I sprayed with ant spray the inside and let it sit. I poured diatenansious earth and leg it sit. Sprayed again. Poured boiling water in the enclosure and let it sit for a couple hours. Cleaned the who thing out and then put dirt back in. That was last night. This morning they are covering it again. What do I do???

 

[mike taylor]

Can you post a picture of the enclosure . This what I've found to work wasp spray kills them on contact . But I have pens in my yard . I mix the bed up then spray them down . Then I will dig all the sprayed dirt out and replace it . Make sure you clean it all up . Ic yiu get some on plants you will need to remove them also .

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Thats supposed to say ( if you )

 

[diamondbp]

I have ant problems myself. I've considered lining the outside bottom of my enclosure with thick quality double stick tape(a few rows) in attempt to prevent the invaders from crawling over it (hopefully getting stuck)

But I haven't tried it yet . It's just an idea.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I'm sorry but I hope you can put up with some dumb questions : can you send us a picture of the enclosure ?are they red , black, or brown ants? Were do you live ( what state ) ?

 

[Linz2491]

They are just black house ants. The coco coir was an ant
Farm. There were billions of them. It's not that bad yet but they were crawling the the tort this morning

 

[mike taylor]

Did you remove the enclosure from your garage? I ask because the nest maybe under it .

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: I can not get rid of the ants!!

Did you remove the enclosure from your garage? I ask because the nest maybe under it .

My thoughts, too.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

It don't act fast but it will work in about 3 days if kept dry . Put some corn starch around the top rim of the enclosure and any thing kids dogs can eat the corn starch without harm

 

[N2TORTS]

Ok here are some "safe ideas" you may try ......
* Lemon juice
Just spray around the openings with pure lemon juice … and it always works for us … they DO NOT like the ACID in the Lemon Juice.
* Cinnamon...
We use ground cinnamon around where they are coming thru from the outside. It works really well....ALSO ....Try cinnamon oil. You can drip a border around your enclosure and any borders that surround it.
*- Borax, water and sugar
Place a thin paste before with water, sugar and borax, then spread it on little pieces of thin cardboard or stiff cardstock and placed them near where it seems they are coming into your enclosure. They’ll eat it and take it back to their colony which will kill the colony and the queen.

*-If you know where the nest is .......
Boiling water and dish soap.

*-Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) works well … use food-grade not swimming pool DE. It should be sprinkled around the perimeter of your enclosure sprinkle it inside where you see them. Do not wet the DE or it will not work. DE isn’t an instant kill but should resolve the problem within a week or so.

* Chalk......Make a thick line around your enclosure space
* Baking soda ....same concept as above

*-Cream of Wheat
Cream of wheat! They eat it & it expands & they explode!
(This one is fun! ).....

*- Vinegar .....Mix with a little H20 ...use Spray bottle .. a very effective method.


JD~:shy:

 

[mike taylor]

And my arch-nemesis! The only I have fould is the wasp spray . I've tried all the ole wifes tails . The thing is ants are smart . They will only feed new foods to workers if they die they will pack up the queen and move to a new spot . I don't want to see them ever again so I kill them . I would move the enclosure out find the ants and spray them . Then after they are all dead clean up the mess . If you don't kill the nest they will be back .

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Ants my arch-nemesis! The only I have found is the wasp spray . I've tried all the ole wifes tails . The thing is ants are smart . They will only feed new foods to workers if they die they will pack up the queen and move to a new spot . I don't want to see them ever again so I kill them . I would move the enclosure out find the ants and spray them . Then after they are all dead clean up the mess . If you don't kill the nest they will be back .

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Ants my arch-nemesis! The only I have found is the wasp spray . I've tried all the ole wifes tails . The thing is ants are smart . They will only feed new foods to workers if they die they will pack up the queen and move to a new spot . I don't want to see them ever again so I kill them . I would move the enclosure out find the ants and spray them . Then after they are all dead clean up the mess . If you don't kill the nest they will be back .
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[Len B]

Terro liquid ant killer, It is a gel, just put a few drops on a piece of paper or a soda bottle top, etc, and place it where the tortoise can't get to it but the ants can and the ants will disappear in a day or so. It works and is very inexpensive.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Corn starch is a nateral herbaside the ants don't eat it they take it to the garden were they grow their food fungus corn starch kills the fungus and the whole nest starves and die . And it don't hurt torts or animals

 

[Tom]

The problem is that the ants that you are actually seeing are just a tiny fraction of the ants that make up the colony that is invading you. They are in the walls, under the foundation and all over the yard. The trick is to kill the whole colony and not just the "few" that you are seeing.

I use the same stuff that Len recommended, except I buy the stuff that is already in the trays ready to use. Its called Terro ant bait. The trick is to put it right in their path somewhere and then do NOTHING. Stop killing them. Don't disturb them in any way. Let them go about their business of carrying the stuff back to the queen and the rest of the colony. It is basically sugar water and boric acid, so its not toxic to kids or pets. Sometimes they will swarm on it for two or three days. That is actually good news, because the more they eat and take back the faster you will wipe out the entire colony.

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We had a major ant problem a few years back and no amount of chalk boric acid or toxic pesticides would even slow them down. They were all over the house and we would kill wave after wave day after day, and they just kept coming no matter what we did.

The Terro ant baits finally solved the problem because it killed all the ones that we couldn't see. We were ant free for almost three years. Just recently we had another invasion and all we did was plop a tray down in their path. They just kept coming and coming and they covered the whole tray. Within a couple of days they had emptied the tray and on day three they were all just gone like magic. The hard part is just letting them run amok in your house for two days and not killing them.

 

[HJ1983]

I don't know how bad your ant problem is but I get ants every year in my apartment. I live on the third floor and they find their way up here. I have small animals here so we can't use ant bait or anything so what we do is follow their trail and see where they are coming from. When we find a distance that is safely away from our bunnies we clean the area (go above and beyond where that trail is like three feet in each direction )and clean it with straight bleach. Ants follow a scent trail and killing them doesn't rid their scent trail. That's how they're finding you. The bleach will get rid of the scent and they will no longer know that there is food in that direction. As long as it's safe for your pets the straight bleach approach works every time for us. You have to let it sit a few minutes and of course make sure the area is well ventilated. Then clean it off and rinse it well. I of course wouldn't use it in the enclosure but if you break up the scent trail they can't find it.

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But everyone else here probably has more experience with real ants. Not New York City ants.

 

[nikkidphoto]

Diatomaceous earth sprinkled at doors and windows would work. Just make sure you get food grade and don't inhale it as your sprinkling it.


0.0.1 red foot tort "batman"
3.2.0 ball pythons
1.1.0 cats
3.2.0 human children

 

[milkandsam]

I am having bug problems and I went looking for diatomaceous earth at lowes. I only found one product that said it, but it said "containing diatomaceous earth" which leads me to think it has other harmful chemicals in it? Is that what I should have gotten?

 

[Saleama]

Do not mix the DE into the soil. Just sprinkle it on top. You also need to stop the ones coming in. Spray pesticide around the entire house or if you are uncomfortable doing that then you can sprinkle the DE around the perimitor. Try and find where they are coming from and coat their home in it as well. DE works by cutting the ant's exoskeleton and making it dehydrate so it takes time to work. If you mix it into the soil, it will not coat the ant but become part of the soil and thus not work.
Make sure you get Food Grade. They sell it at feed stores and most plant nurseries. This is not the same as the non-food grade or the products that "contain" DE.

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I am having bug problems and I went looking for diatomaceous earth at lowes. I only found one product that said it, but it said "containing diatomaceous earth" which leads me to think it has other harmful chemicals in it? Is that what I should have gotten?

No. You want food grade DE from a feed store or plant nursery like Calloways.

 

[milkandsam]

Thank you!

 

[DixieParadise]

Agree on the food grade d.e. It works wonders in my enclosures