Extra Guests - Don't Invite Ants to Dinner
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Extra Guests
Don’t Invite Ants to Dinner
Ants in search of food and water can turn into persistent pests unless we know the tricks of turning them away. Diane MacEachern’s strategy at BigGreenPurse.com both works to prevent the little buggers from breaking and entering and interrupts the chemical trail put down by scouts.
After sealing suspicious cracks, MacEachern advises setting up a temporary sticky barrier using petroleum jelly, glue or duct tape. Keeping surfaces free of bits of human and pet food helps. As does keeping trash cans and compost bins covered. Food containers with tight rubber seals outperform screw-top jars, she notes, as the pests can travel up the spiral—a good tip for picnics as well.
When ants do appear, "mop them up using a wet cloth or sponge," she says. "Then spray using a mixture of one teaspoon of liquid soap in a bottle of water, dousing the trail they followed into the house as far outside as you can follow it." Baits made with diatomaceous earth or boric acid carried back to the nest should stop the whole colony in its tracks.
Source: BigGreenPurse.com
