Ants in house

[clerbird321]

Okay I am panicking here!!! I just found some ants (tiny black ones, common here in the states) in our kitchen. We couldn’t find the colony but just stragglers all over the kitchen. We are getting some traps (https://www.acehardware.com/departm...insect-and-animal-control/insect-bait/7627474) and I just cleaned the kitchen floor with water/vinegar.

I’m panicking because Bernard’s cage is in the dining room about 10 steps from the kitchen. All of his edible stuff is in mason jars or ziploc bags, but I am so scared that the ants are going to get in his cage Can I put those traps near his cage? Obviously not in his cage but on the floor nearby? Will that hurt him at all? He is on a coffee table so he’s not on the floor.

 

[Maz]

Hi. I suspect they will probably stay in the kitchen which is the food source, but I've had this before and you need to get something called Nippon. You put a tiny bit of it on a coin and place the coin at the source of where the ants are coming from. So you need to observe for a day or so where they come from - it might be from under the back door. When I had them, the trail went from a crack in the wall over a window sill and it was a clear trail to and from the kitchen.

Anyway if you find the entry source and put the nippon down - the ants eat it - it attracts them as it's sweet, and they take it back to the nest and it poisons them all (sorry). The point of this is, it destroys the nest before the winged ones hatch out. These are worker ants taking food back to the nest where the queens have babies being hatched out and the babies are the winged ones. They usually just fly away if they're outside but you wouldn't want them inside.

Edit - just looked at your link and it looks like your bait trap might contain the same stuff as the Nippon so ignore the above - a bait trap is safer than putting the liquid on a coin - which would mean keeping other pets away from it.

The Nippon is boric acid I think - I can't see what your bait trap includes. The idea of the boric acid is it doesn't just kill the ants that eat it, they take it back and feed the colony with it.

 

[Maz]

I would move the mason jars well away - even upstairs maybe - ants can get under the seals of jars, even if they can't get into the jars themselves and that can be a mess to clean up. We found some dead ones inside a salt pot months later! After we'd been using the salt - they had gone in through the little hole on the top! They are looking for food - particularly anything sweet - so they will probably stay in the kitchen.

I would try and avoid putting one of the bait traps near his cage because the bait traps don't kill the ants - as the description says, the ants carry the liquid back to the nest and it slowly works through them - it's not an instant kill. So you wouldn't want ants introducing the poison to the hamster cage.

If you're worried they might get through to the dining room, it might be better to move his cage to another room for now. I don't think worker ants bite - they are food gatherers - but it's possible they could be attracted to his food. However hopefully there is plenty of sweeter stuff in the kitchen to attract them.

Could you move his cage upstairs at all? Or would that be too difficult? What cage or enclosure is he in?

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz

We are in a single floor duplex, so upstairs isn’t an option unfortunately. He is on a coffee table in a Bucatstate 3.0. I put vaseline on the table legs, about an inch up, and put his storage bins with food on it up on our dining table. It seems like they’re coming from under our stove and are isolated to the kitchen so we put 5 traps in the kitchen, and 1 by each door to be safe. So there’s 1 trap about 5 feet away from his cage by the back door.

 

[Maz]

It sounds like you've done all the right things Vaseline on the table legs was a clever idea.

 

[clerbird321]

It sounds like you've done all the right things Vaseline on the table legs was a clever idea.

Someone from one of my hamster groups on Facebook suggested it! I ended up moving the trap by the back door/his cage over to by our fridge, so we have 6 traps in the kitchen now. Kind of overkill buuuut whatever lol

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz @Socks' Mum

The traps are working! They’re swarming them and hopefully going back to kill the colony.

But I have another question. I have a hunch that the ants are hanging out behind the stove so we have to pull out the stove later and check behind it. We bought this cleaning spray (https://www.terro.com/terro-ant-kil...ydeyUoiMx8kwD3WH9HlFr8WPYRWi5OraCpobXu_Gcv_-D) which I know is definitely harmful to Bernie, but I’m wondering if we just did a targeted spray on the colony (if we find it) if that would be okay? If they are behind the stove, that is at least 10 feet away from his cage, and I could turn on our air purifier and open the windows and doors?

I know if we had to do a full house pest control spray that we would have to move him out of the house completely (I could take him to my parents) but I wasn’t sure about targeted sprays.

 

[Maz]

That link didn't work for me unfortunately. If you think they're coming from behind the stove, check to see if there are any cracks in the wall there - they sometimes come in through a crack in a wall. And seal up any cracks with filler or similar.

There is this one that says it's safe around pets that kills them and also acts as the type that kills the nest if any go back to the nest. Although one reviewer said it did smell a bit so they took their dog outside until it was gone. I would think as long as the place is well ventilated and the kitchen door closed it might be ok.

Ant killer spray

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz

Thanks for the link! Unfortunately doesn’t look like that’s available in the US :/

Try this:

TERRO Ant Killer Liquid 16 oz Mfr# T401-6 - Ace Hardware

Use TERRO Ant Killer Spray inside and outside the home when it comes to ants and more. Killing ants, spiders, cockroaches, and many other insects, this truly will be a favorite spray to use against common household pests. When using this aerosol spray, get fast knock-down results and expect up...

www.acehardware.com

I doubt it’s pet safe but it’s the one we bought. Also, Bernie is in the dining room which shares the same space as the kitchen and living room, so there isn’t any walls or doors separating them

 

[Maz]

@Maz

Thanks for the link! Unfortunately doesn’t look like that’s available in the US :/

Try this:

TERRO Ant Killer Liquid 16 oz Mfr# T401-6 - Ace Hardware

Use TERRO Ant Killer Spray inside and outside the home when it comes to ants and more. Killing ants, spiders, cockroaches, and many other insects, this truly will be a favorite spray to use against common household pests. When using this aerosol spray, get fast knock-down results and expect up...

www.acehardware.com

I doubt it’s pet safe but it’s the one we bought. Also, Bernie is in the dining room which shares the same space as the kitchen and living room, so there isn’t any walls or doors separating them

My only concern with that one is it says it continues to kill for about 6 weeks after use. If your hamster or any other pet happened to get out and in the kitchen they could come across it on the floor or the wall. Whether it smells strong or not you'd have to test outside to see maybe.

The traps with bait sound ok. Maybe see if you can find one that's specifically for ants that is more pet-safe? That one seems to kill an awful lot of things.

 

[Maz]

Apparently vinegar kills them. If you get white vinegar spray and use that it will kill any that are around and use the bait traps to completely eliminate them by the ones who take the bait going back to the nest which kills the rest of them as the worker ants pass on the bait for feeding.

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz

Oh I thought that vinegar just deterred them rather than killing them!

Would it be just straight distilled white vinegar rather than a 50/50 water/vinegar solution?

They are definitely swarming the traps. Maybe I won’t need to spray? I’ve never dealt with ants so idk how this all works and I am stressed for Bernie lol

 

[Maz]

I think you might be right. I read in one place that it killed them but elsewhere it just says it enables you to wipe them up! And also kills their scent trails (it was 50/50 yes). It sounds like your bait traps are working so I'd let them do their job. Within a few days they should all be gone.

 

[Maz]

It works by the bait (probably sweet smelling) attracting the ants - they are worker ants who collect food to take it back to the nest - so they carry it back - maybe on their backs, and feed the queens and their offspring - who all then die, and presumably the worker ants die too after ingesting some.

It's a similar idea to leaving an open jar of honey out - ants swarm into anything sweet.

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz

Thank you sooo much!

fingers crossed that the bait traps do their job and I won’t even have to worry about spraying anything.

I guess tonight we’ll move the stove out and see if that’s where they’re coming from and add more traps if needed? Then once they’re all dead from traps in a few days or week or so I can clean up the floor and their carcasses (lol) with distilled white vinegar? Maybe just use straight vinegar rather than mixed with water?

That should keep Bernie safe, I think?

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz @Socks' Mum

Alrighty, my landlord referred us to a pest control company and I spoke with them yesterday. They said they use hospital-grade spray and I believe they just treat where the ants are coming from, not the whole house. I told them I want to avoid spraying unless absolutely necessary and that I ordered better bait online, which they said that stuff is better than what we’re currently. They said to give it 2 weeks with the new bait and if the ants are not cleared up then they can come in and spray. We did find a hole in the wall behind the stove and that looks like where they’re coming from, so that’ll have to be sealed up or something once they are eradicated.

My question is, if spraying becomes necessary, would Bernie and all of his stuff have to be moved completely out of the house for at least a day?

 

[Maz]

I think your traps will eradicate them as it'll kill the nest so no more ants to come. Fingers crossed. Then hopefully you won't need to have anyone in to spray. I think all that would do is kill any remaining ones in the house and not stop them coming, if you see what I mean.

Maybe wait and see - I personally wouldn't like spraying - for humans as well! I'm asthmatic. But yes it would be best to move Bernie out of the house temporarily if it came to it.

 

[clerbird321]

@Maz

Definitely makes sense, thanks! I am glad I ordered the new baits because they’re the most recommended by pest control. Yeah, my boyfriend has asthma too so it wouldn’t be great for any of us lol. We will give it 2 weeks with the baits and go from there. I’ll be keeping bait out all summer

Just so I know for future reference (hope I won’t have to worry about it), how long would Bernie and his stuff have to be out of the house after spraying?

 

[Maz]

I'm not sure to be honest. I think I'd assume a few days and see how long before the fumes go away.

 

[Socks' Mum]

I hope it goes OK