Black Ant Problem
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Subject Author Date
Black Ant Problem Wayne Boatwright 08-25-2008
Posted by Wayne Boatwright on August 25, 2008, 12:25 pm
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We live in the Arizona desert near Phoenix and have a significant problem
with large black ants in the yard. We have had exterminators (costly), but
they were only successful for a period of time before the ants returned.

I had read somewhere that one could make a solution of water, sugar, and
borax (boric acid?), which was an effective poison for ants. The problem is
that I don't know the proportions that should be used.

Can anyone here help with this? Are there other homemade options that I
don't know about? We're trying to steer clear of commercial products, and
also stay as "green" as possible.

TIA                  

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 08(VIII)/25(XXV)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Labor Day
6dys 14hrs 40mins
*******************************************
'If you can't hear me it's because I'm
in parentheses.' s.w.
*******************************************

Posted by Art on August 25, 2008, 12:58 pm
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> We live in the Arizona desert near Phoenix and have a significant problem
> with large black ants in the yard. We have had exterminators (costly), but
> they were only successful for a period of time before the ants returned.
>
> I had read somewhere that one could make a solution of water, sugar, and
> borax (boric acid?), which was an effective poison for ants. The problem is
> that I don't know the proportions that should be used.
>
> Can anyone here help with this? Are there other homemade options that I
> don't know about? We're trying to steer clear of commercial products, and
> also stay as "green" as possible.
>
> TIA                  
>
If they're "in the yard" why are they a problem? I can see wanting to
kill them if they are in the house but mostly ants and insects in a yard
are a good thing.

The poison you mention is only effective against sweet eating ants. Give
yours a drop of syrup and see if they devour it.

--
Art

Posted by Wayne Boatwright on August 25, 2008, 1:33 pm
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On Mon 25 Aug 2008 09:58:27a, Art told us...

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> We live in the Arizona desert near Phoenix and have a significant
problem
>> with large black ants in the yard. We have had exterminators (costly),
but
>> they were only successful for a period of time before the ants returned.
>>
>> I had read somewhere that one could make a solution of water, sugar, and
>> borax (boric acid?), which was an effective poison for ants. The
problem is
>> that I don't know the proportions that should be used.
>>
>> Can anyone here help with this? Are there other homemade options that I
>> don't know about? We're trying to steer clear of commercial products,
and
>> also stay as "green" as possible.
>>
>> TIA
>>
> If they're "in the yard" why are they a problem? I can see wanting to
> kill them if they are in the house but mostly ants and insects in a yard
> are a good thing.

Generally, I would agree, but there are literally thousands of them and
they bite, and I don't want the to end up in the house.

> The poison you mention is only effective against sweet eating ants. Give
> yours a drop of syrup and see if they devour it.

Worth a try.

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 08(VIII)/25(XXV)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Labor Day
6dys 13hrs 29mins
*******************************************
Bad things come to those who wait too.
*******************************************


Posted by Art on August 25, 2008, 9:30 pm
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Mon 25 Aug 2008 09:58:27a, Art told us...
>> If they're "in the yard" why are they a problem? I can see wanting to
>> kill them if they are in the house but mostly ants and insects in a yard
>> are a good thing.
>
> Generally, I would agree, but there are literally thousands of them and
> they bite, and I don't want the to end up in the house.
>
>> The poison you mention is only effective against sweet eating ants. Give
>> yours a drop of syrup and see if they devour it.
>
> Worth a try.
>

I'd suggest some research to find out what their food source is and then
see if you can do anything about that. Here on the east coast we get a
lot of small sweet eating ants but they don't sound much like what you
are dealing with. They "farm" aphids to live off of their excrement as
it is sweet. So we go after the aphids and that seems to work very well.

Good luck!

--
Art

Posted by Wayne Boatwright on August 25, 2008, 10:47 pm
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On Mon 25 Aug 2008 06:30:59p, Art told us...

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Mon 25 Aug 2008 09:58:27a, Art told us...
>>> If they're "in the yard" why are they a problem? I can see wanting to
>>> kill them if they are in the house but mostly ants and insects in a
yard
>>> are a good thing.
>>
>> Generally, I would agree, but there are literally thousands of them and
>> they bite, and I don't want the to end up in the house.
>>
>>> The poison you mention is only effective against sweet eating ants.
Give
>>> yours a drop of syrup and see if they devour it.
>>
>> Worth a try.
>>
>
> I'd suggest some research to find out what their food source is and then
> see if you can do anything about that. Here on the east coast we get a
> lot of small sweet eating ants but they don't sound much like what you
> are dealing with. They "farm" aphids to live off of their excrement as
> it is sweet. So we go after the aphids and that seems to work very well.
>
> Good luck!
>

I've actually tried to find this out by observation, but I never seen them
with what appears to be a food source. Our yard is compacted granite and I
never see any other insects. These ants disappear into several holes in
the ground during the heat of the day, and only appear in the morning and
evening cooler temperatures. I suspect the queen and the primary nest
could even be miles from our property. I also suspect that we will never
eradicate the total colony, but only manage to control those that appears
on our property. It will be an ongoing battle. Even two years of
professional exterminator treatment did not eradicate the population, but
it did disappear for periods of time.

For me, it's a matter of economics. The pros are just too expensive for
ongoing permanent treatment. If I can find an inexpensive treatment that I
can apply on an ongoing or periodic basis, I'll be glad to use it.

Thanks for your input...

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Monday, 08(VIII)/25(XXV)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Labor Day
6dys 4hrs 18mins
*******************************************
Death is a nonmaskable interrupt.
*******************************************


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