Re: Ant problem

 On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:36:06 +1000, Jonno wrote:

Hi Jonno,


Yeah, possibly? They do come in waves (of sorts) although they are around
more often than not, regardless of weather. But impending rain does seem
to make them more active.


I would say we have had a fair bit of rain overall in recent weeks, but
the soil here is very quick draining. I'm right on the coastline, in Kiama
NSW (Illawarra region)

Either way, the ants tend to be ever present.


They do seem to seek out moisture, lately theyve even invaded the dunny
bowl here, and I can't even leave fresh cut herbs or other vegetable
matter on the kitchen bench for longer than about 15 minutes.
I'm even brushing them off of my computer desk as I type this...

I find it a little odd, since it isnt /that/ bloody dry here, as mentioned
we have had a fair bit of rain here this year. And yet, they do seem to be
seeking out moisture all the same - not to mention food of course.


Hmm, theyre much darker than in that photo, but apart from that
seem to be the same size and shape...
(nice site though - I'll be moving to Tassie in a few months myself).

Thanks for the help Jonno, I might phone the ag dept next week and see
what they might suggest.

 Jeßus wrote:

Try putting a few on your scanner if you have one.Then get on their
website and sen em ther pic.

 

I suspect they are carpenter ants. They are small, also prone to invading
houses and I think there are varieties that eat plants.

I am in WA and after a recent home invasion went on the attack. I sprinkled
talcum powder along the back of the house that they were gaining access
through. I found a nest which I poured some kerosene down. I also found some
trails coming from neighbours which I made a syrup up for. The syrup was 1
cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of water , 1 tablespoon of borax, 1 tablespoon of
boracic acid. The mix was boiled for 3 minutes and bottled when cool. I just
put a teaspoon of this across the trails and they ate it with relish but are
gone 2 days later. You can use this on window sills and bench tops inside,
sticky but effective.

Around the same time I also had a termite scare in the wall of a
hardflex/polystyrene/gyprock  patio enclosure. The termites came in and ate
all the brown paper off the unexposed side of the gyprock. I suspect the
ants were coming in to eat the termites and having a look around for other
food sources. My only clue to termites was a small trail of mud where the
gyprock butted up against an aluminium window. I was lucky as only aluminium
channeling was used and no wood. I have installed a moisture barrier now
which keeps the soil drier than before making it less attractive to
termites. I also had a spot treatment and installed some termite monitors
which I check monthly. So have a look for signs of termites as well.

Cheers

Richard

 Just came across some old written notes I had taken down at one of those No
Chemical workshops.

Orange oil for ants.  I myself have not heard of Orange Oil before, but hope
it helps someone.

Also borax and jam.

We tried AntRid but was of no use.

Katherine