Over the past week I have been trying out several different methods to get rid of ants. Some were successful and some just made the ants angry. I started out just concentrating on the outdoors but several days ago a line of ants marched one by one from our front door to a chunk of cookie that B left on the floor. So I will highlight the indoor techniques I used.
OUTDOOR
Hot Water - Sure it works and kills the ants as you pour it onto them. But it was not long lasting. Any ants that did not instantly die came back with a vengeance and rebuilt their hills even higher. I am sure there are dart boards with my face on them somewhere in there.
Vinegar - This had instant results where all ants that came into contact with the vinegar died. A few ants did survive and rebuilt their hills but there was not nearly as many ants that remained as there was with the hot water technique.
Cornmeal - I poured it right on top of the ant hills. Those ants must love polenta because they ate it right up and never came back. It took longer to work initially (as in it is not instant) but the results were permanent.
Overall I would say that using cornmeal was the best method of getting rid of ants outdoors. Just make sure you do it when there is no chance of rain or else it will not work. Vinegar does work as well but my neighbour said when he uses this technique it kills his grass. So that is something to keep in mind too.
INDOOR
Cinnamon - See the problem with this is that I put a line of it by the front door where I swear those fuckers are getting in. But I think what I did was trap the one's that were already in the house inside and then made it so that the one's outside still came in, then saw the cinnamon and got all OMGWTFCINNAMON and instead of leaving then went under the base boards and around the cinnamon. Tricky buggers.
Cornmeal - I poured it along the path they were taking but these evil geniuses just went around it! I did see some going for it and then taking some away with them so it obviously did work but not nearly as effective as when used directly on a hill.
Steam Mop - Seriously. I steam mopped the crap out of them. If they survived the cornmeal then they did not survive the steam mop.
Okay so not as good of results as the outdoor techniques. There are still ants inside but not the army of them I happened upon when I came downstairs Monday morning. I will try cinnamon outside the house where I think they are coming in once all this rain stops.
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