Ant Problem

[Arconna]

I got home last night to find ants running up and down the walls where I keep my crickets. They were actually attacking some of the dying ones. I want to say there are probably at least a hundred trafficking from two little holes in the wall and then from somewhere else. I've put two of those little ant killer plastic things with the goop in it, but there are so many ants now that after a while the things fill up with dead ants.

SO does anyone have any suggestions with how to get rid of ants? I have to find a new place to keep my lizard food cause they are just infesting everything...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Right now it is so hot outside that there lots of people having ant problems. The BEST thing you can get is probably what you used... a product called Terro. It is a liquid that you put on a small piece of cardboard that attracts the ants, and they eat it and take it back to the colony to feed the queen. It kills the ants, and when the queen dies the rest of the colony self-destructs.

You can also smear Vaseline around the base of your feeder container. The ants will not cross it, and the Vaseline gets on their feet so the scent trail cannot be detected by other ants.

I had ants kill one of the hatchlings in an incubator a few years ago. The little thing was pipped in the egg, so I left it alone for about a half hour. When I came back, there was a solid black trail of ants leading right into the incubator, and the little baby had been bitten so badly it looked like ground beef! Poor little thing was still alive, so I treated it with Benadryl and Cortisone cream, bit it died shortly after. Very tragic.

 

[brandy101010]

OMG! So sorry about your gecko! I have ants in my kitchen and I can't seem to get rid of them. I have tried the ant traps and they don't seem to work that well. I'm limited on products I can use because of all the animals I have. I never thought they would attack my animals! I have noticed that when I use cleaners with orange or citrus sent it keeps them away for awhile. not sure if you would want to use that around animal cages though.

 

[Arconna]

That is absolutely terrible about your gecko .
I checked my Leo's and Beardies cages and didn't see them bugging them, but they were all over in my superworm bin and the cricket cage...and literally were coming in hundreds from two little cracks in the ceiling. I put some stuff down which is at least diverting them away from anything else (at least that I now of...I'm at work right now :S). I'm probably going to get some caulk or somethning and plug up that crack though. I can't have them terrorizing the food or my animals, and I have 4 new leo's coming next week...just can't have ants up there :S.

Thanks guys.

 

[Jadormdrache]

I use ant spikes you can pick them up at Home Depot you place them around the outside of the house, havent had a big ant problem in the 2 years I ve used them.

 

[leopardgecko95]

we put down like pestisides i think

 

[geckogod2]

we use boric acid . we use it inside and outside. As long as the crix don't come in contact, it should be fine. we put it in any crevice we have to prevents ants. i found a good idea on line. We actually took boric acid and mixed it with peanut butter. we made peanut butter/boric acid balls and let the ants consume that.
it works.

 

[Grinning Geckos]

we use boric acid . we use it inside and outside. As long as the crix don't come in contact, it should be fine. we put it in any crevice we have to prevents ants. i found a good idea on line. We actually took boric acid and mixed it with peanut butter. we made peanut butter/boric acid balls and let the ants consume that.
it works.

That was EXACTLY what I was going to suggest. I just didn't because I wasn't 100% sure I had the ingredients right. Just be sure no other animals can get to it. A dog would eat it in a heartbeat....bad news!

 

[Arconna]

Yeah we have a big infestation. I came home and the things my grandma had given me to use (little packages with clear death liquid inside) were filled with black dead ants. And ants were still coming in in thick lines. So I bought some raid thingies temporarily. They've got a next in the ceiling I think so I am going to get some caulk and seal up the cracks they are coming in. I also had a little fun spraying them with glass cleaner...I will get some of those ant spikes. Give those a shot. We have a big house though so it might take quite a few :S. It's been a long time since we had ants like this, actually I don't remember any time when we had ants like this...
The ant things are keeping themn away from my animals and their food for the time being though.
I also had the unfortune of finding a black widow in that same area and hopefully I killed it. I smashed it with this swiffer thing with a metal pole in the center and it disappeared. SO I assume it's in the broom...which is now outside...
I have to get this insect issue underwraps ASAP...

 

[Montezuma]

Right now it is so hot outside that there lots of people having ant problems. The BEST thing you can get is probably what you used... a product called Terro. It is a liquid that you put on a small piece of cardboard that attracts the ants, and they eat it and take it back to the colony to feed the queen. It kills the ants, and when the queen dies the rest of the colony self-destructs.

You can also smear Vaseline around the base of your feeder container. The ants will not cross it, and the Vaseline gets on their feet so the scent trail cannot be detected by other ants.

I had ants kill one of the hatchlings in an incubator a few years ago. The little thing was pipped in the egg, so I left it alone for about a half hour. When I came back, there was a solid black trail of ants leading right into the incubator, and the little baby had been bitten so badly it looked like ground beef! Poor little thing was still alive, so I treated it with Benadryl and Cortisone cream, bit it died shortly after. Very tragic.

I had ants kill one of my 1st APTOR babies... I was SOOOOOO pissed!

 

[boutiquegecko]

Ants also don't like peppermint, neither do a lot of bugs. If you were wanting a more natural/pesticide free approach.

 

[LeosForLess]

Anteaters work well, i hear theyre hard to find though.

We have tons of problems with them, we just use these ant traps, they work for like a few days then its done. It only gets our basement, so we jus tkind of let them g odown there, but i isnt horrible.