Ants.

Have an exterminator spread some powder around the foundation of your house. Then you have to plug any and every hole on the house with caulking, mortar or tar. Don't use the spray foam insulation. Ants love it. It's a problem basically everywhere you live this time of year. I live in New England and they are around for about a month or so and then they are gone, every year. Ant traps aren't gonna help very much unless you seal off the house completely from the outside. This all of course assumes that you have no rotten wood on your house. Any rot is going to help breed the insects and allow them to live in your home.
If the outside grade of your yard is very high up the foundation close to any wood you need to do something about that. That is the most common cause of rot. Hope it helps.

We are having new sidings & windows. I live in New England too. Any other suggestions?

There stuff called Terro that comes in an orange box and you can buy it at WalMart. Put it in a saucer, the ants will swarm it and it will wipe them out. Also, if you can find some Diazanon, spray it around the foundation of your house, then spread Diazanon granules around your property line. This is the first year I've got them under control, I think my neighborhood was built on a giant anthill.

Bay leaves placed where the ants are entering, if you know, or areas where you see them alot.

There stuff called Terro that comes in an orange box and you can buy it at WalMart.

We have quite a problem with those little blighters here, Tried Terro, and it didnt do squat.

Don't use the spray foam insulation

Depends on the ants and also what kind of spray foam you use...

Try some 'Great Stuff' (brand) foam...Works 'wonders' at keeping those cracks and holes sealed off.

Diatomaceous Earth


http://ighawaii.com/naturally/naturalanimal/de.html

you're going to want to have your foundation inspected, at least minimally.. my parent's problem was that the ants were thriving in the rotting wood.

put 1, 2 and 5 euro cent coins (or something else from copper) on the ground... it das help. really.

Spray them with some Windex...cheap an effective

I used to work as an exterminator, in Texas and dealt with several variety of Ants, and can tell you this. There is no real stopping, ants.
Ants are mainly after two things, Food and Water. Try keeping everything as clean and spic and span as possible. They work by following a trailblazer (scout) that lays down a chemical trail left by the scout, so once you see a trail, kill, them and clean the trail all the way back to their entry point into the house. All you will really be doing is fighting the symptoms of infestation, more than likely they will re-emerge somewhere else in the house. You can contact an exterminator and get some ant baits, that are of a greater chemical stregth, than over the counter stuff. The main thing is to look at their pattern of trails and maybe locate outside, where they are mounding and bait and kill the colony. Also be aware if they have wings, they might termites. Good luck!

FMC Corporation....

FluorGuaRD :TM: Ant Control


Winter they seek out Sugars (Carbs), Summer they seek out Meats and such (Protiens)...


we've used it and it works fantastic.

http://pestsolutions.fmc.com/Pest_Solutions/Product/0,1673,1863,00.html

EventHorizonyour ants didn't respond to Terro?? Wow!! I would be afraid of them!

CygnusXII, we have winged ants around here this year, lots of them.

When we finally got rid of our ants, we found that they were living in a large flowerpot that had roses growing in them. There were MILLIONS of ants in there and they were travelling all around the house and going back to the pot. It's amazing how far they go.

EventHorizonyour ants didn't respond to Terro??

Hawaiian rainforest makes for strong ants.

field mice in the winter....ladybugs in early spring....little black ants in late spring....wasps in the summer....chipmunks year round That's just inside the house. The house is 120-year old no way to ever plug up all the holes

Do you live in the woods Ess? Cause those are the symptoms of my old house

....on the outskirts lovely downtown Dunbarton....if you blink....you'll miss it. Close encounters....errr pedestrian traffic crossing the road I live on have included a moose, 1/2 dozen deer and a black bear with her two cubs. On the property have been a couple of deer, a coydog (evil), grey squirrels, chipmunks, a snake that was no match for the lawnmower, moles, a couple of hummingbirds (too cool), skeeters, blackflies and toads. Soon the dragonflies and bats will be back to help reduce the skeeter population The house is surrounded by woods and farmland.

Spray them with some Windex...cheap an effective

Gonna try this first.

I like to stand over them with a book, and when they're all dead, I wait for more, and I'm a very persistent person ,I'll stand there for hours if I have to. I'm down in Indiana, and those stupid black ants are here around this time every year, Last year there was a cheeto hidden under my brother's bed, and his entire floor was covered with the freakin' things, and don't even get me started on the flea problem we used to have...

Windex clears up all things.

China...Win-dex is for Win-ders....

Jafo, talking in my dialect.......

Windex did work. Thanx, China.

Win-dex is for Win-ders....

...those mountain gals are awesome...aren't they???

mountain gals

Aren't they usually missing some teeth, though?

That's what they get for chawing RedMan from the age of 13 on!


popped in for a minute before jumping in the shower for my doc apt and could not resist.. hehe