Ants indoors, what a pain :-(

[Pulsedriver]

Hey folks, been living in our house since November 2015, have done various renovations since, however, more recently we decided to have our patio done at the back, before it was the original concrete (1970s) which went right up to the house / small add-on conservatory and about 3/4 meter out (yep not much step before the grass!)
Anyhow, we had new patio slabs laid and the guy left a "channel" gap between the edge of the house and the patio slabs starting, our plan is to just put decorative stones in there, however a couple of weeks back (less than a week after the patio had been laid) I noticed a few ants at the conservatory door area, realised they were coming from underneath the patio door outside and straight in underneath the laminate floor edging , so I went on a mission to caulk the edging top and bottom, even outside sealing the gap underneath patio door step and brick, and then completely doused the outside area with ant powder and spray, anyhow a few days later ants appeared in the conservatory again, I figured the only possible place was under the step between conservatory door to lounge so I caulked there, went to work, cue a call several hours later from the other half saying ants in the lounge, so i came back, lifted the carpet edges laid powder and sprayed raid, no more appeared. That was Friday, since then I've seen a few dead ones in the conservatory, but tonight I found about 20 - 25 in the lounge on the other side of the door to Friday, so I did the same lifted carpet, also caulked window frame for any gaps.

It's doing my head in, I can't see any ants outside, I have no idea where they are coming from, it has to be something to do with the patio being done as last year we did not have any issues like this at all.

Any ideas on a tactic? I fear if I just keep caulking everywhere they will find somewhere else to appear from?

I did notice gaps between skirting board and concrete floor, was considering filling those too...

I'm at the point where I'm tempted to just rip the laminate flooring up in the conservatory just to see if I can see where they are coming in from as I can't see anything anywhere else

 

[chrcoluk]

Tough one.

I ended up putting tape over where they were entering my house, I left it there for a few months, peeled it off with loads of dead ants but they no longer show up so I guess it worked.

Previous to that I had used some spray but I dont recommend it because (a) it didnt stop them and (b) it caused me some health issues.

 

[Pulsedriver]

The tape is a good idea, but with that said I don't know where they are coming from, they are getting into the conservatory first that is pretty much certain, I checked outside for the usual "holes" but saw nothing, I am wondering if they are actually directly underneath the floor in there, but that doesn't make sense they would have to come from outside somewhere surely. Unless they were trapped in by the patio foundation that got laid down.

 

[bremen1874]

If you keep spraying with a suitable poison you should see them off. I've never had much luck with powders.

If you want to know where they're coming from follow one home.

They'll only come inside in any significant number (20 - 25 ants isn't even worth worrying about) if there's something inside they're after.

I haven't even seen an ant this year up in the moderately frozen Midlands.

 

[Amp34]

Unfortunately the best option may be to get one of the poisons that does the entire nest in. We had a similar issue and after a couple of months decided we had to use an ant nest killer/bait station. It's basically a small plastic box with a slow acting poison inside so the ants take it back to the nest and all the ants eat it.

You position it close to where the ants travel/get into the house. It worked for us, but I can't remember where we got them from, somewhere like B&Q or maybe even Sainsbury's.

EDIT: Yes, it was sainsbury's http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/...key=http:gb/groceries/antstop-bait-station-x2

 

[Armageus]

Nippon ant killer liquid always seemed to do the trick when you can't see where they are coming from.

http://www.vitax.co.uk/home-garden/nippon-ant-killer-liquid/

 

[theone8181]

Ive seen a couple this year, however one of them was upstairs in the sink so no idea where that came from. We used to have a big problem round the back but ive sealed what i can and its reduced their entry. Like you they seem to be concentrated under out patio.

 

[Punt]

We used these little black plastic disks called 'AntStop'. Apparently the ants go in, get infected then go home and infect the rest of the little gits. Whether that's correct or not, it worked for us. They're cheap enough and easy to get from just about any supermarket. Worth a shot?

 

[scorza]

Had them coming into my kitchen once, bleached the floor and put one of those "hockey puck" traps down and didn't see them any more.

 

[boxman2000]

Ant Stop! Bait Station is the thing you're after. Ants collect granuals, take back to next and will decimate nest very quickly. They do a powder if you don't have kids or pets which is just that much quicker as you can just shake a bit in the area they come out.

Also, I think it's better to get rid of nest that way than block off their (visible) exit/entrance point as the issue will still be there.

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah i've just ordered an bait station thing from Amazon. £3 for a 2 pack with delivery.

We seem to get ants around this time everyyear, always by the front door. Never worked out how they get in but with it being an old house there must be gaps somewhere. Those ant traps work a treat though.

 

[Pulsedriver]

I have a couple of the bait stations outside on the patio, but the issue I have with inside is I am not sure where to put it as I genuinely do not know where they are coming from :/ I have powdered all around under the carpet, not great with a kid in the house (he is 6 so knows not to go near it), so will probably hoover it up once this problem gets sorted (that said, it's under the carpet not on top of it)
I bought a gel yesterday called Nippon and its supposed to be some sticky thing, principle the same in that the ants take it to the nest, but just don't know where to put the damn thing :/

Edit - Sod it, I am going to buy the Ant Stop! bait stations, i'll put 4 in the conservatory (one in each corner) and one in the lounge, total overkill, but it's the only way. At least then whichever part they are coming from, should be covered.

 

[Armageus]

I bought a gel yesterday called Nippon and its supposed to be some sticky thing, principle the same in that the ants take it to the nest, but just don't know where to put the damn thing :/

Put it on some strips of cereal box (or other shiny surface), then put them anywhere you have seen ants travelling (although if you have powdered everywhere activity has probably died down) - hasn't got to be accurate, just as long as it is somewhere they are actively travelling.

 

[RoyMi6]

Also highly recommend the Ant Stop! Bait Station.

Had ants in the kitchen. You put them where you see them walking and as other have said they pick up the wee pellets inside and take them back to the nest.

After two or three weeks of things getting worse, they were gone in 48 hours after putting these things out.

 

[boxman2000]

For the cheapskates among us once your bait stations have been depleted, you can drill a hole in the top, with a little funnel you can pour the same branded powder in it and just put a bit of insulation tape to seal it.

 

[robfosters]

If you want to know where they're coming from follow one home.

Keep a safe distance though in case they get suspicious.

I find a trilby and dark glasses help.

 

[Martynt74]

Keep a safe distance though in case they get suspicious.

I find a trilby and dark glasses help.

Don't forget the newspaper with eye holes cut out.

 

[Vern1961]

We had them coming in the kitchen through a gap where the water main comes up through the floor (I jokingly referred to the hole as the entrance to hell). A couple of hockey pucks and a good old dosing with a barrier spray seemed to cure the problem. Reminds me I really need to put fresh traps down just in case... I hate ants with a vengeance, should all be deported

 

[Haze]

The bait stations, as mentioned above, are meant to be very good

 

[Em3bbs]

We had them coming in the kitchen through a gap where the water main comes up through the floor (I jokingly referred to the hole as the entrance to hell). A couple of hockey pucks and a good old dosing with a barrier spray seemed to cure the problem. Reminds me I really need to put fresh traps down just in case... I hate ants with a vengeance, should all be deported

We had this as well, we have a shower room at the front of the house where the stop **** is in a cupboard and ants were getting in and I couldn't work out where from. Powder all around the front of the house didn't work and then I ended up putting powder around the mains pipe because I spotted a few in the cupboard and that did the job.