Ok so weve lived in the same house for 6 years and NEVER had ants! UNTIL NOW.... we are overrun with them. I have tried spraying them, putting ant baits down, and they just move to the next room for a while (including the bathroom!) and then they come back after a while... I have wiped out all the places they hide, so as not to attract them, but they still seem to come back.

We have had our house sprayed for spiders (outside) and had insulation put in recently, maybe this has forced them inside??

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!! They are doing my head in!

O poor you!!! Maybe the spiders were previously keeping the population down?? Hmmm... not sure they even eat ants..lol
But...not fun eh? Only thing I've ever sworn by is borax & honey for ants...
Mix a little borax into the honey & leave in a jam jar lid (or several) where they are most active... Apparently they eat it & take it back to the nest - its like "antrid" but cheaper...
A friend once suggested that a line of talcum powder right around your house would stop their trail???

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Ohh I never thought about the spiders doing that! Unfortunatly we have a lot of White Tails, and hubby has been bitten twice with horrible consequenses, so we didnt want to risk it with the kiddies. I will try the borax thing, do you get it in the laundry aisle? (or am i thinking of the wrong thing lol).

I HATE THE LITTLE BUGGERS! Its so annoying having to check that all the lids are on properly every night, and they are even getting into the toothpaste! EWWW

I think maybe the hardware store?? 'Fraid I'm not much help on that score...I got my son to bring me some from Aus (you have Aus to thank for the white ants too I think)
But I just googled it & seems "you can purchase Borax on Trademe. Just type in Borax. It is $12.95 for 400 grams." You only need a tiny amount per saucer & it is really useful for heaps of other things....
"25grm borax in a little hot water and make up to 600mls adding cold water. It will kill greenfly on roses and other plants.When applied to the stems of fruit and other trees, it destroys all insects in and about the bark. and clears blight on apple trees. Brush the solution in this case or a spray will probably do the job.The powder may also be sprinkled on places where infested with insects, black beetles, etc."

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Hey taylor-made I'm wondering if it's a Hamilton thing at the mo. Yesterday I found ants starting to nest in my daughters car seat of all places and this comes hot on the tail of me finding literally 1000's of them nesting in a set of drawers we don't use often. Disgusting!!! Ours aren't exactly racing around getting into everything, instead they hang out in one spot, not moving much but just multiplying in numbers and laying eggs and just being generally disgusting. I hate them...they're just demons on legs, they're the stuff of nightmares so I know how horrible you're finding it! Thanks for the advice Possum, that's really helpful *starts to hum the Pink Panther tune: dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant...*

"*starts to hum the Pink Panther tune: dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant...*"
That is classic!!!! well done both of you with those little "demons on legs"(love that too JP)

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must be jopak! too funny..dead ant dead ant!!!....

Vinegar!!! wipe all your surfaces with it. Ants hate it. It stinks to start with but not toxic so safe for the kiddies!!

Trick is to not spray the nest, as they will just move to another site (ie the bathroom! eek!!)

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Best preemptive strike is to leave no food scraps around...nothing to eat to draw them indoors, so all food waste goes into a sealed bucket for composting

Stops the flies coming inside too!

Black pepper is a nonlethal, poison free, cheap, and safe way to get rid of ants - sprinkle the black pepper where you see them congregating and watch 'them scatter. Follow them to where they're exiting - which is the same spot they're entering in at - and sprinkle the pepper at that spot to keep them from coming back in. It's safe to use in your cabinets, on windowsills, near your pets and kids, around food, etc.

Burn what?? the flies, the food scaps or the ants????

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This reminds me of the ditty I used to sing at school

What do you do when you want to do a poo in an English Country Garden?



You pull down your pants and fertilise the ants in an English Country Garden



Then pick up a leaf and wipe your underneath in an English Country Garden


Then pick up a spade and bury what you made in an English Country Garden

Hmmm ok but these ants are inside!!!???
Do ya think this method would work the same inside as well

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Lol Hawky, we used to sing a version of this song when we were kids too

And Possum I have some thoughts as to whether I think Hawky's advice would work inside but my toddler toilet training stories may not be appreciated

Agreed, once read it over at smilecity years ago, and have done it many times =]