Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

Please help me get rid of very small black ants. I have sprayed everything I can think of and have had professional folks try. The ants are still there. Warm weather is coming and I need help.

Jerryno1 from Yorktown, VA

Answers:

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

I swear by the cinnamon! I've tried the vinegar, doesn't phase my ants at all. I put some cinnamon in the window sill, and the ants don't come in the kitchen or my room any more.

By Smogzilla

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

I have found that something as simple as chili powder gets rid of them safely and quickly. Just pour a straight line around where you think they are entering home, behind kitchen sink, etc., they will not cross over it and will go find another place to "bug". It truly works.

By Judy

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

Chalk works, a lot of chalk, guess same as baby powder, they won't walk over it. What is terro?

By Jerry

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

I have used bay leaf. Just lay the leaves on the counter where you think they are coming in. Must be they don't like the smell. I've watched them approach the bay leaf, and they retreat as soon as they get near it. I have found some dead on the counter, too. This works the best for me.

By Lady Claire

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

I've had great luck with just plain vinegar. Pour it into a sprayer bottle and spritz countertops, door jambs, anyplace you have seen ants. Or just wet a rag with vinegar and wipe down the surfaces. Just let the vinegar dry -- the smell goes away in just a few minutes.

By Becki in IN

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

Powdered Borax works fairly well too, but takes longer than the baby powder.

By Susan

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

I place whole cloves around the area where I see them, just a few. I also have used the cheaper ground cinnamon for the large carpenter ants trying to make a home in the wooden columns in front of the house. This works great in the garden too!

By Diamondee

Getting Rid of Tiny Black Ants

Tammy, go over to Wal-mart buy some Sevin dust it looks and feels like flour, just toss on the ants. It's bio-degradable; the ants die on contact sweep them up and mop or vacuum the floor and your done. (04/07/2005)

By Jeff

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

Go to the dollar store and pick up a couple of cans of Lemon furniture polish. Simply spray it around baseboards, door jambs, counters, wherever the little buggers are (be careful to keep it near the walls as it will make the floor slippery!) Do this every couple days and they will be gone. Don't know why, but with the little black ants it has worked every time! (02/23/2006)

By Kathy

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

I have used this Organic Ant Bait for several years with 100% success. I have used it indoors and also for outside use, including fire ants. The first day there is a slight increase in ants. Then they dwindle and are gone. I got the "recipe" from Organic Gardening magazine. It uses boric acid, but only a very small amount so that the ants will live long enough to bring the dose to the feed the colony.

Materials and Ingredients:

1. boric acid
2. sugar
3. cotton balls
4. water
5. old plastic containers

Directions:

1. Make a 1% boric acid and 20% sugar solution by dissolving 1 tsp. of boric acid and 6 Tablespoons of sugar in 2 cups water. Do this in a clear jar so you can see when all the boric acid crystals are dissolved.
   
2. Soak some cotton balls in this bait solution.
   
3. Make bait dispensers by punching holes in an old margarine lids (careful with this part). Put the cotton balls inside and cover them with the lids so the bait won't dry out. I have also used berry containers with success.
   
4. Place the containers where you see ants.
   
5. Clean the containers and freshen up the bait solution 1X a week.
   
6. Be patient, let those worker ants continually carry boric acid back to feed ants in the nest.
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7. Do not sprinkle undiluted boric acid directly on grass, as I did once it will kill the grass.

By kayla

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

We have tried cinnamon in our house and it doesn't seem to work. We have tried Clorox bleach. Mix hot tap water with the bleach and wipe everything down. The ants don't like it and it will help repel them. (04/09/2006)

By LZepplin

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

Well I talked to a pest control person and he said that all sprays are oil based, so I used WD 40. It worked, but I found that baby oil comes in a spray bottle. I sprayed it around the doors, windows, and on their trail. They can't walk on it and they get stuck. It works good on all places. (08/11/2007)

By ALBERT

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

I use commercial spray like Raid by saturating a rag with it (spray the rag outside or in the garage). Just wipe along the areas where ants seem to be coming in the kitchen, the rim around the sink, under the edge of the counter tops, etc. Doing it this way, toxins don't come in contact with anything on the counter or any food accidentally left out. I do this at night so all is perfectly dry the next day when I work in the kitchen. (04/25/2008)

By Allison

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

Use Simple Green spray. Works in Minnesota, it cripples them dead. (06/13/2008)

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

To get rid of any insect in the house, try any orange or lemon oil based cleaner. I get the cheap stuff from the dollar store and it works miracles. Just spray the stuff on them and the will die in seconds.

Use it to clean areas where they are likely to show up and they will not come to visit. I have even used it to kill wasps and larger spiders in the garden. You can't beat the price or the results! (07/07/2008)

By Shelly

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

Terro works and it's the same thing as the formula with boric acid, water, and sugar. I've had success with both. These small nasty black ants have more than one queen. The soldier ants bring it back to the nest and kills the queens and new borns - as well as themselves with time. (08/12/2008)

By Jenna

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

As I understand it Sevin is scheduled to be banned as being too toxic. Recommend one of the less toxic solutions. (11/10/2008)

By Sue

Getting Rid of Small Black Ants

I can gain limited control of these little pests using a barrier of Vicks Vapor Rub. I smear a thin layer around their entrance site (which changes frequently) and they quickly retreat from the strong aroma. Contents include eucalyptus/turpentine/camphor/cedar oil/nutmeg and thymol. (01/05/2009)

By Dick H.