Re: Ants taking over

Cheryl wrote:

> When I first moved into my home 8 years ago I had ants getting inside in
the 
> spring, then found the termites. I had a termidor treatment in 2002 or
2003 
> and no ants have gotten inside since but have gotten close (the termidor
has 
> been effective in not only repelling the termites but the ants, too). I 
> swear my home and property are on top of an ant hill because they are 
> everywhere. If I leave anything outside on the ground they take it over
- 
> bags of mulch, lawnmower left out of the shed, anything they can live
under. 
> I have cleaned everything up and now they are taking over my flower
beds.  I 
> know ants are beneficial but how can they be controlled?  I put out
small 
> piles of Borax but they just run over it. Will they still take it back
to 
> the nest and spread it to the queens?
> 
> Only one time this year have they tried getting in and it was through
the 
> kitchen window. I put Borax on the inside of the sill and they
eventually 
> stopped trying to get in. 
> 
> 

It's hard to give a good answer due to there being a number of different 
ant species you may be dealing with and there is not a one fix all type 
product (termidor is close)...I would avoid putting borates out into the 
environment, it will act as a long term herbicide killing your landscape.

Lar