Ants coming through outlet?

weldrwomn

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We have the little sugar ants and they are coming in through an electrical outlet in the kitchen. Hubby put some poison bait on the counter below the outlet, but how else can we get rid of them? If they are coming through an outlet, does that mean that they are living in the wall? What would any of you suggest?
 

EnzoLeya

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Those things can come from ANYWHERE!!! I hate them!
All you can do is put ant poison traps in the house, poison traps outside your house (the ones that go in the dirt) and draw chalk lines.

They are horrible to get rid of! We lived in a forest area for a year and we had ants almost all summer long. Once an ant finds food it leaves a trail of sent that ants go crazy for, that's how you get so many of them all the sudden.

Get a bunch of those ant traps!!!
 

calico2222

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If they are coming in around the face of the outlet, try putting vaseline around it. It makes it too slippery to get out. Of course, they will probably find another way to get in, but it will help the problem for now. I doubt they are actually living in the walls (but anything is possible). From my experience, suger ants usually try to come inside when it gets hot and dry, and if they can find a pin hole they will use it!
 

gailc

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They are probably coming in from outside and with them being so small it might be hard to detect exactly where but I would check your exterior wall that the outlet is located on.
The problem with baits is sometimes it doesn't get down further into the ant nest. If you locate an ant next take a hollow pipe about and inch in diameter and pound into ground into nest. You should go down at least a foot. Then pour ant bait down pipe and water in thoroughly to force the bait further into the nest. The is what the UW extension entomologist recommends for treatment. Diazonon the best ant insecticide has been taken off the market.
 
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weldrwomn

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The outlet is located on an interior wall. There are only about 1 or 2 ants that come through each day and no obvious nest in the basement.
 

spudsmom

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Bay leaves on the counter help to repel them. We just get them on the floor heading for the cat bowls when the weather turns warm. First sign of them. hubby sets Terro ant traps in their trail. Works like a charm.
 

tigerontheprowl

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I have some massive ants in my house. Somehow they have gotten so big they have trouble climbing up walls. And not only are they big but they are incredibly resilient. I've seen one walk into a poison ant trap and a couple minutes later it walked out as if nothing happened. They can stand up to anything. I decided to cook some hamburgers for supper one day and so I got them out of the freezer and dropped the box (which weighs 20 pounds) on the floor to break the burgers apart. I dropped it right on top of an ant and it crawled away completely unharmed. Nothing seems to kill these things. Next time I see one I'll take a pic of it for you.
 
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weldrwomn

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Those sound like carpenter ants to me. A couple of years ago, at an apt that I was renting, I got so frusterated with the carpenter ants that were coming in (lots of them) that I started setting them on fire. They don't like that. For individuals, I used an aim'n flame and for the nest outside, hairspray and a lighter. Not particularly effective, but it made me feel better.
 

gailc

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Sounds like something I do for colorado potato beetles. I inspect my plants daily and carry a jar with a little water, dish soap and gasoline. Bye-bye beetles after I drop them in!!
 

cocoa cream

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We had that problem in our first apartment. We did buy those little traps that the ants get stuck in and put them right under the outlet, but we got tired of that...so we just covered the outlet with masking tape. No more ants!
 

mandy razon

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these are called carpenter ants they nest between your walls so you have to find where they are coming from and spry their whole ant trail and spray the outlet and they might not come in but spray every outlet you could possibly spray ad that might keep away the ants
 

wah102862

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Try Borax powder soap, moth balls and/or dryer sheets. I spray the raid (roaches) for inside outside on the base part of the wall directly under the bricks. Then on the ground of my apt outside directly near the building I put Borax around (one side to other side). Dryer sheets in my pantry behind my water heater, my closets and wherever else I decide. These help not only for ants, but, rodents too!
 

mrblanche

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There are actually a number of different ants that may show up in your house looking for food and water.  We've been fighting with odorous ants for years.  Now that it's getting warm, they'll probably be a problem again.

Professional exterminators use a slow-acting poison in their baits.  Most of what you can buy at the store will kill the ant that eats it before he can get back to the nest to share it with the queen.
 
 

crazycatlady365

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My house is infested so bad poor Amelia and Abigail can't have wet food until the freeze (nov-dec) they started coming a few weeks ago maybe end of feb. and once I put food out it turns black with ants withing 10mins. It's disgusting.
 
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