Eeeeew, tiny red ants!

stormy

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Help!!! My house has been invaded by tiny, tiny red ants...I can't keep them out of the cat food!!
I hate using bug spray, but I have sprayed them (then cleaned up the bug spray very thoroughly)
I bought ant buttons with 2 kinds of bait in them and nothing works.

The cat bowl is elevated and those little suckers can still climb up the wire legs.
I've had to clean out both cat dishes and the stand about 3 times in the last 2 days. I just cleaned it again and put a ring of cinnamon around the bowls to see of that helps, I remember reading ants don't like cinnamon.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of these guys???
 

halfpint

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OMG I have them to, they get into everything and nothing, they said it's because we had so much rain here in So Ca, I am calling someone tomorrow, I get sick spraying raid and all those things, They are a pain
 

kittylea

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Ewww. I dont really have any advice for ya but i just want to know...
How can you sleep with them in your house? I would be up all hours of the night!
 

xocats

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You must get rid of their scent trails. I use a small steam cleaner & steam the heck out of anything they may have walked on. Good Luck
 

ravin

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I am so glad you posted this. I to have them. I have raised the cat bowls and nothing works. Mine are tiny brown ants but so many. I have tried to find where they are coming from but can't.
I spoke with a friend and they said to try something called Terro it is suppose to work real good.
I am going to try some will let you know if it works.
 

xocats

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When an ant walks, it leaves a scent trail that others can follow. You can't get rid of the ants unless you get rid of the scent trails, which have no odor to us, nor can you see a trail. Watch the ants & wipe down with hot water where they have walked. If you see one ant, erase it's trail. You may have to kill the first bunch of ants but soon you should be ant free if you keep at it & catch the first ant & erase it's trail. Never sleep...always be alert for the ants...they are coming.
 

ravin

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Originally Posted by xocats

When an ant walks, it leaves a scent trail that others can follow. You can't get rid of the ants unless you get rid of the scent trails, which have no odor to us, nor can you see a trail. Watch the ants & wipe down with hot water where they have walked. If you see one ant, erase it's trail. You may have to kill the first bunch of ants but soon you should be ant free if you keep at it & catch the first ant & erase it's trail. Never sleep...always be alert for the ants...they are coming.
I'm going to try washing the area down with hot water, I also have a large rug in the center of the kitchen they have been on also should I steam clean the rug?
 

xocats

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I am not sure. If they are on the rug, they must have found a trail. I could be wrong but I don't think that you have a choice about the rug. Clean it. Do you know were they are getting into your place? There may be a main area that you can find were they are getting in. The little hand steam cleaners like you see on QVC or at Home Depo work really well. They are not expensive & you can clean your bathroom, kitchen, windows with them all the time without chemicals. That is why I got mine. No chemicals.


Originally Posted by ravin

I'm going to try washing the area down with hot water, I also have a large rug in the center of the kitchen they have been on also should I steam clean the rug?
 

xocats

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I think that anything that won't hurt our pets or children is worth a try.
 

ravin

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I have a hand held steamer for hairball mishaps on my carpet
and I have a shampoo vac. I have been keeping the area clean but they just keep coming back. My best guess is that they might be coming in somewhere by the patio door and going behind a counter I have which leads straight to the cat food.
Problem is I can't get behind the counter to see, it is attached to the wall with only a 1 1/2" gap between it and the wall and is 6 ft long.
I'll try wiping down both sides and around the counter floor real good and see what happens?
 
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stormy

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Thanks everyone!! I'll have to try the steam thing and see how that works!

Ravin, I love your kitties in your siggy!
Destiny's pose cracks me up!!!
 
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stormy

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Originally Posted by kittylea

Ewww. I dont really have any advice for ya but i just want to know...
How can you sleep with them in your house? I would be up all hours of the night!
They are mainly in the dining room area, they haven't made it upstairs yet.
 

ravin

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Originally Posted by stormy

Thanks everyone!! I'll have to try the steam thing and see how that works!

Ravin, I love your kitties in your siggy!
Destiny's pose cracks me up!!!
Hi Stormy. Thanks! Believe it or not she sleeps that way! Silly girl! I tried the steaming and washing down eveywhere last night were I saw them little creatures, and it did help. Today I did find some more but not nearly as many. I am going to keep doing it each day and see what happens.
 

rockcat

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I used a spray last year that advertises as not harmful to children or pets. I'll look up the name when I get home and let you know tomorrow. It smells herbal. I am not a chemist and don't necessarily trust that its not harmful. I figured it would be safer than RAID, etc. though. It worked great, killing the ants instantly. IMPORTANT: EVEN THOUGH THE CAN SAID IT WASN'T HARMFUL, I KEPT MY CATS AWAY AND WASHED THE AREA THOROUGHLY BEFORE LETTING THEM BACK. The scent did linger, but was not unpleasant.
 
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