OT: Ants coming though diswasher drain...
- Thread starter Bloomnit
- Start date
???????
Apparently, where your drain tube goes down to where ever there is a leak. Are you on a slab? No basement, crawlspace? Something is up.
That's what happens when you don't pre-rinse your dishes
I have that same problem around this same time. I simply pour Arm and Hammer into the drain on a regular basis. There may be attracted to the remnants of food in the garbage disposal.
What you have there is a portal to the Ant World.
Hate to break it to you, but your are The Gatekeeper.
How they are getting in is an issue.
To kill them I highly recommend a borax/boric acid product such as sold by Terro. This product actually will result in an INCREASE in the amount of ants drawn to it, as the colony makes tracks to it. However, they cannot digest this product. They take it back to the colony and feed everyone, including the queen and the colony will die. It can take a day or two, but I've used it to success every time.
To kill them I highly recommend a borax/boric acid product such as sold by Terro. This product actually will result in an INCREASE in the amount of ants drawn to it, as the colony makes tracks to it. However, they cannot digest this product. They take it back to the colony and feed everyone, including the queen and the colony will die. It can take a day or two, but I've used it to success every time.
Ask CR. If anybody feels comfortable with garbage and sewers, it's him.
I'm curious; big or tiny ants? We have a tiny ant issue in the kitchen about once a year. I buy spray poison and get in every crevice near the window where they seem to be most numerous. A couple times the got into our pantry, so we had to remove all the food, clean thoroughly, and seal certain items in zip lock bags. With those efforts I can eliminate the problem for months, but it's a reoccurring issue I'm resigned to deal with. Your issue is a puzzler. One would think that running the DW would wash the ants away, but obviously there's an ingress somewhere where the reinforcements can enter. Are you sure they aren't entering from behind/under the DW and then congregating at the drain? Removing the DW for inspection may have to be accomplished. I wish you well with finding a solution.
Tiny Ants. Have it down to a science in terms of cleaning and sealing, they don't seem to care, even if there's no food there.
They tend to come back on the days where the dishwasher isn't running. so it leads me to believe they wait for it to dry out then come.
This also worked for me. I mixed some borax with some sweet stuff (I think I used maple syrup) and set the mixture out near the ant trails. I let it sit there for a few days and watched the number of ants grow quickly, then slowly get smaller and smaller, eventually to nothing. It worked well for me.
The Terro traps work really well. There is an increase a drop off a rebound and then the colony dies as the final generation succumbs. Can take 1-2 weeks to fully kill off the colony
It is probably not the drain. They are most likely coming through the hole next to the drain.
I had the same problem and simply caulked it. I then sprayed the perimeter and used the pellets on the yard around the house.
Anyone have a solution for a bug called springtails? THey are like a tiny gnat without wings. They don't do any damage but they are an annoying bug I am finding on my window sills.
I once had a problem where I could not find where the ants were coming from but they seemed all over my kitchen. When I put down the borax mix (I used small shiny cardboard squares) and the traffic picked up, I was able to follow the ants moving in and out. Turns out while they were in my kitchen, they had come in from my dining room through a hole in the baseboard) They were travelling along the top of the baseboard (2 1/2 wall lengths). I then moved the borax mix right to the entry point in the dining room (thoughtful as I am to save them the travel time).
It was a huge colony. I found it outside just opposite the inside entry point and soaked the soil with insecticide.
PSU73 has it right. You need to follow the trail if at all possible and find the colony and entry points. This is the most effective means of resolving ant issues. These sound like odorous house ants btw.
That makes it more difficult. I guess the landlord doesn't have the building regularly treated. I'd try like suggested above, caulk around the pipe the drain hose goes down in.
I'm surprised no one mentioned food grade diatomaceous earth or DE. We had a terrible problem with ants in the kitchen and spider crickets in the basement. I was Googling a solution and stumbled across this in some top ten list of getting rid of ants. DE is non-toxic so you can use it inside around kids (people actually eat this stuff) but beware, it is as fine as flour. What we did was spread it all around the basement foundation (outside) of our home and inside in some of the cabinets and near doors where we saw them entering. They were gone in a month. Came back the next year, did the same thing, and have not seen them since! 4 years now!!!
Call an exterminator and forward the landlord the bill. If he/she gives you any crap, alert the housing authority. They'll handle it in no time. If it's your investment property, disregard.
The nice thing about calling someone is they crawl, stoop, bend and do of the dirty work, but more importantly have the equipment and experience to get it diagnose and treat the issue. If the problem still exists don't pay them, or simply demand they return until results to your satisfaction are achieved. Most of these guys have a guarantee.
I agree getting a professional is the key. We had a carpenter ant problem once and tried for a week to get it under control. In doing so, the problem got worse. Finally we call an exterminator and he solved our problem in one visit.
Purchase "Hot Shot" Ant and Roach Killer. Take a decent paper plate such as a Dixie and cut into small discs. Squirt a generous amount of the poison onto the disc and place the disc in the paths that the ants have been using. It'll take a few weeks but you'll win. Important...Do Not use any poison; Do Not kill any ants. You need them to carry the poisoned bait back to their nest for it to work. DON'T LET ANYONE KILL AN ANT DURING THIS PROCESS..very important.
Seems to me that if you want to hire a pro you should call the landlord first to inform them of your intentions, before just sending them a bill. That seems like a good way to fracture a relationship with a landlord to me, unless of course you've already been in touch with him/her and they aren't cooperating.
No doubt. I figured if it's a rental and he's "been" having this problem then something must be up, or like mentioned previously it's his investment property and is just pinching pennies.
Generally, pest control is the landlord's responsibility, so the landlord should be informed before doing anything else.
Also, IMHO, the best way to control ants is to make certain there is no food available for them to eat. If they aren't finding food, they'll mostly go away and maybe you'll maybe see a scout from time to time. Then seal up things up like pipe holes between floors/cabinets, etc. Odds are their nest isn't inside the home and the only way to truly eradicate them is to get rid of the nest. If you use a bait poison they take back to the nest, that can work, but does not always.
If it's carpenter ants, bring in the landlord, and he/she should get professionals to assess and resolve.
Also, IMHO, the best way to control ants is to make certain there is no food available for them to eat. If they aren't finding food, they'll mostly go away and maybe you'll maybe see a scout from time to time. Then seal up things up like pipe holes between floors/cabinets, etc. Odds are their nest isn't inside the home and the only way to truly eradicate them is to get rid of the nest. If you use a bait poison they take back to the nest, that can work, but does not always.
If it's carpenter ants, bring in the landlord, and he/she should get professionals to assess and resolve.
