Step 6: Oh snap! The ants came back!
Sometimes this happens.
Our whole dorm hall used this remedy, and only one room has had a reoccurring ant problem (it is also the messiest room, so cleaning, as much as it sucks, will probably aid in your war against ants). That one room has continued to use borax and jelly to take care of the ants, because while it hasn't been a permanent solution for them, it keeps the ants away for long periods of time (a month or two between invasions). But like I said, most of us have not had ant problems again.
So, what to do if they come back?
You can remake the jelly-borax solution (if you didn't have many ants dying near the soda cap last time, try upping the borax content slightly).
You can also try some of these things that have been suggested to me (though I haven't tried them myself):
- Mop your floors with a half cup to one whole cup of borax or baking soda per gallon of hot water. Again, keep young children and pets away from this floor. (this probably isn't a good solution if you have young children or wandering pets at all, because it is difficult to close an entire floor space, but if you are sans those varmints, this could be worth a try!)
- You can draw a line/circle of white chalk or petroleum jelly (not the jelly we used previously) around a source of food for the ants or anything you just don't want ants on. Apparently they just don't like to cross the stuff. I have also heard that they just don't like crossing powders in general, but I don't know...
- as should be obvious, clean your room(s), remove open food products (including dirty dishes), and take out the trash
Here is a link to a site with more nontoxic ant solutions. I have not tried them all, but what could it hurt?
Our whole dorm hall used this remedy, and only one room has had a reoccurring ant problem (it is also the messiest room, so cleaning, as much as it sucks, will probably aid in your war against ants). That one room has continued to use borax and jelly to take care of the ants, because while it hasn't been a permanent solution for them, it keeps the ants away for long periods of time (a month or two between invasions). But like I said, most of us have not had ant problems again.
So, what to do if they come back?
You can remake the jelly-borax solution (if you didn't have many ants dying near the soda cap last time, try upping the borax content slightly).
You can also try some of these things that have been suggested to me (though I haven't tried them myself):
- Mop your floors with a half cup to one whole cup of borax or baking soda per gallon of hot water. Again, keep young children and pets away from this floor. (this probably isn't a good solution if you have young children or wandering pets at all, because it is difficult to close an entire floor space, but if you are sans those varmints, this could be worth a try!)
- You can draw a line/circle of white chalk or petroleum jelly (not the jelly we used previously) around a source of food for the ants or anything you just don't want ants on. Apparently they just don't like to cross the stuff. I have also heard that they just don't like crossing powders in general, but I don't know...
- as should be obvious, clean your room(s), remove open food products (including dirty dishes), and take out the trash
Here is a link to a site with more nontoxic ant solutions. I have not tried them all, but what could it hurt?
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Danielk
says:
Jul 14, 2009. 2:43 AMReply
I found(after my dorm was attacked on multiple occasions), once you rid yourself of ants(I used the modded lighter flame thrower technique), they tend to come back and use the same exact trails. Since I have carpet, I sprayed down copious amounts of Axe deoderant, engulfing their entire trail. I have yet to see more than 4 or 5 ant scouts at a time. This has been a few months now. If the come back, I will have to try your awesome tutorial.
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