16 replies to this topic

[123glldd]

This has been going on for over a week now and I kindly ask that you read this whole message. I do not want "natural" remedies. We've tried plenty before they never work. Dish soap is fine temporarily but we have to keep putting it around the bathroom and it's messy and won't keep them out forever. We need a perimeter spray that's gluten free. We use to use home bug spray and now i'm scared to death about gluten and salicylates (another reason I don't want to use all natural...essential oils etc could make me ill i think I don't want a stench.) What the heck are we suppose to use? Someone else asked this question and they never got an answer that i saw so I'm asking again...someone here must know. Sometimes you just need bug spray because nothing else works but i don't want anything that's going to make me ill from chemicals either *sigh*

[123glldd]

OH yes and we bought ant traps...they go into them but they are not taking the bait.

[kareng]

Ok. I'll try. This is based on many years of experience in fighting ants.

Is it warm where you are? I'm hoping it is and the ants are coming in from the outside. If its cold there, the ants have made a home in your walls or floor.

If they are coming in from outside, you need to find where they are coming in. Look carefully for ants climbing up the house wall or foundation or coming in under the garage door. It may take a bit of time to find them as they may only come in in the a.m. Or the afternoon. Who knows what they are thinking. Use a little clear silicone bath tub caulk and fill the hole. Then use any ant spray and spray the wall well. This is outside so it shouldn't bother anyone inside. This is only a temporary fix. You need to follow these ants back to their ant hill.

If you cannot find where they are coming in, get down on the ground and look for ant hills or ants walking in lines.


Once you have found the ant hill, you dig it up, douse it with a good amount of Dawn dish soap ( won't hurt your lawn, plants or the water shed) and drown them with the hose.

spraying is only temporary.

Your real problem is if they have made a home in your walls. You may need an exterminator for this. If you can see where they may have their home, you could try to take off a little dry wall or pull out the insulation and get it out. Otherwise, you will have to shoot a bug spray up in there. They are all chemicals that will stink.

Good luck! Those ants are annoying. Try to eliminate anything they are looking for - food crumbs or water ( dry the shower, fix the dripping sink). Ant bait encourages them to come in as they think its food. Many will look in another part of the house thinking there must be good stuff everywhere.

[pricklypear1971]

I only had luck with putting Terro (I think that's the brand) outdoor baits outside the house and essentially "bribing" them to eat outside. The baits were borax/sugar water. I put a whole box out near where they came in. Refill regularly.

The interior baits only encouraged them to eat inside...

And caulking helps, but if they are deteimed to find water/food they will find a way.

[123glldd]

This is the weird thing about these guys....they don't seem to have any rhyme or reason to what they are looking for. First they went for the garbage can. We took that out of there. Then the storage unit that stands on the floor. Wiped it off and took everything off of it. Then they went to the toilet. They just wander aimlessly.

[123glldd]

And we're currently in the cold...snow on the ground.

[pricklypear1971]

That's not good news. You need an exterminator.

They'd do an invasion in the dry months in AZ. It was clearly a food/water thing.

[kareng]

That's not good news. You need an exterminator.

They'd do an invasion in the dry months in AZ. It was clearly a food/water thing.

Yep!

Prickly and I agree, the ants are living in the house walls or someplace. This needs an exterminator. Are they tiny ants? That's annoying but not too bad. If they are big, Run, don't walk to the phone and call an exterminator. They can spray in the a.m. And you can go out for the day.

[123glldd]

Yep!

Prickly and I agree, the ants are living in the house walls or someplace. This needs an exterminator. Are they tiny ants? That's annoying but not too bad. If they are big, Run, don't walk to the phone and call an exterminator. They can spray in the a.m. And you can go out for the day.

Does what they spray have any gluten to worry about though?

[kareng]

Does what they spray have any gluten to worry about though?

I doubt it. It's sprayed on the ground or the surface from a few inches away. Your not going to eat it. If they need to spray where your plates are, which is unlikely, you can take them out or wash well after.

I would find out if you are dealing with termites or ants or both, first. Find out where they are going to spray and then pick up the extra stuff around.

I was afraid this is where this conversation was going. I'm done.

[123glldd]

Yes you're right. This is where the conversation is going. Because people walk into the bathroom and trek gluten around possibly. I know plenty of people who talk about this type of cross contamination. I have had a hard time health wise so naturally I'm going to ask. Don't want to see it then don't answer me I have every right to worry about gluten being spread around my place. Don't worry you don't need to be done. Because I am. All the best.

[psawyer]

Does what they spray have any gluten to worry about though?

In this case, rather than worry that there might be gluten in the insect poison, you should consider that it is POISON to everyone, not just to people with gluten issues. You don't eat it. You try not to touch it. You don't (I hope) lick the floor. You make sure it doesn't get on your kitchenware or toothbrush. Sheesh.

Same thoughts apply to Lysol. The manufacturer is the best source of information. They say it is gluten-free--why would they lie? Even if the manufacturer is lying what does it matter--disinfectant spray is another thing that is intentionally toxic. Even if you don't have an issue with gluten, it is not something you want to ingest or even come in direct contact with.

[123glldd]

Because sometimes you need poison to get rid of pests in your house. Nothing else works for this along with my other condition (salicylate) where i can't be smelling oils, strong smells etc until I get my health all figure out. Sometimes it's a necessary evil unfortunately. Lysol we're using because we've had contact with norovirus and soap and water is sometimes simply not enough to kill viruses like that. As I said before I'm done with this thread. I was concerned about gluten accidentally getting on shoes and being tracked onto our living room carpet etc and being picked up somehow. Yes poison is a big concern but it's something we may just have to do or be overrun by ants okay? Call me paranoid I don't care. I think anything that can be tracked in like that that can be prevented should be. I have every right to think that way and I'm sick and tired of being told to stop asking. I have a right to ask if something is likely to be gluten free or not. I wanted to know if super sensitives ever had issues etc. Because as I said before...a lot of people say gluten free. Over all i trust lysol on that but I wanted to know peoples thoughts because as I've learned and I"m sure you have...sometimes people react differently. Anyhow. Threads done i just wanted to point that out. I'm gone.

[Jestgar]

I can't imagine any reason for there to be gluten in a poison spray - it would be so much easier and cheaper just to make it with chemicals. Do the spray, and if you're worried about either chemicals or gluten, have someone else clean it carefully. If you're really paranoid (as I would be with poison because of my cats) put a pair of slippers jut inside the door to be used only inside that bathroom.

[dilettantesteph]

What kind of ants are they? If they are carpenter ants, they are an indication of wet wood in your house. The cause for this needs to be repaired before you have serious rot issues. That is a more serious problem than the ants themselves if they are carpenter ants - the big ones. You may need a contractor as well as a bug expert. We had carpenter ants in a rental The shower was in an external wall and the whole wall was swarming with ants when it was opened up. All the wood was completely rotten. What a sight! We saw only the occasional ant in the house before that.