Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Ants!

GF Lover

Recommended Posts

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

Here in the Midwest we have these Mutant Sugar Ants.  They Bite!  I use Bay Leaves in my pantry and one of the bathrooms where the ants come every year but it's not practical to use them outside.   I noticed last Fall and now this Spring that they have invaded my flower gardens.  It's not just a couple of annoying nests, these things are THICK.  I'm looking for a non-chemical way to eradicate  them without hurting any other wildlife. 

 

Any Ideas?

 

Colleen

 

 

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Borax. They hate to walk on it. Or heavy chalk lines on concrete or wood siding.

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted
  • Author

Did you know that Borax can shut down a Nuclear Reaction?  And can stop a Radiator Leak?  And......can be used in making Silly Putty?

 

Would I need a Hazmat Suit for this stuff?    :lol:  Isn't "Wiki" annoying?  LMAO

Wi11ow Apprentice
Wi11ow
Posted

Try a sweet n low barrier.

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

If you are not Muslim, you can boil them (this conversation came up just yesterday). It is cheap and relatively safe. Do not burn yourself! Track the nest and pour pots of hot water as the ants rise to the surface. I did this for several weeks (during toddler nap-time) and after a decade -- no ants. The ants are making their way back into my yard this year, but I think a decade without them is pretty good.

I am pretty good with a flashlight and fly swatter aimed at black widows too! Love all other spiders though and help them whenever possible!

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted
  • Author

Is it the texture of chalk/borax/sweet n low.... they don't like?   What about corn starch?  That fine, silky feel?  Boiling water is very interesting....I will ponder that one.  Just wondering how my flowers would like that hot water, of if I could find the main nests I could do that.  hmmmmm.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Borax is made from a rock. Not sure why a little of that is bad. They can't walk on it.

When I find the ants very annoying, I track them to their home, dig them up a little and flood them out with the garden hose and a bit of dawn detergent if I think of it.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

My husband was partial to lighter fluid and a match... I made him tame his redneck ways once we had children.  LOL

 

We are at war with carpenter ants here. They invaded a wall and chewed a header above sliding glass doors into fine cardboard... the ceiling was starting to sag. Darn things! The room is stripped down to the studs at the moment.  :rolleyes:

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Boric acid. Tried and true.  Just a little light  dose sprinkled in a fine line around the outside of your house deters them.

 

I lived in the remote countryside as you know and we had no ants in our house. (unheard of)

 

It never bothered my cats, my dog, or any other animals that romped around my 6 acres. My Dad used it and he had tons of birds, bunnies and other wildlife in his yard.

 

Just use it LIGHTLY and never walk your pups through it.

 

Sorry, but sometimes, chemicals are necessary if you do not want to be overwhelmed by bugs.  And I am not a bad person! Remember, I was bitten while trying to help a chipmunk out of a netting before he choked to death...and required a painful shot. 

 

Please, read these then decide.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Open Original Shared Link

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

I may possibly, maybe, sort of never have grown out of the lighter fluid/flame method. :ph34r: I once got a lovely 2 x 4 inch patch of my left arm covered in fire ant bites. I don't care the type anymore, death comes to all who invade my space. I settle for the boiling water method if I can find a nest. It doesn't seem to do any real harm to the yard. It also works wonders to kill the roots of weeds in the garden before we start planting.

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted
  • Author

I may possibly, maybe, sort of never have grown out of the lighter fluid/flame method. :ph34r: I once got a lovely 2 x 4 inch patch of my left arm covered in fire ant bites. I don't care the type anymore, death comes to all who invade my space. I settle for the boiling water method if I can find a nest. It doesn't seem to do any real harm to the yard. It also works wonders to kill the roots of weeds in the garden before we start planting.

 

You are truly devious  :blink:  I wonder if lighter fluid would catch the mulch on fire.  

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

You are truly devious  :blink:  I wonder if lighter fluid would catch the mulch on fire.  

 

 

Lighter fluid is horrible stuff..geez louise! ..it has more chemicals in it than the boric acid! and YEAH I do kinda  think it would ignite the mulch!

 

You're scaring me!  :D

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted
  • Author

POOF  :lol: There goes the house!....lol.

 

So, I read those links Irish and these areas will get rain on them so the borax will not work and my Haz Mat suit is at the Cleaners anyway.

 

I'm thinking I will try the boiling water and see what happens.  My Cat lays in the gardens too so I really want to avoid chemicals.  If all else fails I will Nuke the place with Borax and deal with the Fall Out 

 

Addy, although my son readily volunteered to Torch the place, I nixed the idea due to an "arson" clause in out Insurance Policy  ;)

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Just follow the trail to find the nest. Our ants seem to like concrete cracks as an entrance to their nests. Just takes an on-and-off stream of hot water as they come rushing out with their eggs. To use this ant elimination method, I think you might have had to have been a kid who took great delight poking a stick at the ant nests located next to the orange groves on the way to school!

It does work, it is non-toxic to kids, pets and other good insects, but it takes a stove full of hot water (microwave too) and persistence to get the job done!

I read an article in the Reader's Digest recently about those sweet ants. They seem to be worse than red ants!

StephanieL Enthusiast
StephanieL
Posted

We had an organic exterminator out 2 years ago. She used heavy duty natural oils and sprayed in out trouble spots. Said it would get worse before it got better and after 2 days of seeing them popping up I haven't seen one since!  Seriously I was skeptical and then amazed!  DH didn't want to try it but even he's a convert!  And the house smelled lovely with peppermint and rosemary and stuff for a day or two ;)  They oils are neuro toxic to them.  She gave a year guarantee but as I said, we've been ant free since!  

 

She does the pet stores in this part of the state so if you are interested and don't find them in the yellow pages, perhaps give one of your local pet stores a call ;)

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

So this won't work for you:

 

there-was-a-spider-i-panicked_zps3ab7612

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted
  • Author

:o Step away from the lighter fluid Addy.... :lol:

nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

LOL  :lol:

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,914
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    ChrisMary
    Newest Member
    ChrisMary
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Help I’m cross contaminating myself,

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      I followed the Autoimmune Protocol Diet which is really strict for a while, but later other foods can be added back into your diet.  Following the AIP diet strictly allows you digestive system to heal and the inflammation to calm down.  Sort of like feeding a sick baby easy to digest food instead of spicy pizza.   It's important to get the inflammation down because chronic inflammation leads to other health problems.  Histamine is released as part of the autoimmune response to gluten.  High histamine levels make you feel bad and can cause breathing problems (worsening asthma), cardiovascular problems (tachycardia), and other autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, diabetes) and even mental health problems. Following the low histamine version of the AIP diet allows the body to clear the histamine from our bodies.  Some foods are high in histamine.  Avoiding these makes it easier for our bodies to clear the histamine released after a gluten exposure.   Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system and calm it down.  Vitamin D is frequently low in Celiacs.  The B Complex vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine.   Supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals boosts your intestines' ability to absorb them while healing.   Keep in mind that gluten-free facsimile foods, like gluten-free bread, are not enriched with added vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts are.   They are empty calories, no nutritional value, which use up your B vitamins in order to turn the calories into fuel for the body to function.   Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about supplementing while healing.  Take a good B Complex and extra Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine (shown to promote gut health).  Most B Complex vitamins contain thiamine mononitrate which the body cannot utilize.  Meats and liver are good sources of B vitamins.   Dr. Sarah Ballantyne wrote the book, the Paleo Approach.  She's a Celiac herself.  Her book explains a lot.   I'm so glad you're feeling better and finding your balance!
    • klmgarland
      Help I’m cross contaminating myself,

      By klmgarland · Posted

      So I should not eat my gluten free bread?  I will try the vitamins.  Thank you all so very much for your ideas and understanding.  I'm feeling better today and have gathered back my composure!
    • knitty kitty
      Taking Probiotics but Still Getting Sick After Gluten – Advice?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Some people prefer eating gluten before bed, then sleeping through the worst symptoms at night.  You might want to try that and see if that makes any difference.   Several slices of toast for breakfast sounds okay.  Just try to work up to the Ten grams of gluten.  Cookies might only have a half of a gram of gluten.  The weight of the whole cookie is not the same as the amount of gluten in it.  So do try to eat bread things with big bubbles, like cinnamon rolls.   Yeah, I'm familiar with the "death warmed over" feeling.  I hope you get the genetic test results quickly.  I despise how we have to make ourselves sick to get a diagnosis.  Hang in there, sweetie, the tribe is supporting you.  
    • Clear2me
      Gluten free nuts

      By Clear2me · Posted

      Thank you, a little expensive but glad to have this source. 
    • Xravith
      Taking Probiotics but Still Getting Sick After Gluten – Advice?

      By Xravith · Posted

      @knitty kitty  Thank you very much for the advice. I did the exam this morning, my doctor actually suggested me to take something called "Celiac duo test" in which I first do the genetic test and if it's positive, then I'll have to do the antigen blood test. I have to attend 1 month until my results are ready, so I have some weeks to increase the amount of gluten I eat daily. It will be hard because my health is not the best right now, but I also did a blood test to cheek my nutritional deficiencies. The results will arrive on Tuesday, so I can ask my doctor what should I do to control my symptoms and blood levels during this month. For now I'm resting and paying attention to what I eat— at least I don’t look like a vampire who just woke up, like I did yesterday. I'm still scared because is the first time I've felt this sick, but this is the right moment to turn things around for the better.  I realized that if I eat gluten at lunch I cannot finish the day properly, I become severely tired and sometimes my stomach hurts a lot - let's not talk about the bloating that starts later. Do you think is it ok to eat gluten just in the morning, like some cookies and slices of bread for breakfast? 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.